[Reuters]
[Reuters]

China's Law on Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress — which mandates the use of Mandarin among ethnic minorities and allows punishment for acts of "ethnic division" committed abroad — is set to take effect Wednesday, with Chinese authorities moving to defend its extraterritorial reach.

At a State Council Information Office press conference Wednesday, Vice Minister of Justice Hu Weilie said the law's extraterritorial provisions represent "normal legislative activity carried out by a sovereign state in accordance with the law" and are "consistent with the basic principles of international law," according to state-run China News Service.

Hu said Western media had "distorted" Article 63 by characterizing it as an "abuse of jurisdiction," calling such criticism "neither objective nor consistent with the spirit of jurisprudence."

He added that the extraterritorial clause was designed to prevent illegal acts related to ethnic affairs carried out outside China's borders, and would not affect "normal people-to-people exchanges, academic discussions, or economic and trade cooperation."

The law passed at the National People's Congress annual session in March, with 2,756 votes in favor out of 2,762 delegates. It aims to strengthen a sense of community among all Chinese citizens, including members of the country's 55 ethnic minority groups.

Central to the law is a language provision designating Putonghua — standard Mandarin — as the primary language of instruction in all schools.

The 14th Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of Tibet. [Reuters]
The 14th Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of Tibet. [Reuters]

In ethnic minority regions such as Inner Mongolia, Tibet and Xinjiang, core subjects have until now been taught in local languages. After the law takes effect, minority languages may only be taught as a "second language," akin to a foreign language.

Yalkun Uluyol, a China researcher at Human Rights Watch, told AFP in March that the law marks "a significant departure from Deng Xiaoping-era policies that had guaranteed ethnic minorities the right to use their own languages."

Article 63, the extraterritorial punishment clause, stipulates that organizations and individuals outside China's borders can be held legally liable for "acts that undermine ethnic unity and development or incite ethnic division." The structure mirrors the extraterritorial provisions of the national security law imposed on Hong Kong in 2020.

Taiwan has reacted with alarm. Scholars and civic group representatives in Taiwan warned that the law could expose Taiwanese people to legal and political risks, according to Taiwan's Central News Agency.

Hong Fu-chao, deputy director of the Center for Mainland China and Regional Development Studies at Tunghai University, predicted that entry bans, sanctions and business pressure targeting Taiwanese would follow once the law takes effect.

He said Taiwanese who frequently travel between Taiwan and mainland China would be the first affected, with academics, journalists, civic groups and political commentators also potentially in the crosshairs.


dbsdn1110@heraldcorp.com