China has brought into effect a new ethnic unity law that rights groups and foreign officials have warned could accelerate the forced assimilation of ethnic minorities.The world’s second most populous nation officially recognises 55 ethnic minority groups, which together account for 8.9 percent of mainland China’s population.Beijing also announced that the new law, which entered into force on Wednesday, could apply to individuals outside the country’s borders, which has raised further alarm among rights groups, which said it could be used to target overseas critics of China. The Chinese government, however, said Western media outlets “misinterpreted” the overseas povision and the country wants merely to exercise its right to combat separatist movements abroad.Here is more about China’s new law and how it could impact minorities.What is China’s ethnic unity law?China passed the law on March 12 to create a “shared” national identity among the country’s 56 ethnic groups – the Han majority and 55 minority groups.The largest communities among China’s ethnic minorities include the Uighurs, about 11 million people, and Tibetans, about 7 million people. Tibet and Xinjiang, where most Uighurs live, are China’s only two provinces where communities that nationally are ethnic minorities form the majority of the population.The law, approved by China’s ceremonial legislature, is designed to foster “a stronger sense of community among all ethnic groups in the Chinese nation”, Lou Qinjian, a delegate to the National Peo …
