Australia raises concerns with China over new ethnic unity law targeting people overseas

The Australian government says it has raised concerns directly with China over the country's new ethnic unity law, which allows Beijing to target people overseas.

China's Ethnic Unity and Progress Promotion law, which comes into effect next week, is designed to create a "shared" national identity among the country's 55 ethnic minority groups, including Tibetans and Uyghurs.

It formalises longstanding policies to promote Mandarin as the language of education, official business and public space while criminalising "violent terrorist activities, ethnic separatist activities, or religious extremist activities".

But it also includes a clause that people and groups beyond the borders of the People's Republic of China can be held legally accountable for undermining "ethnic unity and progress or inciting ethnic separatism".

A spokesperson for Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said it had raised concerns about the law "directly with China and at the UN Human Rights Council".

"The Australian government is concerned about the human rights implications of China's Ethnic Unity Law, including its potential to curtail the rights and freedoms of individuals beyond China's borders," the spokesperson said.

"All people in Australia, regardless of citizenship, are protected by Australian law and enjoy Australian political freedoms."

The Australia Tibet Council said the law could impact Australian citizens and called on Foreign Minister Penny Wong to "take action".

"For Tibetans, this law represents a significant escalation of policies that seek to erase Tibetan identity," the council said.

Overseas clause 'distorted', vice justice minister says

Beijing's Vice Justice Minister Hu Weilie said the law was "legitimate", "lawful" and "necessary", and said the overseas provision had been "distorted and misinterpreted".

"This provision is based on China's national conditions, conforms to legal principles, and is consistent with international practice," he said.

He said the overseas provision would effectively safeguard China's sovereignty and security as well as the lawful rights and interests of people of all ethnic groups.

It would do so by targeting illegal acts and using rule-of-law methods to "guard against various unlawful acts involving ethnic affairs from outside the country", Mr Hu said.

"It will not affect normal people-to-people exchanges between China and other countries, academic discussions, economic and trade cooperation, or other activities."

European Parliament calls for law to be repealed

It has also sparked alarm in Taiwan that the ethnic unity law could give Beijing another legal basis to go after Taiwanese it views as separatists.

The European Parliament has called on the Chinese government to repeal the law, which was passed in March, warning its enforcement would lead to "serious consequences" for EU-China relations, as well as for populations originating from Tibet, Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia.

"Parliament condemns this law for encouraging assimilation policies and restricting cultural, religious, and linguistic freedoms, in contradiction with China's obligations under international law," the parliament said in a statement.

Similarly, eight United Nations human rights experts raised concerns about the new law in a letter to the Chinese government in April.

"We would like to draw attention to risks that the law on Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress could entrench a uniform approach to ethnic relations across all regions of China, thereby potentially amplifying restrictions on minority rights," it said.

"In this context, the law … could have serious implications for the linguistic, cultural, and religious autonomy of ethnic communities, including Tibetans, Uyghurs, and Mongols."