Among its many controversial provisions is one that allows China to pursue legal action against individuals and organisations overseas accused of undermining China’s ethnic unity or promoting separatism. The provision has raised concerns among rights groups and governments about the potential for transnational repression.
China says the law is aimed at promoting national unity, social stability and ethnic harmony.
Defending its overseas provisions last month, Vice Justice Minister Hu Weilie said they were “legitimate, lawful, necessary, and feasible” and intended to guard against illegal activities involving ethnic affairs originating outside China. He rejected criticism, saying the provisions were consistent with international practice and that countries around the world have the right to prevent separatist activities through domestic legislation, Reuters reported.
The law’s domestic provisions are no less concerning.
The legislation promotes Mandarin as the country’s “national common language and script”, calls for cultivating a “strong sense of community for the Chinese nation”, and requires schools, families and public institutions to promote loyalty to the Communist Party and the Chinese state.
It also expands state oversight of ethnic affairs, strengthens controls over online content, and allows authorities to pursue legal action against individuals or organisations overseas accused of undermining China’s “ethnic unity”.
The law has already drawn international scrutiny. In April 2026, UN Special Rapporteurs warned that the legislation could institutionalise forced assimilation policies and enable transnational repression through its overseas provisions.
More recently, the European Parliament adopted a resolution expressing concern that the law could further erode the rights, languages and cultures of Tibetans and Uyghurs, while urging China to repeal it.
China experts believe the law effectively codifies Beijing’s long-running policy of “Sinicisation” under President Xi Jinping by weakening languages, cultures and religions that are not aligned with Mandarin or Han Chinese traditions.
China expert Sriparna Pathak told CNBC-TV18 that the law weakens existing protections for minority customs and self-governance while providing a legal basis for ongoing assimilation measures.
The legislation also requires parents and guardians to instil love for the Communist Party and the nation in children, authorises local governments to establish education centres and population management measures, and encourages citizens to report conduct deemed harmful to ethnic unity.
The law has drawn strong criticism from the Central Tibetan Administration, the Tibetan government-in-exile based in India. Its President, Penpa Tsering, said in an appeal for international support that it poses “a grave threat to the future of the Tibetan people”.
The law comes amid longstanding international concern over Beijing’s policies in Tibet, which China annexed in 1959 and which remains largely closed to independent scrutiny. Tibet scored zero out of 100 in Freedom House’s *Freedom in the World 2026* report for the third consecutive year. It has also performed poorly in major international assessments of human rights and freedoms.