Target: António Guterres, United Nations Secretary-General
Goal: Confront Chinese leaders about hardline ethnic unity plans.
Reeducation, detainment, and imprisonment: these are just some of the large-scale ways China has been accused of violating the rights of its ethnic minorities. Of China’s 56 ethnic groups, certain populations – like Inner Mongolia residents and the Uyghur people, have faced erasure of their ethnic identities in recent years. Mongolians, for example, protested against the exclusion of their language from education settings and were met with crackdowns and forced assimilation. And the notorious “detainment camps” that imprisoned untold numbers of Uyghur Muslims are well-documented. A new law placed on the books will likely only open the door for more human rights abuses.
The law, a hard reversal from previous national statutes promoting ethnic autonomy, will instead promote “ethnic unity” at all levels of life. Mandarin – spoken by the ethnic majority – will essentially become China’s official language, and regions with heavy ethnic minority populations will no longer have the option to teach in that ethnicity’s language. Minority language will also be mostly removed from public signage. Perhaps text from the law best indicates its troubling “hive mind” mentality: “the people of each ethnic group, all organizations and groups of the country, armed forces, every Party and social organization, every company, must forge a common consciousness of the Chinese nation according to law and the constitution, and take the responsibility of building this consciousness.” Steps are already being taken to “punish” anyone who “acts against” the ethnic unity push. As an example, a man who helped build a social media community for persecuted Uyghur populations was arrested and sentenced to 15 years in prison – reportedly without a trial.
Sign the petition below to encourage the United Nations to speak out against this disturbing precedent.
PETITION LETTER:
Dear Secretary-General Guterres,
Chinese leaders have rubber-stamped a sweeping new template for ethnic erosion and oppression. The autonomy of China’s 56 ethnic groups to honor their own customs and languages is in serious peril, with threats of imprisonment attached for anyone who goes against “ethnic unity” and a “common consciousness.” The Uyghur people remain a stark reminder to the world of what happens when the minority are suffocated and suppressed by the majority. Cultural genocide results.
Please take a decisive stance against dictates antithetical to Chinese vows of ethnic autonomy once codified in law and antithetical to the principles of a humane and just world.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
Photo Credit: Todenhoff
