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Taiwan Condemns China's New Law Targeting Overseas Critics
🇫🇮 Finland /Technology

Taiwan Condemns China's New Law Targeting Overseas Critics

From Helsingin Sanomat · () Finnish

Translated from Finnish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Sources not specified New plan
  • China enacted a new ethnic unity law allowing authorities to act against critics abroad.
  • The law permits action against individuals and organizations outside China deemed to threaten ethnic unity or create division.
  • Taiwan condemned the law, warning its citizens face risks when traveling to China.

Taiwan has strongly condemned China's new ethnic unity law, which grants Beijing the authority to take action against critics living abroad. The law, effective Wednesday, allows Chinese authorities under Article 63 to target organizations and individuals outside China who "threaten ethnic unity" or "create ethnic division."

In the future, citizens of any country whose words or actions China does not approve of may be targeted or persecuted under the law.

— Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign AffairsTaiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement condemning the new Chinese law.

Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that citizens of any country whose words or actions China disapproves of could face action or persecution under the law. Beijing considers Taiwan its own territory and has threatened force to annex the island. The Mainland Affairs Council in Taiwan warned that Taiwanese already face significant risks traveling to China and that Beijing now has "another new law under which it can fabricate new charges."

Chinese Vice Minister of Justice Hu Weilie defended the law last week, calling it "legal, necessary, and effective." The legislation is part of President Xi Jinping's policy to assimilate ethnic minorities into the dominant Han Chinese culture, which comprises over 90% of China's 1.4 billion population. The law mandates Mandarin Chinese instruction for all children from kindergarten through high school, a shift from previous policies where students could study most of their curriculum in their native languages like Tibetan, Uyghur, or Mongolian.

another new law under which it can fabricate new charges

— Taiwan's Mainland Affairs CouncilTaiwan's Mainland Affairs Council warned about the implications of the new law for Taiwanese citizens.

Human rights organizations report that one million Uyghur Muslims have been sent to "re-education camps" in the Xinjiang region. The UN has accused China of severe human rights violations, and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk has urged China to repeal the law. Members of the European Parliament have warned that if the law targets European citizens, it could have "serious consequences for EU-China relations."

legal, necessary, and effective

— Hu WeilieChina's Vice Minister of Justice defended the new ethnic unity law.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Helsingin Sanomat in Finnish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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