Beijing: China has passed a new ‘ethnic unity’ law that mandates Mandarin education for children from early schooling through high school, a move that authorities say will promote national integration but critics argue could weaken minority languages and cultures.
The legislation was approved during the closing session of China’s annual National People’s Congress in Beijing. The law has been presented as part of broader policies designed to strengthen unity among the country’s 56 officially recognised ethnic groups, with the Han Chinese majority forming the largest population group.
Under the new ‘ethnic unity’ law, all children must learn Mandarin before entering kindergarten and continue studying in the language throughout their schooling. Previously, students in several minority regions could study most subjects in their native languages, including Tibetan, Uyghur and Mongolian.
Chinese authorities have said that wider use of Mandarin will improve job opportunities and support economic development. Beijing has also stated that the policy will promote modernisation through stronger national cohesion.
Magnus Fiskesjö, associate professor of anthropology at Cornell University, said that, “The law is consistent with a dramatic recent policy shift to suppress ethnic diversity formally recognised since 1949.” Fiskesjö added that, “The children of the next generation are now isolated and brutally forced to forget their own language and culture.”
The law also introduces legal provisions allowing authorities to prosecute parents or guardians who promote views considered harmful to ethnic harmony. It further calls for the development of what it describes as “mutually embedded community environments”.
Some analysts believe these provisions could lead to policies that reshape neighbourhoods where minority populations have traditionally lived together. China has pursued policies described as the “sinicisation” of minority communities since the late 2000s, aiming to create a more unified national identity centred on the dominant Han culture.
Han Chinese account for more than 90 percent of China’s population of about 1.4 billion people. Beijing has faced long standing criticism over its treatment of ethnic minorities in regions including Tibet, Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia. Critics have argued that assimilation policies in these areas have intensified under President Xi Jinping.
In Tibet, authorities have arrested monks and increased oversight of monasteries to ensure religious practices do not include worship of the Dalai Lama.
Observers have said the ‘ethnic unity’ law represents a significant step in China’s broader strategy to reshape ethnic policy and strengthen central control over culturally distinct regions.
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