cross-posted from: https://mander.xyz/post/55239239
Thirty-nine organisations representing Hong Kong, Tibetan, Uyghur, Taiwanese and other diaspora communities in Australia and around the world have issued a joint statement rejecting and strongly condemning China’s new ethnic unity law.
China’s Ethnic Unity and Progress Promotion law, which came into effect on July 1, is designed to create a “shared” national identity among the country’s 55 ethnic minority groups.
It also allows Beijing to target people overseas.
Richard Lue, founder of the Western Australian Association for Pan-Asian Democracy and a co-organiser of the statement, told the ABC the legislation could affect human rights advocates “no matter where they are, including those in Australia”.
“This law institutionalises forced assimilation within China while extending Beijing’s authoritarian reach beyond its borders,” said the joint statement published on social media on Wednesday.
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Tibetans around the world have responded in different ways to protest against the law.
In Melbourne, activists staged a 24-hour hunger strike earlier this month.
Last weekend, Tibetan activists protested outside the Chinese embassy in Canberra, calling on the Australian government to take stronger action and paying tribute to Tibetan activist Lobga Rangzen.
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Feng Chongyi, a China expert at the University of Technology Sydney, said Beijing had long pushed policies that weakened ethnic minority languages and cultures.
The new law had essentially “legitimised” the suppression of freedom of expression, he said, and made the violation of the law a “criminal offence”.
Dr Feng said an article in the new law also allowed Beijing to take legal action against overseas organisations and individuals accused of “undermining ethnic unity” or “creating ethnic division”.
“This provision is legally very vague. It is essentially a ‘pocket crime’ — a catch-all offence that can be applied to almost anything,” he said.
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Dr Bedford said if people from diaspora communities felt there might be repercussions from China for attending community events abroad, they might withdraw from these spaces, “which is exactly what China wants”.
“China wants people to censor themselves, not speak out, not speak the truth, and withdraw from any kind of community spaces that promote anything other than the Han Chinese identity,” she [Zoe Bedford, executive officer of the Australia Tibet Council] said.
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[Jane Poon, president of the community group Australia Hong Kong Link] said she and other activists would continue to protest.
“If we stop speaking out, no one will pay attention to this issue,” she said.
“As long as we are overseas and still have the space and ability to do this, we should take action.”
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