Several Taiwanese scholars attended a forum in Taipei to discuss the implications of the new Chinese law.
TAIPEI, Taiwan—China’s sweeping new law on “ethnic unity” went into effect on July 1, a move a Taiwanese scholar says is part of Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s effort to lay the political groundwork for extending his rule beyond 2027.
Fan Shih-ping, a professor at National Taiwan Normal University’s Graduate Institute of Political Science, made the remarks during a July 1 forum hosted by the Asia-Pacific Elite Interchange Association that focused on the law and its implications.
Officially called the “Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress Law,” it provides a legal basis for advancing a Beijing-defined “shared” national identity and bans acts that “undermine ethnic unity” or “incite ethnic divisions.”
Critics argue that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could use the law to increase pressure on minority groups and, through its extraterritorial jurisdiction clause, extend enforcement abroad.
Despite the law’s broad scope, Fan argued that it was designed specifically for Taiwan, even though the word “Taiwan” appears only twice in the text. He said that regions under the CCP’s control—particularly Xinjiang and Hong Kong—are “relatively stable,” so there is no need for Beijing to introduce this new law there.
“I think the basis of legitimacy for Xi Jinping’s continued term at the 21st Party Congress is, in my view, incorporating Taiwan into the framework of promoting ethnic unity,” Fan said.
The Chinese regime’s oppressive tactics against Uyghurs in Xinjiang have been characterized by the U.S. government as constituting crimes against humanity and genocide.
In Hong Kong, the CCP imposed a draconian national security law in 2020 to suppress dissidents following months of pro-democracy protests that began in June 2019.
Xi, who came to power in 2012, secured an unprecedented third five-year term as the CCP’s secretary general following the 20th National Congress in 2022. He is widely expected to seek a fourth five-year term at the 21st National Congress in 2027.
The CCP considers self-governing Taiwan a renegade province, despite never having governed the island. In a July 1 speech marking the founding of the Chinese Communist Party 105 years ago, Xi reiterated his goal of resolving what he called the “Taiwan question,” describing it as the “shared aspiration of all Chinese people.”
The CCP has never renounced the use of military forces to seize Taiwan, and it is rapidly advancing its military capabilities for a potential invasion of the island.
Chen Yu-jie, an associate research professor at Academia Sinica’s Institutum Iurisprudentiae, echoed Fan’s remarks during the forum. She pointed out that Xi had chaired a meeting of the Politburo, which is the CCP’s top decision-making body, to review the law’s draft in August 2025.
“You can see the top leader sees this law as very important. This is very, very rare—where the top leader discusses the content of the law with the Communist Party’s Politburo,” Chen said.
Chen added that Xi’s push for the new law could be seen as a proactive step following his use of repressive tactics in Xinjiang and Hong Kong.
“In Xi Jinping’s view, one of the most important underlying risks to national security throughout his time in power lies in ethnic issues, which he sees as rooted in groups that cannot be assimilated,” Chen said.
In Taiwan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement on July 1 condemning China for enacting the law.
“China is attempting to exercise long-arm jurisdiction and transnational repression, thereby expanding its threats against and intimidation of the people of Taiwan and other countries, while seriously infringing on the sovereignty of all nations and violating international human rights,” the statement reads.
By Frank Fang
