China tells its ethnic minorities to integrate or face consequences
China passed a new ethnic unity law requiring ethnic minorities to integrate into mainstream society and adopt "correct views" on ethnicity, with penalties for actions that promote separatism or undermine national unity. The law strengthens the government's authority to regulate ethnic affairs and has drawn criticism from human rights groups.
Background
- China passed an "Ethnic Unity and Progress" law in June 2026, giving legal teeth to its long-standing policy of assimilating 55 officially recognized "ethnic minorities" (about 8.5% of the population, including Tibetans, Uyghurs, Mongols, Zhuang) into a unified "Chinese nation."
- The law formalizes penalties for activities deemed to "undermine ethnic unity"—broadly defined as promoting separatism, preserving distinct religious or cultural identities deemed divisive, or refusing Mandarin-language education.
- This builds on decades of tighter control in Xinjiang and Tibet (mass surveillance, re-education camps, forced labor allegations) but now extends the framework nationwide with explicit legal consequences.
- Domestically, it aims to head off any identity-based resistance as China's demographic and economic pressures grow; internationally, it has drawn sharp criticism from human-rights groups and Western governments as state-enforced assimilation.