World Newscross-posted from: https://mander.xyz/post/56159234
Op-ed by Reza Hasmath, Professor in Political Science, University of Alberta, Canada.
On July 1, China brought into force its Law on Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress, converting a decade of Xi Jinping’s doctrine of “forging a strong sense of community for the Chinese nation” into binding law.
Most attention has gone to its domestic machinery: entrenching Mandarin over minority languages, unified state textbooks and “inter-embedded” neighbourhoods engineered to dilute concentrations of Uyghurs and Tibetans among the Han majority. In other words, this is an assimilationist project that’s already far advanced.
The provision that matters most to the world outside China is buried near the end. Article 63 declares that organizations and individuals outside Chinese territory who “undermine ethnic unity” or “create ethnic division” shall be pursued for legal liability.
The Chinese government is therefore asserting, in statute, that its authority follows its critics across oceans into other countries, including Canada, home to some of the world’s largest Chinese, Uyghur and Tibetan diaspora communities. The danger is not that the law reaches across borders. It is what it criminalizes, whom it targets and how it’s enforced.
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The intimidation inherent in the new law already violates many domestic harassment and foreign interference laws in jurisdictions around the world. Prosecutors, here, should use them against the agents carrying out the coercion, not the exiles who are its victims.
Governments should shut the unlicensed “police stations,” and press Interpol to reject politically motivated notices aimed at diaspora activists.
Governments can also build dedicated channels for those targeted: a clear law enforcement contact, protective guidance for Chinese and minority diaspora communities and training for officers who could mistake transnational repression for an ordinary domestic dispute.
Finally, asylum systems should treat Article 63 as evidence: a statute in which China announces that diaspora advocacy invites retaliation is close to proof of persecution for those seeking to flee.
China has every right to legislate for its own territory and citizens. What it cannot legitimately do, however warmly it speaks of unity, is disregard borders. The task for all nations, Canada included, is to insist, in law and in practice, that borders still exist.
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China will punish racism as a crime.
But at what cost?!?
Inb4 the ml users start trying to tell me how this is actually very pro-democracy and the highest form of freedom
And this is why as a Chinese person I'm too scared to ever visit China. There's a nonzero chance I'd be detained for my online speech.
Explain to me how erasure of an ethic identity is not considered ethnic cleansing?
And when you realize you can't, then explain to me why I, as a citizen of another country, should uphold your law designed to ethnically cleanse your nation within my borders?
Because ethnic cleansing is a shitty euphemism designed by people who wanted an excuse for inaction, not a real thing.
Did you mean 'genocide'?
When speaking to the oppressor, its best to do so in their language lest your intent be lost in translation or to a knee-jerk rejection based on the implications of a particular term.
The question was not directed to Australians nor to fellow travelers such as yourself, rather to the various operatives of the CCP that are likely monitoring this post.
They've yet to reply at the time of this writing... better hurry up Xinne the Pooh, my popcorn is getting cold.
How many of the people operating these unlicensed police stations have been charged and arrested with kidnapping or attempted kidnapping? The people working these are members of an organized crime outfit. They need to be treated as such. Yet whenever I hear of them being shut down, the thugs working them just seem to get deported.
But I thought China was a bastion of free speech and other personal freedoms? By how a large portion of people on Lemmy behave you may believe it's a communist utopia.
I though the west was the bastion of free speech yet they abuse terrorist laws to suppress anti colonization activists and groups or when the protest threaten the system itself
This is the other popular tactic that is used. Instead of staying on topic we bring up issues in other countries or regions. It's like when a kid gets in trouble and they go "mom Sally was stealing cookies yesterday". It's even more disheartening to watch adults try and play those childhood games.
Don't expect me to stay on the topic when your comment is off topic in relation to this post. Like usual exposing hypocrisy is treated as whataboutism by bad faith users like you
Then finally the classic "it's not me it's you". I was talking about China, you're talking about whatever else. I believe your comment is more descriptive of your behaviors than my own.
Who said that China is free speech?
Pro China advocates will more so claim that any negative news about china is western fear mongering and incorrect. They won't ever say directly that China has free speech. They'll just dance around such subjects with nonsense endlessly and then call in all their buddies to downvote you to hell.
These newsites are going manic over china all of a sudden
