An academic at Cornell University says that if, as expected, the current session of China’s National People’s Congress acts to enforce CCP-favored linguistic (Mandarin) and cultural (Han) norms, this would deviate from the country’s constitution. Oh?
“The Chinese constitution says clearly (General Principles, Article 4): ‘All ethnic groups shall have the freedom to use and develop their own spoken and written languages.’ The new law now to be enacted, ‘Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress,’ openly contradicts the constitution,” says Magnus Fiskesjö, associate professor of anthropology.
“The law is consistent with a dramatic recent policy shift, to suppress the ethnic diversity formally recognized since 1949” (Cornell College of Arts and Sciences, March 10, 2025).
Would the formal recognition of ethnic diversity since 1949 include the invasion of Tibet and destruction of Tibetan monasteries shortly after the promulgating of this constitution?
But Fiskesjö also says:
“The next step may be the formal abolishment of ‘ethnic minorities’ as such—as long advocated by radical elements inside the Chinese regime.
“This is already being put in practice through measures such as the mass family separations in the Uyghur and Tibetan regions and beyond. The children of the next generation are now isolated and brutally forced to forget their own language and culture—an openly genocidal policy directly parallel to the atrocious Indian boarding schools of North America’s past.”
The professor states that modern Chinese history has seen periods of relative laxity in enforcing assimilationist mandates but that the usual approach has been stricter.
“Beijing’s approach to governing these non-Han ethnicities has been unwavering since 1949. They must support the PRC’s national unity and bolster its territorial integrity. The way Beijing has ensured such a commitment has varied. There have been periods when emphasis was placed on respecting the autonomy of non-Han peoples. But more often, a premium has been placed on assimilation. This has been especially so over the last decade.
“If approved, the ‘Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress’ law will further entrench this trend by placing an even greater emphasis on assimilation. The law makes it clearer than ever that in President Xi Jinping’s PRC non-Han peoples must do more to integrate themselves with the Han majority, and above all else be loyal to Beijing.”
If Fiskesjö has misspoken in part, the rest of what he says enables us to get the picture.
The fact that something or other is stated about rights in the Chinese constitution doesn’t tell us much by itself. There’s “the law” as spelled out in China’s constitution and “the law” as enforced by the state’s everyday policies, which might not even somewhat reflect constitutional promises.
Also, the wording of the constitution may include contradictions with what it seems to be laying down. This too is from Article 4: “The state shall, in light of the characteristics and needs of all ethnic minorities, assist all ethnic minority areas in accelerating their economic and cultural development. All areas inhabited by ethnic minorities shall practice regional autonomy, establish autonomous organs, and exercise the power to self-govern. All ethnic autonomous areas are inseparable parts of the People’s Republic of China.”
Accelerated development
Why would Tibetans, Uyghurs, Christians, practitioners of Falun Gong, or members of any other CCP-targeted minorities need the help of the Party to “accelerate” their economic or cultural development? What if the direction in which cultural development is to be “accelerated” is toward the culture of the Han majority? And given the nature of the Chinese Communist Party and its totalitarian rule, how are “regional autonomy,” “autonomous organs,” and “power to self-govern” consistent with being inseparably a part of the People’s Republic of China?
Associated Press quotes Lou Qinjian, spokesman for the National People’s Congress, who says that once the new law governing ethnic minorities is ratified by the Congress, “we will work to implement it thoroughly and advance Chinese-style modernization through the great unity of the Chinese nation.”
AP says that the new law is expected to further reduce the autonomy of members of minority groups. Who are already often being imprisoned and murdered.
Also see:
Uyghur Times: “China Enacts Sweeping Secrecy Law in Uyghur Region to Silence Witnesses and Bury Evidence of Crimes”
“From March 1, a new law is in effect in Uyghur region—and it tells government workers what they cannot say, where they cannot travel, and who they cannot talk to, for the rest of their lives if necessary….
“[Yalkun Uluyol with Human Rights Watch:] ‘China has a state secret law. But Xinjiang authorities had to enact a new one to hide its crimes against humanity.’…
“Notably, aggregated data can be considered classified even when individual data pieces within it are not. This could impact a lot of information previously used by researchers.”
