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China’s top legislature passed the “Ethnic Unity and Progress Promotion Law” on Thursday, formalizing Beijing’s long-running effort to strengthen national identity and ethnic integration.
The law was approved at the closing meeting of the fourth session of the 14th National People’s Congress during the annual parliamentary meeting in Beijing.
State-affiliated media Xinhua previously reported that the law would seek to codify “fostering a stronger sense of community for the Chinese nation” into state policy.
It would also promote high-quality development in areas with large ethnic minority populations and promote what officials describe as common prosperity among China’s 56 ethnic groups.
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Representatives of ethnic minorities arrive for the opening session of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on March 4, 2026. (Vincent Thian/AP)
Li Hongzhong, vice chairman of the NPC Standing Committee, said the measure aims to advance the governance of ethnic affairs under the rule of law.
“People of every ethnic group, all organizations and groups in the country, the armed forces, every party and social organization, every company should form a common consciousness of the Chinese nation in accordance with the law and the Constitution, and take responsibility for the formation of this consciousness,” the proposed law said. From the Associated Press.
Academics and outside observers say the provision could weaken the cultural identity of ethnic minorities by requiring the use of Mandarin in compulsory education and by establishing a legal basis for pursuing outside China individuals or organizations whose actions are deemed to undermine “ethnic unity”.
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Chinese President Xi Jinping applauds during the closing session of the National People’s Congress at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on March 12, 2026. (Qilai Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
According to the seventh national population census, China’s population is 1.44 billion as of November 2020. Released in 2021 By National Bureau of Statistics.
Overall, 91.11% were Han Chinese and 8.89% belonged to ethnic minority groups.
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Delegates wearing traditional clothes react at the closing session of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference in Beijing on March 11, 2026. (Kevin Fryer/Getty)
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James Leibold, a professor at Australia’s La Trobe University, told the AP that the new measure “puts a death knell in the party’s core promise of meaningful autonomy.”
Harvard University legal scholar Rehan Asat also criticized the law, saying that it “serves as a strategic tool and gives the government an excuse for all kinds of human rights violations.”
