China introduces new ‘Ethnic Unity Law’ to tighten control over its occupied regions
By Tenzin Chokyi
DHARAMSALA 19 March: The International Campaign for Tibet (ICT), in its latest report, says China’s new “ethnic unity law,” introduced during the ‘Two Sessions’—the National People’s Congress (NPC) and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) annual political meetings in Beijing—might lead to further erosion of the rights of Tibetans in occupied Tibet.
On 8 March, the “new ethnic unity law” was announced by Zhao Leji, the chairman of the NPC, in his report to the National People’s Congress, aimed at promoting ethnic unity and progress to forge a strong sense of national identity, reinforcing the Chinese people as one cohesive community”.
The ICT report stated that the new law is “an explicit legal departure from the principle of preferential treatment for people like Tibetans as stipulated in the regional ethnic autonomy law, which serves as the basis for the special rights that “ethnic minorities” are supposed to be enjoying in PRC.”
It says “Tibetans are currently being used as the testing ground for China’s border policy of assimilation of “ethnic minorities” by the Chinese Communist authorities” as Xi’s policy focuses on formalising the party’s power to enforce a Chinese-centric way of life and to nurture vigilant citizens as informants for the party, receives stronger legal push from the party.
According to the report, the first National legislation on “ethnic unity” was passed in 2020 with the enactment of “Regulations on the Creation of a Model Region for National Unity and Progress in the Tibet Autonomous Region”, which was recently revised in January 2025.
As such the new “ethnic unity law” is seen as the culmination of Xi’s assimilation policy to strengthen the integration of its occupied areas including Tibet into China through economic development, cultural assimilation and political control.
Emphasising the explicit legal departure from the principles of its constitution, the report warned that the enactment of the new law can potentially be followed by amendments to the law on Regional Ethnic Autonomy.
“If this happens, it means that even the little rights enjoyed by the Tibetans on paper would go away with no basis whatsoever to challenge the authorities. This might have a major impact on China’s Tibet policy in the coming years,” it concluded.
