Chinas Xi Using Ethnic Unity Law to Build Legitimacy for Continued Rule, Taiwan Scholar Says

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.Chen Yu-jie, an associate research professor at Academia Sinica’s Institutum Iurisprudentiae, attends a forum hosted by the Asia-Pacific Elite Interchange Association in Taipei, Taiwan, on July 1, 2026. Sung Pi-lung/The Epoch TimesIn 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.WarningsLiang Wen-chieh, spokesperson and deputy head of Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council (MAC), a government agency that handles cross-strait affairs, also took part in the forum. He said Beijing’s new law fails to clearly and objectively define what constitutes acts that “undermine ethnic unity” or “incite ethnic divisions.”“This style of legislation is a consistent feature of the Chinese Communist Party’s legal system,” Liang said. “By relying on these vague legal concepts, its fundamental purpose is not to uphold the rule of law, but rather to create political intimidation and fear, thereby forcing the public into a chilling effect where people censor themselves out of fear.”In other words, the CCP could potentially use this law to persecute people who support human rights in Xinjiang or advocate maintaining the current status quo across the Taiwan Strait, Liang added. In a March poll of 1,138 respondents conducted by the MAC, 58 percent said they prefer to maintain the status quo—either indefinitely or by postponing a decision on independence or unification. By contrast, 1.5 percent supported unification with China as soon as possible, while 7.4 percent favored an immediate declaration of independence.The law, Liang said, is another “legal weapon” Beijing could use to target Taiwanese people and expand its capacity to carry out transnational repression.Liang warned that he expected cases under the new law to arise soon and urged Taiwanese people to be mindful of risks and their safety when traveling to China. “[China] needs to have some concrete cases to show that it is serious [about implementing the law],” Liang said.Liang Wen-chieh, spokesperson and deputy head of Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council, attends a forum hosted by the Asia-Pacific Elite Interchange Association in Taipei, Taiwan, on July 1, 2026. Sung Pi-lung/The Epoch TimesOn the question of risks, Chen pointed to a particular provision of the law, Article 60, which requires companies and institutions to stop any behavior on their premises that is perceived as undermining “ethnic unity and progress,” and failure to act could lead to penalties for managers and other responsible personnel under the law.Chen said the provision would effectively add another layer of risk for Taiwanese businesses in China, extending beyond corporate conduct to include internal activities and employee behavior.Should Taiwanese companies be asked by suppliers to issue compliance statements—such as confirming they do not source from Xinjiang due to forced-labor risks—they could be accused of violating the new law, Chen added.Another provision, Article 31, bans individuals and organizations from disseminating content that undermines “ethnic unity and progress.” Chen said this could mean Taiwanese individuals may be at risk of violating the law if they share materials expressing opposition to the CCP’s rule.“These questions have no clear answers. As a result, these risks may lead individuals to engage in self-censorship,” Chen said.‘Unification Law’In a press release issued on July 2, the MAC described the new Chinese law as a “unification law” disguised under the banner of “ethnic unity,” saying it imposes a legal obligation on all Taiwanese to pursue unification with China. The council also said the law marks a new phase in Beijing’s legal warfare against Taiwan, shifting from “opposing Taiwan independence” to “forced unification.”A prominent example of the CCP’s ongoing legal warfare, which the Taiwan government has actively challenged, is Beijing’s claim that its “one-China principle” derives its legal basis from the United Nations General Assembly Resolution 2758.Fan Shih-ping, a professor at National Taiwan Normal University’s Graduate Institute of Political Science, attends a forum hosted by the Asia-Pacific Elite Interchange Association in Taipei, Taiwan, on July 1, 2026. Sung Pi-lung/The Epoch TimesWhile the MAC labeled it a “unification law,” Fan argued at the forum that Beijing is likely to eventually introduce a separate “national unification law.”Under such a unification law, Fan argued that Beijing could establish what he called a “Taiwan Special Administrative Region Preparatory Committee,” possibly led by a prominent Taiwanese figure who might also hold a seat on the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, a political advisory body in China.Fan added that there could also be additional Chinese committees preparing for how China’s security bureau would take over Taiwan’s police, and how China’s coast guard would assume control of its Taiwanese counterpart.“It is about reframing unification so that it no longer feels like a future prospect, but rather something already underway—something in progress right now—that [China] can directly take over,” Fan said.To counter Beijing’s new law, Taiwanese Premier Cho Jung-tai had instructed two Taiwanese officials to establish a Cabinet-level body called “Interagency Coordination Platform for Transnational Repression” to protect Taiwanese citizens, Cabinet spokesperson Michelle Lee said in a press conference on July 2.According to Lee, the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Justice, and the MAC would be among the agencies working together on the platform.Cho also directed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to “continue expanding cooperation with allied countries, unite international democratic forces, and jointly counter China’s aggressive actions,” Lee said.The CCP’s covert overseas police stations now pose a threat to Taiwanese citizens abroad, as well as to Taiwanese political figures traveling overseas, Wang Hsing-huan, chairman of the small Taiwan Statebuilding Party, said in a Facebook post on July 1.According to a 2022 report from Spain-based nonprofit Safeguard Defenders, the Chinese regime had established more than 100 overseas police stations in 53 countries. Wang called on the Taiwanese government to launch a national security operation to uncover any such Chinese police stations in Taiwan. He also urged the international community to enact counter-legislation to enable sanctions against any CCP officials, diplomats, or overseas secret police involved in enforcing the new Chinese law.