China implements ethnic unity law, extraterritorial reach raises fears

BEIJING - China on Wednesday implemented a law promoting "ethnic unity" that critics fear will further assimilation policies targeting ethnic minorities and hold overseas organizations and individuals legally accountable for creating divisions among the majority Han Chinese and the country's 55 ethnic minority groups.

The Ethnic Unity and Progress Promotion Law, adopted by China's largely rubber-stamp parliament in March, also aims to advance efforts toward unification between mainland China and Taiwan, the self-ruled island claimed by Beijing.