China’s New Ethnic Unity Law Extends Assimilation Push Beyond Its Borders
China has enacted a sweeping new law requiring schools, families and government agencies to promote a unified national identity while giving authorities the ability to pursue organizations and individuals overseas accused of threatening Beijing’s vision of social cohesion. The Ethnic Unity and Progress Promotion Law, which took effect July 1, prohibits acts that “undermine ethnic unity or create ethnic division” among China’s 56 officially recognized ethnic groups, including the Han Chinese majority, which makes up more than 90% of the country’s 1.4 billion people.
Moumita Basuroychowdhury is a Contributing Reporter at The National Digest. After earning an economics degree at Cornell University, she moved to NYC to pursue her MFA in creative writing. She enjoys reporting on science, business and culture news. You can reach her at moumita.b@thenationaldigest.com.