China's Ethnic Unity Law: Implications for Cross-Strait Relations
United Daily News Opinion, July 2, 2026
The Law on the Promotion of Ethnic Unity and Progress, which officially came into effect in mainland China on July 1, deserves attention not simply because it is a new piece of ethnic legislation, but because it reflects Beijing's effort to reshape a new cross-strait narrative through law.
Although the law does not provide clear or objective definitions of what constitutes "unity" or "progress," it leaves considerable room for administrative interpretation. This has raised concerns that differing political positions, cultural perspectives, or value choices could, in the future, result in varying degrees of interpretation and application. More importantly, the significance of the law lies in mainland China's attempt to reconstruct and redefine the concept of the "Chinese nation" through legal, institutional, and cultural means, while gradually incorporating cross-strait relations into the narrative framework of the "Chinese national community." This represents an important step in institutionalizing Beijing's policy of "integrated development" toward Taiwan.
Looking back over the past two decades, mainland China's Taiwan policy has focused primarily on offering economic incentives. It sought to build political trust through market opportunities, investment incentives, and cross-strait economic and trade cooperation. However, amid intensifying U.S.-China competition, declining cross-strait mutual trust, and the gradual evolution of identity within Taiwanese society, Beijing has concluded that economic benefits alone are no longer sufficient to influence public opinion in Taiwan. Consequently, in 2021, the mainland formally introduced its "connectivity, benefits, and affection" ("Tong, Hui, Qing") policy toward Taiwan—promoting integration through connectivity, promoting integration through benefits, and promoting integration through emotional ties. The objective is to deepen cross-strait connections through legal, institutional, and emotional dimensions, thereby gradually strengthening the Taiwanese public's identification with the "Chinese nation."
Based on this new pathway of cross-strait integrated development centered on "connectivity, benefits, and affection," mainland China has introduced numerous related policies in recent years. While "Tong, Hui, Qing" appears to consist of three separate policy instruments, it actually reflects a broader shift in Beijing's Taiwan strategy: first, reducing the cost of exchanges through institutional facilitation; second, building mutual trust through accumulated benefits; and finally, strengthening identification with a shared community through culture and emotional connection, thereby creating a policy trajectory that moves from everyday life toward identity.
In fact, the Law on the Promotion of Ethnic Unity and Progress represents the institutionalization of a shared identity. At the same time, under the strategic objective of "telling China's story well," mainland China has increasingly combined traditional culture, historical mythology, and modern creative industries in recent years. Through films, animation, video games, and trendy consumer brands, it has created numerous cultural products centered on elements of Chinese civilization while possessing international appeal.
The evolution of these policies in recent years demonstrates that mainland China's cross-strait integration strategy has progressed from "economic integration" to "institutional integration," and further toward the multi-dimensional strategy of "cultural integration" and "shared community identity." In other words, Beijing is gradually expanding its Taiwan policy from economic exchanges to institutional convergence and cultural identification. Future cross-strait competition will no longer be limited to exports, investment, and supply chains, but will instead become a long-term contest over institutional attractiveness, cultural influence, and value-based identity.
Precisely for this reason, despite the continuing institutional differences and political disagreements across the Taiwan Strait, dialogue should still be grounded in civility and mutual respect. As former Minister of Culture Lung Ying-tai once said, "Persuade through civilization, rather than replacing dialogue with confrontation." Only in this way can the two sides preserve the possibility of rational interaction amid competition. This is not only the foundation for peaceful cross-strait engagement, but also one of the most valuable legacies of Chinese civilization.
The author is director of mainland China affairs at the Chinese Federation of Industries (CNFI) and an adjunct assistant professor.