China's top legislative body, the National People's Congress, approved a new law titled Promoting Ethnic Unity and Development on March 12. The legislation aims to strengthen a sense of common identity among all ethnic groups within the Chinese nation and assigns responsibility for achieving this goal to public organizations, commercial companies, and the country's armed forces.
The law specifically requires giving priority to Mandarin Chinese in public spaces where both the official language and minority languages are used together. Human rights defenders point out that China is home to 55 ethnic minorities, many of which maintain their own languages and dialects. In regions such as Tibet and Inner Mongolia, where ethnic minorities are concentrated, the use of Chinese in school education has already been made mandatory.
AFP quoted Erica Nguyen, an activist with the American PEN Club, who accused the Beijing government of attempting to sever children's connections to their own history and culture. Rights groups are particularly concerned that the new law will intensify pressure on Muslim Uyghurs. Beijing has been repeatedly accused by the United Nations and other international bodies of violating the rights of this ethnic minority group.
The law's reach extends beyond China's borders. It calls for strengthening ties with overseas Chinese communities while also providing for legal accountability for individuals outside the country who participate in activities that damage the nation's ethnic unity or promote ethnic separatism.
The legislation on ethnic unity was passed on the final day of the annual Two Sessions, which includes meetings of the National People's Congress and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, an advisory body to the Chinese leadership. These events are viewed as important indicators of future directions in Chinese policy.
This year's Two Sessions coincided with the beginning of the implementation of the 15th Five-Year Plan, which serves as a roadmap for the country's economic and political development from 2026 to 2030. Premier Li Qiang set the GDP growth target for the current year at between 4.5 and 5 percent, the lowest indicator since 1991. Observers see this as a significant shift following decades of rapid expansion that positioned China as a main driver of global economic growth.
Artificial intelligence stands at the center of the new five-year plan. Chinese leadership considers it an essential tool for national development amid competition with the United States. With an emphasis on high technologies, the government aims to redirect the economy toward growth based on domestic consumption. In foreign policy, Beijing appears to be charting a course to improve relations with the European Union and the United States, even as tensions with Japan intensify over the Taiwan issue.
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