As Hong Kong marks handover anniversary, new ethnic unity law will codify and escalate China’s “sinicization of religion” policy
(LONDON, June 30, 2026)–A wide-ranging new law on “promoting ethnic unity and progress,” which takes effect across China on July 1, 2026, will serve as a tool for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in its “sinicization of religion” campaign and result in serious violations of freedom of religion or belief, cultural rights, and other human rights for ethnic and religious communities, Fortify Rights said today.
The law, which was promulgated by the National People’s Congress in March 2026, puts in place new measures aimed at forcibly assimilating non-Han Chinese ethnic and religious communities, through enforcing mandatory use of Mandarin Chinese in education from pre-school to high school, restrictions on the use of indigenous languages, the promotion of CCP propaganda and indoctrination, and directions for religious institutions to adapt practises in line with CCP teachings.
“This new law is not, despite its name, about achieving ethnic unity or progress, but about tightening the Chinese Communist Party’s ideological and political grip on ethnic and religious communities, particularly Tibetan Buddhists, Uyghur Muslims, Christians and Falun Gong practitioners, suppressing diversity and silencing dissent,”said Benedict Rogers, Senior Director at Fortify Rights. “It takes effect on the same day that Hong Kong marks the 29th anniversary of the handover of the city to China, and the sixth anniversary of the imposition of the draconian National Security Law by Beijing on Hong Kong, and is the latest initiative in the Chinese Communist Party’s increasing repression across China.”
In April 2026, eight U.N. special rapporteurs expressed concerns in a letter to the Chinese government, stating that the new law “risks imposing limitations on a range of human rights in ways that would run counter to China’s obligations under international human rights law.” Furthermore, in the same month, the European Parliament passed a resolution urging China to repeal the law.
Under the law, schools and other educational institutions will be required to teach in Mandarin, with minority languages such as Tibetan, Uyghur, and Cantonese being subordinate. Given the forcible transfer of millions of Tibetan and Uyghur children from their homes into boarding schools where they are indoctrinated with CCP ideology, Mandarin language, and denied the right to practice their religion or culture or speak their language, there are concerns that this law will be used in a forced assimilation campaign to further restrict the right of ethnic groups to use their native languages or celebrate their cultural practices.
Article 46 of the law requires religious groups “to carry out publicity and education on forging a strong sense of the community of the Chinese people, persist in the direct sinicization of our nation’s religions, guide religions to adapt to socialist society, guide religious professionals and believers to carry forward the tradition of patriotism.” This will further undermine the basic right to freedom of religion or belief and lead to increased coercion and co-option of religious groups by the CCP, said Fortify Rights.
The new law may also be used as a tool in the CCP’s expanding transnational repression campaign against critics and diaspora communities abroad. Article 10 states that “matters of ethnic unity and progress are not to be interfered with by foreign forces. All acts using excuses such as ethnicity, religion, or human rights to insult or disparage, contain and suppress, or infiltrate and undermine the PRC [People’s Republic of China] are to be resolutely opposed.” Furthermore, Article 63 states that “organizations and individuals outside the [mainland] territory of the PRC that commit acts aimed at the PRC that undermine ethnic unity and progress or create ethnic division are to be pursued for legal responsibility in accordance with the law.”
The new law is inconsistent with China’s obligations under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which protects cultural rights and the right to education, and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which protects children’s rights to enjoy their own culture, practice their religion, and use their own language. Furthermore, although China has signed but not ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the Covenant protects the rights to freedom of religion or belief, freedom of expression, and the rights of ethnic, religious, and linguistic minorities. Article 27 of the ICCPR states:
In those States in which ethnic, religious or linguistic minorities exist, persons belonging to such minorities shall not be denied the right, in community with the other members of their group, to enjoy their own culture, to profess and practise their own religion, or to use their own language.
In a separate development, earlier this month the Hong Kong government enacted a regulation granting the Chief Executive authority to certify any criminal case as a national security matter, with immediate and binding effect on Hong Kong courts. The Safeguarding National Security Regulation was enacted under section 110 of the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance, a local security law which was introduced in 2024 to supplement the National Security Law imposed by Beijing on June 30, 2000. The enactment of these new powers for the Chief Executive further politicizes the criminal justice system, undermining the rule of law and independence of the judiciary.
Fortify Rights continues to advocate for the release of all political prisoners in Hong Kong, including media entrepreneur Jimmy Lai, barrister Chow Hang-tung, trade unionist Lee Cheuk-yan, and academic Benny Tai, and for the release of all those in China jailed for protected religious activities, such as Pastor Ezra Jin Mingri, or for promoting cultural understanding, such as Chinese student Tara Zhang Yadi.
“As we mark the 29th anniversary of the handover of Hong Kong and the sixth anniversary of the imposition of the National Security Law, it is clear how the Chinese Communist Party has broken promises made in an international treaty, the Sino-British Joint Declaration, to uphold Hong Kong’s freedoms and autonomy, and instead imposed repressive laws which violate the basic human rights of Hong Kongers. This record, combined with the new Ethnic Unity Law in China, marks the continued deterioration of human rights across China,” said Benedict Rogers. “The international community must demand and ensure the release of hundreds of political prisoners in Hong Kong and China. If there is to be true ethnic unity and progress in China, repressive laws must be repealed, the right to freedom of religion or belief and ethnic and cultural rights must be upheld, and prisoners of conscience freed.”