The Chinese Communist Party’s newly enacted “Law on Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress” is not a benign piece of legislation. It is a weaponized legal instrument designed to extend Beijing’s authoritarian reach far beyond its borders. By claiming extraterritorial application, the CCP seeks to silence overseas voices who dare to criticize its ethnic policies, effectively criminalizing dissent across the globe. This is not law. It is coercion masquerading as governance.
The CCP frames this law as a mechanism to “promote ethnic unity.” In reality, it is a continuation of policies that erase cultural identity, suppress religious practice and enforce assimilation. Tibetans, Uyghurs, Mongols and other minority groups have long endured systematic oppression under the guise of “unity.” This law codifies that oppression and threatens anyone who dares to speak against it, including those living outside China’s borders.
The most alarming aspect of this legislation is its extraterritorial application. By asserting jurisdiction over overseas critics, Beijing attempts to intimidate exiled communities, activists and scholars into silence. It is a chilling reminder that the CCP does not recognize the limits of sovereignty or international law. Instead, it seeks to impose its authoritarian standards globally, punishing those who expose its abuses.
I declare unequivocally that I firmly oppose the ethnic oppression and genocide carried out by the CCP. The suffering of Tibetans and Uyghurs is not a matter of “internal affairs” but a grave violation of universal human rights. I stand in solidarity with their struggle for national independence, and I reject the false narrative of “unity” that is built on coercion and erasure.
Equally, I strongly assert that Taiwan is a completely independent nation. The CCP’s attempts to conflate Taiwan’s vibrant democracy with its authoritarian system are both dishonest and dangerous. Taiwan’s independence is not negotiable. It is a lived reality, affirmed daily by its people and institutions. To deny this is to deny truth itself.
Opposing this law is not merely symbolic. It is a moral imperative. Silence emboldens authoritarianism. Resistance affirms freedom. By speaking out, we refuse to legitimize Beijing’s attempt to police thought and speech worldwide. We affirm the dignity of oppressed peoples and the sovereignty of nations that reject CCP domination.
This law is not about ethnic unity. It is about ethnic control. It is not about progress. It is about repression. And it is not about China alone. It is about the CCP’s ambition to extend its authoritarian grip across borders. That is why I oppose it, and why I will continue to speak out against it.
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Khedroob Thondup
Khedroob Thondup is the son of Gyalo Thondup, elder brother of the Dalai Lama. Educated at St. Stephens College Delhi University and the University of San Francisco. He was a personal assistant to the Dalai Lama and accompanied him on his first trip to the U.S. in 1979. He was sent by the Dalai Lama to Beijing from 1980 till 1993 for dialogue talks where he interacted with Xi Zhongxun and Hu Jintao. He has served as Member of the Tibetan Parliament in Exile for three terms and is the President of the Tibetan Refugee Self Help Centre Darjeeling since 1987. He has edited two books, Dalai Lama My Son and Tibet in Turmoil and presently lives in Taipei, Taiwan.
