ROC President Lai Ching-te has reportedly warned that mainland China’s new Ethnic Unity Law “could enable cross-border repression and create a chilling effect throughout the international community, including in Taiwan” (Taipei Times, July 2, 2026).
Could enable?
President William Lai [shown above, left] yesterday said that “Taiwan will not accept ‘red terror,’ ” as he outlined countermeasures against China’s Law on Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress.
The law, passed by the Chinese National People’s Congress in March and which went into effect yesterday, requires all Chinese citizens to uphold national unification.
Critics in Taiwan have said it aims to strengthen the identification of Taiwanese as members of the “Chinese nation.”
It also states that people or organizations, inside or outside China, who undermine ethnic unity or promote ethnic division can be held legally liable, without clearly identifying what kind of conduct falls under those categories….
The nation would work with like-minded partners to deepen international engagement, jointly counter cross-border repression and highlight human rights concerns involving the CCP, while making Taiwan’s position heard globally to push back against Chinese pressure and defend the nation’s sovereignty and dignity, Lai said.
Enactment of the Ethnic Unity Law has called attention to the PRC’s attacks on people within other countries, including the Republic of China. But the Chinese Communist Party is already engaged—has already enabled itself to engage—in cross-border repression or what is often called transnational repression. Inadequate and too often nonexistent international resistance has also been enabling. The law may encourage more, and more brazen, cross-border repression and at least affirms the CCP’s determination to keep doing what it’s doing. Perhaps it will also provoke greater resistance.
Taipei Times: “The Chinese Communist Party has already carried out more than 110 cases of cross-border pressure against Taiwan, and is likely to broaden such measures to pressure Taiwanese into yielding to its authoritarian system, [Lai] said.”
If what’s past is prologue, the CCP is indeed likely to keep broadening such measures. But this would have been true even without publication of one particular piece of propaganda stressing the fact that Beijing is not kidding around.
Also see:
Taipei Times: “Cho announces plans to counter ‘ethnic unity’ law”
“Premier Cho Jung-tai yesterday announced the establishment of a cross-agency platform to counter transnational repression in response to China’s new ‘ethnic unity’ law….
“According to the MAC [Mainland Affairs Council], China’s new ‘ethnic unity’ law is, in effect, a ‘unification law’ disguised under the banner of ‘ethnic unity.’ The MAC said the law unilaterally imposes legal obligations on Taiwanese to ‘safeguard ethnic unity’ and support unification.”
WION: Video: “Xi Commits to Resolve ‘Taiwan Question’ and Achieve Complete Reunification [sic] of China”
