Name: China passes ethnic unity law, sparking worry in Taiwan
Uploaded: 2026-03-12T17:01:27.000Z
Duration: 2 min 22 s
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China passed an ethnic unity law on Thursday, a move critics say will further erode the identity of minority Chinese and could put anyone with divergent historical views at risk of punishment, according to a draft copy of the law.

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It is called Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress and aims to forge a shared national identity.

It was passed at the closing session of the annual meeting of the National People's Congress, China's rubber stamp legislature, which includes ethnic minority representatives.

China has 56 officially recognized ethnic groups.

They're dominated by the Han Chinese, who account for over 91% of the country's 1.4 billion people.

The minority populations, including Tibetans and Uyghurs, are concentrated in regions that together cover roughly half of the country's land area.

The law aims to promote integration across ethnic groups through through policies such as education, culture and development, the draft said.

It orders Mandarin to be used as the primary language in education and official business and for Mandarin to be given prominence in public settings where it is used together with minority languages.

Though it also pledges respect and protection of minority languages and scripts, religious groups and institutions are required to stick to the direction of the sinicization of religion in China, according to the draft.

It also orders authorities to go after those outside China who undermine ethnic unity or create ethnic separatism for legal liability.

The new law does not directly mention democratically ruled Taiwan, whose people Beijing views as Chinese citizens.

Liang Wenqie told reporters it would essentially lead to punishment for any interpretation of history that differs from the official version.

He's a deputy minister of Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council, which forms Taiwan's policy on China.

The council says it could give Beijing another legal basis to go after Taiwanese it views as separatists, given its language on protecting China's sovereignty and security.

China's Taiwan affairs office did not respond to a request for comment.

The law will come into force on 1 July, according to state media.

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China passes ethnic unity law, sparking worry in Taiwan

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