China enacts sweeping ethnic unity law targeting minorities

China’s National People’s Congress approved the "Law on Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress," which took effect on July 1. The statute mandates Mandarin as the primary language in schools, requires curricula to foster loyalty to the Chinese Communist Party and the Chinese nation, and obliges families to teach children to love the Party and the state. It also directs local governments to promote mixed‑ethnic housing and cultural programs that reflect a single national narrative.

The law extends beyond domestic measures by allowing Chinese authorities to pursue legal action against foreign individuals or organisations accused of undermining "ethnic unity" or creating "ethnic division." Human‑rights groups and UN experts have warned that the legislation could accelerate forced assimilation of Uighurs, Tibetans, Mongolians and other minorities, restrict minority languages and cultural practices, and enable transnational repression of activists abroad.