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The East Turkistan Government in Exile (ETGE) strongly criticised and rejected what it described as Beijing's so-called "Law on Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress," recently approved by the National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China on March 12, 2026.
According to the statement posted on its official platform, the ETGE claimed that although the legislation is presented as a measure to promote ethnic unity, it actually establishes a legal framework that could impose Han Chinese identity, language and culture on non-Han communities. The organisation alleged that such measures would violate international principles against racial discrimination. The group further asserted that the law expands the use of Mandarin Chinese across education, media and public life, while restricting the use of minority languages such as Uyghur, Tibetan and Mongolian. In its statement, the ETGE also accused Beijing of pursuing policies of forced assimilation, demographic restructuring and settlement programmes that it says aim to alter the cultural and ethnic composition of these regions. The statement claimed that provisions in the law criminalise actions considered to "damage ethnic unity," which the organisation said could potentially target expressions of ethnic identity, religious practice and cultural preservation among non-Han communities. It also alleged that religious institutions would be required to follow the Chinese Communist Party's policy of "Sinicization," placing religious activities under greater state oversight. The ETGE further argued that the legislation allows authorities to take action against individuals outside China if their activities are deemed to undermine "ethnic unity," which it said could affect diaspora communities, activists, scholars and journalists abroad. In the statement, Salih Hudayar, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Security of the ETGE, described the law as a plan that could threaten the identity, language and religious practices of communities in East Turkistan, Tibet, and Southern Mongolia, urging the international community to take notice. The ETGE also linked the legislation to policies implemented since 2014 under what the Chinese government calls the People's War on Terror, which it alleged has led to mass detention, forced labour and restrictions on cultural and religious practices in the region. The ETGE concluded its statement by calling on governments, international institutions and organisations worldwide to condemn the legislation, impose targeted sanctions on Chinese officials linked to the policies and support what it described as the right to self-determination for affected communities. (ANI)
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