
<p>China officially recognizes 56 ethnic groups within its borders. But critics say that under a sweeping new law about to be approved by the Chinese government, the reality is much simpler and much harsher. One ethnicity will dominate the country, and the other 55 will slowly disappear into it.</p>



<p>The legislation, called the Law on Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress, is expected to be approved during the annual session of China’s parliament, the National People’s Congress. The Chinese government says it will promote unity and modernization.</p>



<p>But academics, human rights advocates, and minority activists say the real purpose is clear. The law will formalize a long running campaign to absorb China’s minority cultures into the dominant Han Chinese identity.</p>



<p>For critics, the message is blunt. In China, there may be 56 ethnic groups on paper, but the system is steadily crushing the distinct identity of 55 of them.</p>



<p><strong>A Law Designed to Eliminate Cultural Difference</strong></p>



<p>The Chinese government describes the legislation as a framework for national unity. Officials say it will strengthen a shared identity across the country’s population.</p>



<p>Lou Qinjiang, spokesperson for the National People’s Congress, said the law “aims to ensure the party’s comprehensive leadership over ethnic affairs” and to strengthen “a sense of a shared community for the Chinese nation.”</p>



<p>Supporters argue that the policy will bring stability and development to regions that are less economically advanced.</p>



<p>But critics see something far darker.</p>



<p>They say the law is a legal tool designed to erase cultural difference and force minority communities into conformity with the political and cultural norms of the Communist Party. China’s population is overwhelmingly Han Chinese, who make up more than 90 percent of the country. The remaining 55 ethnic minorities are scattered across vast border regions including Tibet, Xinjiang, and Inner Mongolia.</p>



<p>These areas contain huge mineral resources, critical farmland, and key links to global trade routes. They also have long histories of independence, separate languages, and distinct religions.</p>



<p>That independence is precisely what Beijing wants to eliminate.</p>



<p><strong>Language and Identity Under Pressure</strong></p>



<p>One of the most powerful mechanisms in the new law is language.</p>



<p>The legislation strengthens the role of Mandarin Chinese in education while weakening the status of minority languages. Schools and universities will increasingly require Mandarin as the language of instruction. Minority languages will be pushed to the margins.</p>



<p>Critics say this is devastating for cultural survival. Language is the backbone of identity, history, and religious tradition.</p>



<p>Without it, cultures collapse.</p>



<p>Advocates for the Uyghur community warned that the law ensures that “Uyghurs, Tibetans, and Mongolians will no longer be entitled to use their native languages for subjects in schools and universities.” Instead, they say, these communities will be forced to adopt Mandarin as part of what they describe as a campaign to assimilate ethnic minorities into Han Chinese society.</p>



<p><strong>Marriage as a Tool of Assimilation</strong></p>



<p>Another striking feature of the law is its treatment of marriage.</p>



<p>The legislation prohibits individuals or organizations from interfering with marriages based on religious or ethnic identity. In practice, this removes barriers to marriages between Han Chinese and minority populations.</p>



<p>Officials frame the policy as protecting individual freedom.</p>



<p>But critics say it is part of a deliberate strategy to dissolve minority communities over time.</p>



<p>Aaron Glasserman of the University of Pennsylvania explains that local officials will face pressure to ensure such marriages proceed even if families or religious leaders object.</p>



<p>“This law is making it harder for that informal process to play out,” he said, referring to situations where communities might try to preserve cultural boundaries.</p>



<p>Over time, critics say, the result is predictable. Distinct ethnic identities become diluted and eventually vanish.</p>



<p><strong>Children Taught Loyalty to the Party</strong></p>



<p>The law also reaches deep into family life.</p>



<p>Parents are required to “educate and guide minors to love the Chinese Communist Party.” That requirement goes beyond cultural assimilation. It embeds political loyalty into childhood education.</p>



<p>For minority communities that already feel under intense pressure from the state, this adds another layer of control.Identity, language, religion, and now even family upbringing must align with the ideology of the Communist Party.</p>



<p><strong>The Sinicization Campaign</strong></p>



<p>The new law is also tied to a broader ideological effort championed by Chinese leader Xi Jinping.</p>



<p>Xi has repeatedly called for the “Sinicisation of religion.” Under this policy, religious beliefs and practices must conform to what the Communist Party defines as Chinese cultural values.</p>



<p>Experts say the ethnic unity law codifies this vision.</p>



<p>Aaron Glasserman says the government is now turning existing policies into permanent law.</p>



<p>“Whether it is the promotion of Mandarin or the restrictions on expression of ethnic minority identity, religious practices and so forth, the regime is saying that all that stuff we did is correct.”</p>



<p>In other words, what had once been policy is now being elevated to a basic legal principle.</p>



<p><strong>Regions Already Under Pressure</strong></p>



<p>For many minority communities, the law simply formalizes a system they have already been living under.</p>



<p>In Xinjiang, home to the Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslim groups, the United Nations and human rights organizations say more than one million people have been detained in camps.</p>



<p>The Chinese government calls them centers for “re education” and vocational training. Reports have also described heavy restrictions on religious practice and the closure of mosques.</p>



<p>In Tibet, monasteries are tightly controlled and children under 18 must study Mandarin in government schools instead of Buddhist texts.</p>



<p>In Inner Mongolia, protests erupted when authorities restricted the teaching of the Mongolian language. In Ningxia, officials ordered the demolition of Muslim mosques.</p>



<p>Each of these policies has chipped away at minority identity.</p>



<p>The new law gives the state an even stronger legal foundation to continue that process.</p>



<p><strong>Fear, Violence, and Control</strong></p>



<p>Beijing argues that strong measures are necessary to prevent separatism and violence.</p>



<p>Officials point to several attacks over the past two decades, including clashes between Uyghurs and Han Chinese in 2009 that left nearly 200 people dead.</p>



<p>Other attacks linked to Uyghur separatists targeted Tiananmen Square in 2013 and a train station in Yunnan Province in 2014.</p>



<p>But critics say the government’s response has gone far beyond security. They argue that Beijing is using the threat of separatism to justify the systematic dismantling of entire cultures.</p>



<p><strong>A Crushing of Cultural Diversity</strong></p>



<p>Human Rights Watch researcher Yalkun Uluyol says the law formalizes a sweeping ideological campaign that reaches into every corner of society.</p>



<p>He says it “formalises an ideological framework related to a ‘common consciousness of the Chinese nation’ across education, religion, history, culture, tourism, mass media and the internet.”</p>



<p>The policy will even shape urban planning and economic development. In other words, the government is not simply trying to manage ethnic tensions.</p>



<p>It is trying to reshape identity itself.</p>



<p><strong>The Fate of China’s Minority Cultures</strong></p>



<p>China’s parliament is expected to approve the law with little debate. The National People’s Congress is not designed to challenge Communist Party policy. Once passed, the legislation will mark another step in Xi Jinping’s effort to consolidate political and cultural control across the country. For minority communities, the implications are stark.</p>



<p>Languages will fade. Religious traditions will be constrained. Cultural customs will be diluted. And over time, entire identities may disappear.</p>



<p>China will still officially claim to have 56 ethnic groups. But if critics are right, the reality will be very different, one dominant culture will remain.</p>



<p>The other 55 will slowly be absorbed into it.</p>



<p></p>

China’s Ethnic Unity Law: 56 Ethnicities Reduced to One
