The National People’s Congress of the Chinese Communist Party recently passed the “Law on the Promotion of Ethnic Unity and Progress,” which will be implemented on July 1. Some scholars pointed out that this is the CCP promoting sinicization under the guise of “unity,” not only carrying out ethnic genocide against minority ethnic groups, but also conducting cultural genocide against the Han Chinese at a cultural level. This law is a “very serious” event that deserves deep attention and discussion from all sectors.
According to Xinhua News Agency of the CCP, the “Law on the Promotion of Ethnic Unity and Progress” consists of seven chapters and sixty-five articles, with its core goal officially stated as “to strengthen the consciousness of the Chinese nation as a community.” However, from the content of the articles, this law actually strengthens the national identity, language, culture, and social structure unity through a series of institutionalized means.
The new law requires the nationwide “comprehensive promotion and popularization of the national common language and script,” and promotes preschool children learning Mandarin. It also stipulates that if two languages are used in public places by state organs and social organizations, the “national common language and script” must be “highlighted in position and order,” emphasizing the dominant position of Mandarin.
Moreover, the law also proposes to promote the so-called “integrated community construction,” which aims to encourage the cohabitation of different ethnic groups to change the traditional ethnic settlement pattern. It also requires the comprehensive integration of the so-called “ethnic unity education” into the national education system, cadre training, and social education. More controversially, the articles also stipulate that parents of minors may not instill ideas deemed “harmful to ethnic unity and progress” in their children.
Of note is that Article 63 of the law clearly stipulates that organizations and individuals outside China who commit acts of “undermining ethnic unity and progress, creating ethnic separatism” will be held legally accountable.
Regarding the new law of the CCP, the Mainland Affairs Council of Taiwan quickly responded. Deputy Minister and spokesman Liang Wenjie, presiding over a routine press conference on the 12th, pointed out that the law can be seen as legalizing Xi Jinping’s ideology on ethnic work, focusing on requiring all ethnic groups to hold “the same views” on history and national ideals, with “only one interpretation” of history and culture.
Deputy Minister of the Mainland Affairs Council, Shen Youzhong, further pointed out that although the law seems to target domestic minority ethnic groups, due to its involvement with overseas affairs and mentioning the advancement of “ethnic unity and national unity,” it may become a legal basis for Beijing to deal with cross-strait issues and implement extraterritorial jurisdiction against so-called “Taiwan independence advocates.”
In response, Professor Zhang Tianliang from the Department of Humanities at Fei Tian College in the United States provided a sharper analysis in his commentary program.
He first cited the famous slogan from Orwell’s novel “1984” — “war is peace, freedom is slavery, ignorance is strength,” pointing out that the CCP’s common practice is to use positive terms to cover up the opposite reality. He stated that the CCP’s so-called “harmonious society” is not the traditional meaning of “gentlemen agree to disagree,” but rather “eliminating dissidents”; similarly, under the guise of “ethnic unity,” what is actually being enforced is the opposite of unity — a covert policy of ethnic genocide.
Zhang Tianliang pointed out from the perspective of cultural anthropology that the core of ethnic identity is culture, not bloodline. If a person loses their mother tongue, customs, and cultural identity, even if their lineage is pure, they can no longer identify with that ethnic group. The CCP’s new law to forcibly promote Mandarin and subordinate minority languages is undermining the foundation of ethnic identity at the linguistic level. He quoted the perspective of the German linguist Humboldt: every language contains a unique worldview; losing a language means losing a worldview, and no longer belonging to that ethnic group.
He also pointed out that the “integrated community construction” — promoting mixed living between Han Chinese and minority ethnic groups — along with Mandarin teaching in schools and encouraging inter-ethnic marriages, forms a three-pronged assimilation mechanism. After a generation or two, minority ethnic groups will converge towards the Han Chinese in language, customs, and cultural identity, leading to the natural disappearance of their ethnic characteristics. He cited Inner Mongolia as an example: back in 2020, Xi Jinping’s forceful implementation of Mandarin instruction replacing Mongolian language teaching sparked protests involving thousands of students and parents; now, this policy has been formalized into law.
Zhang Tianliang believes that the CCP is not only carrying out ethnic genocide against minority ethnic groups but is also conducting cultural genocide against the Han Chinese at a cultural level — by altering the connotations of language vocabulary and severing ties with traditional culture, the Han Chinese are also losing their true ethnic memory and cultural foundation. He expressed that this law is a “very serious” event that warrants in-depth attention and discussion from all sectors.