China - September 2025

On 8 September, the draft Law on Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress was submitted to the National People’s Congress (legislature). The proposed law alters China’s legal framework governing minority rights, introducing mandatory requirements in education, housing and family life that promote a ‘common consciousness of the Chinese nation.’ The law standardizes the use of Mandarin across all sectors, removing key protections under the 1984 Regional Ethnic Autonomy Law, which allowed minorities to ‘use and develop their own spoken and written languages.’ For example, Mandarin must now ‘take the lead’ and accompany all official documents issued in native languages and is mandated in schools starting from pre-school. Additionally, it criminalizes acts deemed to ‘damage ethnic unity.’ Rights experts have warned that the legal framework will serve to justify the intensified repression of minorities in China, including Tibetans, Mongolians, Uyghurs and diaspora activists.

Sources: Human Rights Watch, South China Morning Post, Jurist, NPC Observer,  International IDEA, ChinaAid