China’s Ethnic Unity Law extends legal reach to Taiwan, diaspora

Taiwan’s government and overseas ethnic groups have raised concerns after China implemented the Law on Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress this month, warning it forces Taiwanese people to accept Beijing’s political framework and threatens minority communities well beyond China’s borders.

Passed by the National People’s Congress on March 12, the law took effect on July 1. On July 2, Cho Jung-tai, premier of Taiwan’s Executive Yuan, warned that Beijing has built an expanding network of laws with extraterritorial reach, including the Anti-Secession Law, the Counter-Espionage Law, and the Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law, aimed at forcing Taiwanese people to accept Beijing’s political framework.

Cho said the Ethnic Unity Law extends that network farther. He announced the Executive Yuan would set up a cross-agency platform to counter transnational repression while expanding cooperation with allied democracies.

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