Common understanding

A series of local regulations on promoting ethnic unity has been introduced in ethnic autonomous regions, including Xinjiang, Xizang and Inner Mongolia, as well as some provinces such as Qinghai, Guizhou and Yunnan.

However, the changing social structure has brought about new governance demands as integration among various ethnic groups across the country has reached an unprecedented breadth and depth, said Xing Guangcheng, an NPC deputy from Xinjiang and head of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences'Institute of Chinese Borderland Studies.

"Formulation of a national law aims to ensure that the legal protection of ethnic unity effectively covers all regions and populations. This is equally important in areas with large populations of ethnic minorities and other parts of China," Xing said.

With the continuous advancement of China's modernization efforts, national unity and progress are becoming increasingly important. Its importance is underscored by the presence of separatist and extremist forces that keep trying to carry out violent and even terrorist activities by sabotaging the unity among people from different ethnic groups, he added.

"As the draft law states, any kind of discrimination against a certain ethnic group is prohibited because such acts can interfere with people's interactions and exchanges. More importantly, they can be used by separatist and extremist forces to sabotage the country's national sovereignty, security and developmental interests," said Xing, who advised on the draft law.

When the draft was submitted for a second reading at the NPC Standing Committee in December, it added that schools and other educational institutions should use standard Chinese as the basic language of teaching, as the promotion of standard Chinese is mandated by the Constitution and is also an important measure to foster a strong sense of community for the Chinese nation.

Xing said he's not surprised that some Western media have used the legal provision to attack China's ethnic policies.

"People should understand that it's not a language issue, but an economic one. It's closely related to people's life. Without the ability to speak and write standard Chinese, people, especially young people from ethnic minorities, will surely find it difficult to seize the opportunities brought by China's development nationwide in all aspects," he said.

In fact, the use and promotion of ethnic languages are clearly protected by the draft law, which states that the State respects and guarantees the learning and use of ethnic languages and scripts, promotes the standardization, normalization, and informationization of minority languages and scripts, and supports the protection, compilation, research, and utilization of ancient books of minority groups, Xing added.

"It's very disappointing to see Western media's reports saying that we tend to prevent people from using the languages of their own ethnic groups just because we are promoting standard Chinese. It's a very irresponsible thing to say," Xing said.

He added that the significance of the draft law with practical legal provisions is to ensure that all Chinese citizens have a common understanding about how to be more united and foster a stronger sense of community for the Chinese nation.

"Regardless of ethnicity, all 56 of our ethnic groups should use the law as a benchmark to engage in positive actions and promote beneficial activities. In fact, I think it has set a good example in the world in law-based governance of ethnic affairs," Xing said.

cuijia@chinadaily.com.cn