China has asserted the right to pursue people outside its borders who violate its new ethnic unity law, with a senior official saying the overseas provision is consistent with international practice and legally sound.
The law, passed in March and taking effect on July 1, establishes a framework for building a shared national identity among China’s 55 recognised ethnic minority groups, including Tibetans and Uyghurs.
Reuters first reported that a clause within the law states that individuals and groups outside the People’s Republic of China can be held legally accountable for undermining “ethnic unity and progress or inciting ethnic separatism.”
The provision has drawn concern in Taiwan, which China claims as its territory, over whether it could give Beijing an additional legal basis to pursue people it regards as separatists.
Rights groups have separately raised concerns about China’s use of Interpol red notices to pressure foreign governments into detaining individuals wanted for what critics describe as political offences.
Vice Justice Minister Hu Weilie, speaking at a news conference in Beijing, said certain Western media outlets, which he did not identify, had “distorted and misinterpreted” the overseas clause.
“This provision is based on China’s national conditions, conforms to legal principles, and is consistent with international practice. It is a legitimate, lawful, necessary, and feasible legal provision.”
He added that governments worldwide hold the right to prevent separatist activity through domestic legislation, and that the overseas provision uses rule-of-law methods to guard against unlawful acts involving ethnic affairs originating outside the country.
Hu said enforcing the clause would protect China’s sovereignty, security, and development interests, as well as the rights of all ethnic groups, and would not affect normal exchanges, academic discussions, or economic cooperation between China and other countries.
The story Beijing says targeting people abroad under ethnic unity law is ‘necessary’ as seen on Thaiger News.
