China on Thursday passed a law on a “shared” national identity among the country’s 55 ethnic minority groups, a move that critics say will further erode the identity of people who are not majority Han Chinese and risks turning anyone who challenges that “unity” into a separatist punishable by law.
Called “Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress,” the ethnic minority law aims to forge national unity and promote the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) at its core, a draft of the law shows.
It was approved at the closing session of the annual meeting of the National People’s Congress, China’s legislature, by 2,756 votes, with three votes against and three abstentions, according to a Reuters witness.
The law will come into force on July 1 of this year, state media reported.
Officially, China has 56 officially recognized ethnic groups, dominated by the Han Chinese, who represent more than 91% of the country’s 1.4 billion people.
China’s ethnic minority populations (including Tibetans, Mongolians, Hui, Manchus and Uighurs) are concentrated in regions that together cover about half of the country’s land area, much of it rich in natural resources.
The law aims to promote integration between ethnic groups through education, housing, migration, community life, culture, tourism and development policy, according to the law.
It requires Mandarin to be the basic language of instruction in schools and for government and official business.
In public settings, where Mandarin and minority languages are used together, Mandarin should be given “prominence in location, order and similar aspects,” the draft said.
“The State respects and protects the learning and use of minority languages and writings,” he added.
Religious groups, religious schools and religious places must adhere “to the direction of Sinicization of religion in China,” according to the draft.
The law also seeks to prohibit any interference in marriage elections based on ethnicity, customs or religion, to allow more intermarriages between ethnic groups.
‘Integrate with the minority’
Allen Carlson, an associate professor of government at Cornell University and an expert on Chinese foreign policy, said the law underscores a move toward assimilation.
“The law makes it clearer than ever that in President Xi Jinping’s People’s Republic of China, non-Han people must do more to integrate with the Han majority and, above all, be loyal to Beijing,” he said, referring to China by the initials of its official name.
Ethnic affairs are incorporated into China’s social governance system, with clauses including anti-separatism, border security, risk prevention and social stability.
An editorial in the state-run China Daily newspaper said that “the law had followed a rigorous legislative process, going through multiple readings and consultations with lawmakers and representatives of ethnic minority communities.”
“The law emphasizes the protection of cultural traditions and lifestyles of all ethnic groups… it is misleading to claim that ethnic minorities in China must choose between economic development and cultural preservation,” he said.
