Reported By Palden
Edited By Pema Tso
Translated By TenGyal
Following the direction of the Central Politburo of China, a bill titled the “People’s Republic of China’s Ethnic Unity and Progress Promotion Law” was introduced and passed as law at the session of the National People’s Congress.
Yesterday, on March 12th, the Chinese government formally adopted the People’s Republic of China’s Ethnic Unity and Progress Promotion Law. Xinhua, the official state news agency and mouthpiece reported that the law was passed with 2756 votes in favor, 3 votes against and 3 abstention and that the law will be enforced from July 1st, 2026.
In his introduction of the bill at the session on March 5, Li Hongzhong, the Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of China stated that this law represents Xi Jinping’s “Important Thinking on Improving and Strengthening Ethnic Work,”and is a key measure of the Central Communist Party’s decisions and commands. He noted that it aims to strengthen the sense of a unified and integrated community of the Chinese nation and promote the urgent requirements for building a national community, which is necessary for Chinese modernization and the common prosperity of all ethnic groups. He further stated that implementing the policy of comprehensively governing the country according to law and promoting the modernization of the system and its capacity for ethnic governance within a legal framework is a practical necessity, describing it as a major change unseen in a century and a vital means to enhance the strength of the Chinese nation.
In Chapter 1 of the law, concerning the Building of a Shared Spiritual Home, it is stated that under the guidance of national socialist values, education on patriotism, collectivism, and socialism must be deepened to solidify the identification of people of all ethnic groups with the great motherland, the Chinese nation, Chinese culture, the Communist Party of China, and socialism with Chinese characteristics.
Similarly, within Article 15 of that chapter, it is clearly stated that in order to comprehensively promote and popularize the common national spoken and written language ( i.e Mandarin), proficiency in the common language must be firmly established among pre-school children to successfully fulfill the tasks of youth education; furthermore, no organization or individual is permitted to create obstacles to the use of the national common language. At the same time, the article purports that the state respects and guarantees the use of spoken and written languages of ethnic minorities. Within the articles of that chapter, it is specified that state-mandated educational curricula must be effectively implemented in all schools, and media outlets must publicize the values and sense of a unified community of the Chinese nation so that it can be integrated into families and family education.
Furthermore, within Article 21 of that Chapter, it is noted that the history and culture of the Chinese people as well as patriotic education must be promoted in the Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macau. The same article stressed that it is essential to establish and encourage and a sense of identification among the Taiwanese people as belonging to the same family of Chinese nation.
In Chapter 3, titled Facilitating Interactions, Interchanges, and Intermingling, it is stated that all local governments above the county level are obligated to facilitate “inter-embedded community environments” among the ethnic people to “live, study, build, share, work, and enjoy together” and as well as to forge a strong sense of community. In addition, the chapter instructs authorities to promote integration by supporting tourism industry and cultural museums and to further interaction and integration among ethnic groups by utilizing modern technology in the form of social media platforms, while the dissemination of text, images, or short videos that incite ethnic hatred or discrimination is prohibited.
In Articles 53 and 54 of Chapter 4, titled Guarantees and Supervision, it is established that the fourth week of September each year is designated as the propaganda week for promoting ethnic unity, during which large-scale educational activities to publicize the awareness of a unified and integrated community of the Chinese nation must be carried out; furthermore, it is stated that those who make outstanding contributions to the promotion of ethnic unity and progress shall be rewarded in accordance with national regulations.
In chapter 5, titled Obligations Under the Law, it is stated that if any organization or individual disregards the sense of a unified and integrated community of the Chinese nation or fails to comply with the Law on Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress, they must be given timely warning and education, and be dealt with according to the law.
Tibet Times approached Mr. Dawa Tsering, the former Director of the Tibet Policy Institute, via telephone about the objectives of the Chinese government’s draft Law on Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress and how it would be implemented in Tibetan regions. In response, he stated,“Generally, the Chinese government claims the motivation for creating thislaw is to harmonize it with the Law on Regional Ethnic Autonomy.Since the Law on Regional Ethnic Autonomy is the highest legal regulation for protecting ethnic minorities, claiming that this new law is harmonized with it clearly suggests this bill is intended to be of a very high level. However, if you look at the content, although ethnic religion and language are the most critical aspects of ethnic autonomy, there is not a single point regarding how to actually promote or develop them.Instead, the text focuses on terms like “the Chinese nation,” “inter-ethnic relations,” movements” “exchanges,” and “integration.” At first glance, these words sound like they are about mutual movement and exchange, but in the context of Chinese policy, this primarily refers to things like intermarriage between Tibetans and Chinese. “Interactions and exchanges” means spreading the Chinese language and culture into Tibet as much as possible; it isn’t about promoting Tibetan religion and culture elsewhere. This time, the law has made those intentions very clear.”
Mr. Dawa Tsering went on to explain “The Chinese government has long been implementing various policies of this nature across Tibet. Specifically, by promoting intermarriage between Tibetans and Han Chinese, they are advancing a strategic plan to weakenthe distinct identity of the Tibetan people and oversee the systematic deterioration of Tibetan culture and language. For example, while the phrase ‘common development’ is rhetorically appealing, it serves in practice to absorb Tibetans into the Chinese economic framework, stripping them of their self-sufficiency. Concepts such as the ‘unified consciousness of the Chinese nation’ and ‘ethnic relations’ are, in truth, mechanisms to marginalize Tibetan religion and culture while facilitating the expansion of Chinese ideology, language, and cultural norms.While the Law on Regional Ethnic Autonomy ought to be fundamentally motivated by the protection of an ethnic group’s unique religion and culture, the present reality is that the very mechanisms for their eradication are being integrated into the framework of that autonomy law.”
