China’s National People’s Congress recently passed the “Law on Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress.” Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) warned that this law defines “unity and reunification” as a legal “duty to act,” meaning that remaining silent is considered a “crime of inaction.” Combined with the law’s vague and uncertain provisions, it could create an “upgraded Red Guard culture.” Some analysts believe this law is highly educational for Taiwan: if Taiwan were unified under the CCP, Taiwanese people would become a minority, the Taiwanese language would be banned, the Three Principles of the People would be prohibited, and even Taiwan’s Kuomintang would have to adapt to personal control.
CCP makes reunification a legal obligation; silence becomes ‘crime of inaction’
On March 18, China’s Taiwan Affairs Office spokesperson Chen Binhua, in a routine press briefing on the “Law on Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress,” stated firmly: “Regarding separatist forces advocating Taiwan independence or splitting the nation, undermining national unity, we will take all necessary measures and punish them according to law.”
On the same day, Taiwan’s MAC issued a written statement pointing out that the law contains 65 articles, with the term “shall” appearing 53 times, applying to all levels of government, educational institutions, religious groups, businesses, and even parents of minors. The law imposes extremely comprehensive legal responsibilities, ranging from administrative sanctions and public security penalties to criminal liability. Using this law as a bridge, the CCP can link any behavior that does not cooperate with reunification to existing laws for punishment.
The MAC also noted that under the guise of “strengthening awareness of the Chinese national community,” the law lists “safeguarding national unity” as a legal obligation, incorporating Taiwan into its “ethnic unity” framework. Through legislation, the CCP can forcibly promote reunification, legally obliging all domestic and foreign individuals to accept China’s political goals and obligations for reunification.
The MAC warned that the CCP is turning reunification from “slogans and policy promotion” into a “legal duty,” and it cannot be ruled out that in the future, the CCP may expand “active pro-Taiwan independence actions” to include “opposition to reunification,” “passive non-cooperation,” or “maintaining the status quo” as punishable offenses to advance the reunification process. Previously, the CCP punished “acts of actively engaging in Taiwan independence”; in the future, this law would punish “crimes of inaction” for those not actively promoting, cooperating with, or supporting reunification.
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The MAC cautioned that by defining “unity and reunification” as a legal “duty to act,” the law overturns the democratic principle that “freedom includes not taking a stance.” Under CCP logic, remaining silent becomes a “crime of inaction.” This has a devastating effect on the education sector and cultural creators, as everyone must show loyalty in their work. The law’s vagueness and uncertainty could create an environment of fear and mutual denunciation, an “upgraded Red Guard culture.”
After reunification, Taiwanese would become a minority, Taiwanese language banned
Veteran media figure Wang Jian wrote on his platform that the CCP’s “Law on Promoting Ethnic Unity” formally establishes the promotion of Mandarin as the universal language in education, public service, and public spaces. The law requires schools, businesses, media, and families to implement Mandarin education in communities and workplaces, promoting so-called ethnic integration and unity. Challenging this law would label one as a separatist or religious extremist, allowing the CCP to convict them.
Wang Jian analyzed that the CCP’s so-called ethnic unity is actually comprehensive Sinicization. “Don’t think Sinicization is a mild cultural policy. If you go to Inner Mongolia, Tibet, or Xinjiang, you’ll see it’s a bloody process. It not only suppresses local cultural customs and religions but also violently targets those who refuse to comply.” He compared Xinjiang’s “million-person education camps” to the Qing Dynasty’s hair-cutting policies as a historical precedent.
Wang warned that Taiwan’s Kuomintang often downplays CCP oppression. In fact, the “Law on Promoting Ethnic Unity” is highly educational for Taiwan. “If Taiwan were unified by the CCP, Taiwanese people would become a Chinese minority, Taiwanese would be banned, the Three Principles of the People would be banned, and even the Kuomintang would have to adapt to personal control.”
He recalled that on Jan. 9, 1958, Mao Zedong signed the first presidential order, the “Household Registration Regulations of the People’s Republic of China,” restricting Chinese citizens’ freedom of movement, especially peasants. Farmers leaving their hometowns could be arrested and sent to labor camps, constituting one of the largest-scale class oppressions in human history.
CCP would first target Kuomintang
Wang further analyzed: “If Taiwan were unified by the CCP, the situation of Taiwanese could be inferred from the ‘Ethnic Unity Promotion Law’ and the household registration regulations: one restricts freedom, the other eliminates differences.” The CCP targets minorities because of their differences; Sinicization is actually assimilation, forcing everyone to become the same.
“To unify Taiwan, the Kuomintang would first be controlled. ‘Unify’ means to rule; ‘one’ means to assimilate. Don’t think the Kuomintang would be treated differently from locals. If the CCP unifies Taiwan, the first to be dealt with is the Kuomintang, because it poses a potential threat to the CCP. Why? In an election, the Kuomintang could defeat the Communist Party, so they must be neutralized,” Wang said.
By Li Jingyao
