China's 'Law on the Promotion of Ethnic Unity and Progress' came into effect on the 1st, drawing international concern over controversies related to human rights oppression, transnational repression, and extraterritorial jurisdiction. On the 3rd, the Chinese Foreign Ministry responded by urging relevant countries to stop hyping up ethnic issues and interfering in China's internal affairs.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry held its regular press conference in the afternoon. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun responded at the press conference, saying, "Certain countries, persisting in ideological bias and seeking political manipulation, turn a blind eye to China's achievements in economic and social development and human rights governance, make sweeping generalizations, maliciously smear China's ethnic policies, fabricate and spread false information, and rudely interfere in China's internal affairs and undermine ethnic unity in China. China firmly opposes this."
Guo Jiakun said: "China urges relevant countries to respect basic facts, stop spreading lies, and stop hyping up so-called ethnic issues and interfering in China's internal affairs."
A spokesperson of the U.S. State Department recently stated that this 'problematic' law imposes broad obligations on individuals, institutions, and organizations, including those outside China, requiring them to actively advance the Chinese Communist Party's 'ethnic unity' agenda; the United States will defend its sovereignty and protect individuals within its territory from foreign governments' and regimes' attempts at overreach, silencing, intimidation, harassment, harm, or coercion.
The European Parliament passed a resolution in April, strongly condemning and calling on Beijing to rescind the unity promotion law. At the time, the European Parliament stated that this law embodies "China's oppressive assimilation policies and its violations of universal human rights."