(TibetanReview.net, Sep10’25) – China’s National People’s Congress (NPC), or parliament, has reviewed two legislative proposals on Sep 8 to ramp up a drive to promote further ethnic integration through the use of standard Chinese – both the spoken and written language – among minority groups. The aim appears to be to make the People’s Republic of China (PRC), with 55 recognized ethnic minority groups, a Mandarin-speaking monolith to achieve President Xi Jinping’s grand “unified national identity” design.
The revisions come amid ongoing international scrutiny of Beijing’s policies towards ethnic minorities, especially regarding Tibet and Xinjiang, where the government has intensified efforts to assimilate minority populations by regulating language and culture, noted the scmp.com Sep 10.
The draft “Law on Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress”, submitted to the NPC Standing Committee, is “an urgent requirement to foster a strong sense of community among the Chinese nation and advance the construction of a unified national identity”, the report cited state news agency Xinhua as saying Sep 8.
In seven chapters – covering shared cultural identity, social integration, economic development, oversight and legal responsibilities – the legislation is stated to emphasize promoting inter-ethnic exchanges through cultural, educational and tourism initiatives.
The third plenum of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, which took took place in Jul 2024, explicitly called for this law to enhance institutions fostering national cohesion, noted the scmp.com report.
Then, just recently, on Aug 29, a Politburo meeting chaired by President Xi discussed a draft of the law, during which authorities stressed the need to “strengthen the common ideological and political foundation of ethnic unity, uphold the party’s leadership, and follow the correct Chinese path to solving ethnic issues”, the report cited the Xinhua as reporting.
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Also on Sep 8, another draft revision to the “Law on the Standard Spoken and Written Chinese Language” introduced comprehensive measures – with 32 clauses in five chapters – to standardize and promote the use of standard Chinese across all sectors. This includes public service, education, international communication and even digital spaces, which have become a battleground for language regulation, said the scmp.com report.
The legislative proposals do not apply to regional or ethnic variations of standard Chinese, meaning, it especially targets the written and spoken languages of the PRC’s ethnic minorities.
“The national standard spoken and written language, formed through interactions among all ethnic groups, is a fundamental element of Chinese culture and a key symbol of the nation, just like the flag, anthem and emblem,” the Xinhua report was quoted as saying.
Referring to the nature and sweep of the new law, Barry Sautman, a specialist on China’s ethnic minority groups and professor emeritus at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, has said the draft revision “seems to show intent to ensure that all documents, packaging, public displays, et cetera are made in the national language”.
“International exhibitions and conferences held within the country that genuinely require the use of foreign languages should also use the national common language,” the draft is stated to read.
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The drafts are part of President Xi’s long-standing ethnic minority policies to build “a sense of community of the Chinese nation”, first introduced in 2014 and reaffirmed in a key meeting in 2021, the report noted.
The report cited critics as arguing that the assimilation risks eroding local cultures, as seen in regions like Inner Mongolia, where measures include the compulsory use of standard Chinese as the teaching language in schools, censorship of art and cultural works, and repealing local laws that do not align with the ethnic affairs policy. This is also true of the situation in Tibet where schools now teach all subjects in Chinese, with only basic Tibetan being taught as a language subject at primary level, if at all, while private Tibetan language and culture coaching is banned and, in fact, criminalized.
The current law on the use of the national language and writing system was introduced in 2001 – and more than 80% of PRC’s population now speaks Mandarin. More than 95% of literate adults use proper Chinese characters, and the illiteracy rate has dropped to about 2.7% Xinhua has reported.
However, challenges remain, including “uneven promotion” of the national language, “insufficient regulation” in public services and cyberspace, and a need to better adapt to digital and intelligent development, the report was cited as saying.
Scmp.com cited another report on Sep 8 from the state-run China News Service as saying the revised draft bolsters legal principles by adding the goal of “strengthening the awareness of the Chinese nation’s community and consolidating cultural confidence” to the legislative objectives.