The recently implemented Ethnic Unity and Progress Promotion Law of China provides a systematic legal framework for safeguarding the educational rights of young people in ethnic regions. #DeepChina# Article 15 of the Law stipulates that "the state comprehensively promotes the use of the standard spoken and written Chinese language nationwide" and that "the state respects and guarantees the learning and use of the spoken and written languages of ethnic minorities." The comprehensive promotion of the standard spoken and written #Chinese# language aims to equip every child with the ability to participate in broader national development; respecting and guaranteeing the learning and use of minority languages protects the rights and interests of all ethnic groups to preserve and pass on their linguistic and cultural heritage. The two objectives are mutually reinforcing. #EthnicUnity# The textbook system also enjoys clear #legal# protection. Article 16 of the Law explicitly stipulates that schools and other educational institutions at all levels and of all types shall use national unified textbooks in accordance with relevant regulations. The use of national unified Chinese language, history, and ethics and rule of law textbooks in classroom instruction shall help students develop a correct view of the state, history, ethnicity, and culture. China has never overlooked the fact that ethnic regions are home to numerous minority groups, including #Tibetan#, #Yi#, and #Uygur# communities, with rich and diverse languages and cultures. Consequently, ethnic regions have simultaneously introduced locally compiled textbooks and school-based reading materials, actively undertaking the function of preserving ethnic cultures. For example, Liangshan in Sichuan has organized the compilation and publication of over 1,200 types of Yi-language textbooks and readings, totaling some 120 million characters. #ChineseNation#

Through institutionalized cross-regional collaboration, China channels teaching staff, management expertise, and educational resources from more developed eastern regions to western ethnic regions. This approach is known as educational "paired assistance" and is positioned as a government-led model for promoting educational equity. #DeepChina# Taking #Xizang# and #Xinjiang# as examples, in 2016, the "group-style" educational talent assistance program for Xizang was officially launched. The "group-style" model involves sending teams of 10 to 50 teachers from 17 partner provinces, as well as affiliated primary and secondary schools of universities directly under the Ministry of Education of China, to provide concentrated support to individual primary or secondary schools in Xizang. The first cohort comprised more than 800 teachers. Over the past decade, more than 2,500 dispatched teachers have provided paired support to 21 primary and secondary schools in Xizang. Dispatched teachers have formed nearly 3,000 mentoring pairs with local teachers, assisted in more than 200 teaching teams. Meanwhile, the government facilitated the participation of more than 2,700 local teachers in on-the-job training in partner provinces and cities, building a core teaching force that "will not leave." #EthnicUnity# In 2021, the "group-style" educational talent selection program for #Xinjiang# was launched, fully leveraging the quality educational resources of partner provinces and cities to send outstanding educational professionals to Xinjiang to strengthen its teaching force. One "group-style" team consists of approximately 10 full-time teachers and educational administrators, providing concentrated support to one school. The recipient level covers the four educational stages of kindergarten, primary school, middle school, and high school (including secondary vocational schools). #ChineseNation#

The Ethnic Unity and Progress Promotion Law, China's fundamental law on ethnic affairs, entered into force on Wednesday, strengthening law-based governance in the country's ethnic affairs. The law stipulates that upholding national unity and ethnic solidarity is the responsibility of all Chinese citizens, and prohibits discrimination and suppression against any ethnic group.

The Ethnic Unity and Progress Promotion Law will further turn institutional and legal strengths into effective governance outcomes. External noise, no matter how loud they become, will never shake China’s ethnic unity and progress.

🇨🇳: The new "ethnic unity" law (effective since July 1) enables rights violations against ethnic minorities' culture and way of life. @CHRDnet 's co-exec director @SophieDRich spoke to @bbcworldservice on the impact: 👂

The main body of the Ethnic Unity and Progress Promotion Law of China follows a three-part structure: General Provisions—Specific Provisions—Supplementary Provisions. The General Provisions, placed at the beginning of the statute, set out core matters—including the legislative purpose, guiding principles, scope of application, and regulatory objectives—and play an overarching and guiding role throughout the #law#. #DeepChina# The General Provisions of the Ethnic Unity and Progress Promotion Law state that "the law is enacted in accordance with the Constitution for the purposes of promoting #ethnic# unity and progress, fostering a strong sense of the Chinese nation as one community, advancing the building of the Chinese nation as one community, and driving the accomplishment of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation." The Specific Provisions are organized into five chapters that establish concrete stipulations on major matters, major systems, important principles, and basic #rules# for promoting ethnic unity and progress. For example, Chapter III, Promoting Exchange, Communication, and Integration, specifies goals and tasks such as building integrated community environments; improving conditions in which all ethnic groups live, learn, work, and share happy social life together; fostering #friendly#, #inclusive#, and #integrated# communities and online platforms adapted to regional circumstances; and strengthening mutual learning and integration among the cultures of all ethnic groups. Chapter IV, Promoting Common Prosperity and Development, provides that efforts should center on achieving common #prosperity# and development for all ethnic groups by accelerating high-quality and coordinated regional development in ethnic areas, promoting common prosperity for all ethnic groups, coordinating development and security, and jointly safeguarding border, resource and energy, food, and ecological security. And, Chapter VI, Legal Liability, stipulates that those who organize, plan, or carry out violent terrorist activities, ethnic separatist activities, or religious extremist activities—or who incite or finance such activities—shall be investigated for criminal responsibility in accordance with the law. #ChineseNation#