China’s National Unity Law is expected to be implemented on July 1. (Reuters)
China passed the "Law of the People's Republic of China on the Promotion of Ethnic Unity and Progress" on March 12, which is expected to be implemented on July 1, triggering heated discussions in international public opinion. Shirakawaji, deputy secretary-general of Japan's Liberal Democratic Party Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly group, jumped out to warn that this new law not only strengthens the oppression of China's ethnic minorities and dissidents, but also provides a "legitimate license" for suppressing critics of China overseas. In the future, even foreigners, including Japanese, may be prosecuted just for saying "support Taiwan."
Today (21st), Shirakawaji wrote an letter to the well-known Japanese business magazine "PRESIDENT" (プレジデント), talking about China's National Unity Law, which will be officially launched next Wednesday. The law includes a preface and 7 chapters with a total of 65 articles. It positions the strengthening of the "consciousness of the Chinese nation's community" as the task of the country as a whole. It regulates a wide range of areas, covering education, language, publishing, the Internet, corporate activities, religion, and external publicity. It also brings Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, and overseas Chinese into a unified control structure.
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Shirakawa pointed out that the core provisions of the law have three main focuses, namely the institutionalization of Mandarin in education, administration and the public sphere, and the exclusion of "language integration" of minority languages such as Uyghur, Tibetan, and Mongolian; the "criminalization of cultural dissent" that puts activities that protect minority cultures or languages at risk of being deemed "separatism"; and the "overseas application clause" (Article 63 of the law) that provides legal authorization for overseas suppression of anti-China individuals.
Shirakawa bluntly said that Article 63 of the National Unity Law is the most terrifying and serious part of the entire law. This clause shows that the real goal of the CCP is not to strengthen internal stability, but to countries outside China. “When I saw this law, I immediately thought of the “Hong Kong Version of the National Security Law” implemented by China in Hong Kong in 2020. . Because the two laws have many things in common, such as the use of vaguely defined terms such as "secession", "subversion" and "terrorist activities", which regard different opinions or criticism of the government as crimes, and both laws have "extraterritorial application clauses" that can punish the speech and actions of foreigners. "
"But there is a decisive difference between the two laws: the Hong Kong version of the National Security Law was enacted after the anti-extradition movement in Hong Kong in 2019 to suppress and clean up the mess afterwards, but this is not the case with the National Unity Law. The Chinese government's repressive policies against ethnic minorities have actually been going on for many years, including setting up re-education camps, canceling local language education, demolishing religious sites, etc. There is no need at all. Then enact laws to implement them. In this case, why does China need to legislate? I think China’s purpose is to institutionalize this repressive method and make it a long-term national policy, and further extend its legal influence to other countries, including Japan. If the Hong Kong version of the National Security Law is a law used to block a region, then the National Unity Law is a law that bans certain ideas globally.”
Citing data from reports by the international human rights organization Safeguard Defenders and investigations by the U.S. FBI, Shirakawa pointed out that Chinese local public security units have set up at least 102 overseas secret police bases in 53 countries around the world, including Japan (such as Akihabara, Tokyo), to monitor international students, anti-establishment individuals, or to persuade them to return. In the past, there was a lack of clear regulations for such activities, but with the entry into force of Article 63 of the National Unity Law, Beijing will be able to claim that its overseas law enforcement has a domestic legal basis in the future.
Shirakawa also warned that in the future, foreigners may not only get into trouble if they criticize China, but may also be arrested for saying "support Taiwan." "This law focuses on strengthening the awareness of the Chinese nation's community. It not only targets China, but also clearly includes Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, and even overseas Chinese under the same control framework. Under this law, as long as there are comments or actions that support Taiwan's independence, they may be arrested. The Chinese government regards it as "national separatist activities" and will be held accountable according to law. Theoretically, even if the Japanese express support for Taiwan in Japan, they may be considered a crime by China due to the extraterritorial application of Article 63. For Xi Jinping, who is preparing to invade Taiwan by force, the National Unity Law not only provides a legal basis for the military reunification of Taiwan, but also serves to silence opposition voices from the international community."
