On new Chinese law on ‘ethnic unity and progress’ and the intensified suppression of ethnic identities

B100234/2026

European Parliament resolution on new Chinese law on ‘ethnic unity and progress’ and the intensified suppression of ethnic identities

(2026/2703(RSP))

The European Parliament,

having regard to its previous resolutions on the People’s Republic of China (PRC),

having regard to the UN General Assembly resolution 47/135 on Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities,

having regard to Rules 150(5) of its Rules of Procedure,

whereas on 12 March 2026 the PRC’s National People’s Congress adopted the new Law on Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress, to take effect on 1 July 2026, thereby codifying President Xi Jinping’s agenda of forging a singular Chinese identity displacing the earlier autonomy and cutting against China’s constitutional protections and its international obligations under the ICESCR and CRC;

whereas the new law mandates Mandarin the “basic language” of education and public affairs, reversing China’s bilingual education policies for Tibetans, Uyghurs, Mongols and others, with Article 15 in practice criminalising grassroot efforts to preserve and teach minority languages;

whereas Article 63 of the law explicitly extends Chinese jurisdiction extraterritorially, creating a “long-arm jurisdiction” that risks banning lawful identity expression, including outside of China, and Articles 20 and 54 introduce Cultural Revolution-style surveillance within families, imposing obligation to instil loyalty to communism, encouraging children to report on their parents;

whereas the law calls the “Sinicisation” of religion and culture, requiring religious venues and schools to carry out Marxist “community of the Chinese people” education and aims to dilute the social fabric of minority groups, effectively erasing cultural diversity in favour of forced homogeneity;

Condemns the PRC’s Law on Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress as a draconian forced-assimilation measure providing a statutory basis for policies violating cultural, religious and linguistic rights; considers these to constitute a systematic attempt to impose forced homogeneity;

Expresses grave concern that Article 15 of the law may criminalise legitimate efforts to preserve and promote minorities’ languages and identities, thereby undermining their fundamental rights and PRC’s international obligations; deplores the extraterritorial provisions of the law representing a form of transnational repression;

Denounces the increasing restriction of religious practices through policies of “Sinicisation”, which subject religious expression to political control, thereby dismantling freedom of religion, and theinterference in the recognition of Tibetan Buddhist leaders, including the Dalai Lama; calls for the resumption of Sino-Tibetan dialogue stalled since 2010;

Urges the Government of the PRC to reverse the policies of forced assimilation and to ensure full compliance with its constitutional guarantees and international human rights obligations and fundamental freedoms, including rights of minorities to preserve and develop their language, culture and identity;

Urges the Council to make use of the EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime against officials responsible for implementing these policies;

Requests that the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights report on the impact of the law on minority communities;

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the VP/HR, the governments of all Member States, the Government of the PRC, and to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.