China's 'Ethnic Unity' Law Already Harming Uyghurs, Critics Warn

Read The Diplomat, Know The Asia-Pacific Government actions that could once be described as regional campaigns are now embedded in national legislation. Restrictions will become easier to expand and harder to challenge. China’s new Law on Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress has been in effect for more than one month. Beijing claims the law will foster cohesion and protect the rights of minorities. In reality, it is already doing the opposite. One month in, the law is already harming Uyghurs and other ethnic groups and dissidents. Governments must take decisive action to challenge the law and protect diaspora communities before it is too late. As numerous sources have warned, the new law codifies a dramatic shift away from even the promise of regional autonomy, instead embedding Xi Jinping’s campaign of forced assimilation into nearly every facet of government and public life. In doing so, the law violates China’s own constitution. For Uyghurs, this is not new. In 2017, a Chinese official summarized the government’s strategy toward Uyghurs: “Break their lineage, break their roots, break their connections, and break their origins.” Since then, Chinese authorities have systematically dismantled Uyghur social, cultural, and religious life in what the United States government and numerous national parliaments have formally recognized as genocide and crimes against humanity. The indoctrination Uyghurs faced in internment camps, where authorities sought to replace Islam and Uyghur identity with loyalty to the CCP, is now imposed in daily life across the Uyghur homeland of East Turkestan. What has changed is this: Government actions that could once be described as regional campaigns are now embedded in national legislation. These restrictions will become easier to expand and harder to challenge. The new law makes schools, religious institutions, all levels of government, and even families responsible for instilling and enforcing the CCP’s definition of “ethnic unity.” It requires parents to “educate and guide minors to love the Chinese Communist Party,” replaces bilingual education with Mandarin beginning in preschool, and requires religious institutions to persist in the “Sinicization” of religion. In other words, all children must be raised to love the CCP, all languages must give way to Mandarin, and any faith is permitted only when reshaped to serve the state. The law’s effects are already visible. Videos on Chinese social media show Uyghur-language signs being removed from city streets and replaced with Chinese. Uyghurs are unable to resist, or even express sadness, as CCP cadres watch. Any negative reaction can be labeled resistance to “ethnic unity,” placing a person at risk of interrogation, detention, and arrest. Just three days after the law took effect, two Uyghur sisters and their mother were reportedly arrested for sending merchandise to another sister in Turkiye. They were accused of “supporting terrorism” for helping with her business. While it is not new for authorities to penalize Uyghurs for contacting family abroad, the ethnic unity law gives an already abusive system an even broader vocabulary with which to characterize normal family ties, cultural expression, and overseas contact as threats to national unity. The danger also extends to individuals beyond China’s borders. As many have warned, Article 63 of the law declares that organizations and individuals overseas can be pursued for activities Beijing claims undermine ethnic unity or create ethnic division. Chinese officials have openly defended the government’s claimed authority to target people abroad under this provision, creating yet another pretext for transnational repression against Uyghurs, Tibetans, Southern Mongolians, and other diaspora groups or dissidents. This too is already taking effect. In Kazakhstan, Uyghurs and others with ties to East Turkestan report “feeling the pressure” since the law’s enactment. Dolkun Isa – a prominent Uyghur activist, former president of the World Uyghur Congress, and German citizen – was recently detained and deported from Morocco while traveling to attend a religious freedom conference. Such cases demonstrate how China uses its influence to pressure other governments to restrict or intimidate Uyghurs on its behalf. The claim that overseas individuals may face legal responsibility for “undermining ethnic unity” should alarm every government. Uyghurs, Tibetans, Hong Kongers, Falun Gong practitioners, Chinese dissidents, and Taiwanese advocates should not have to wonder whether exercising their freedoms abroad will place themselves or their relatives in danger. The international response has been inadequate thus far, limited to statements rather than actionable commitments. U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk called for the law’s repeal. Eight U.N. special rapporteurs for human rights expressed serious concern. The European Parliament urged China to repeal the law, and the European Union and Taiwan warned about its extraterritorial reach. Australian officials reportedly raised concerns with their Chinese counterparts. The United States in particular has been noticeably quiet, as the Trump administration has yet to take a public stance. A State Department spokesperson called the measure “problematic,” and members of Congress urged a stronger response, but informal remarks and congressional statements are not enough. Governments, including the United States, should issue clear public condemnations, demand the law’s repeal, and make clear that China has no jurisdiction over lawful speech in other countries. Furthermore, governments should coordinate to protect diaspora communities from the transnational repression the law enables. To do so here in the U.S., Congress should pass the Uyghur Policy Act of 2025 and Transnational Repression Policy Act. The damage caused by China’s ethnic unity law is no longer hypothetical. Governments must respond with urgency before forced assimilation and transnational repression become even more deeply entrenched. Subscribe today and join thousands of diplomats, analysts, policy professionals and business readers who rely on The Diplomat for expert Asia-Pacific coverage. Get unlimited access to in-depth analysis you won't find anywhere else, from South China Sea tensions to ASEAN diplomacy to India-Pakistan relations. More than 5,000 articles a year. Already have an account? Log in. Omer Kanat is executive director of the Uyghur Human Rights Project. Get briefed on the story of the week, and developing stories to watch across the Asia-Pacific.