China to approve 'ethnic unity' law condemned by rights groups

The draft law, set to be passed by the National People's Congress, would formalise policies to promote Mandarin as the "national common language" in education, official business and public places. China's government has been accused for decades of pursuing policies to force assimilation across the vast country into the Han majority. Social cohesion is a key focus of the new "ethnic unity" law, which criminalises engaging in "violent terrorist activities, ethnic separatist activities, or religious extremist activities".