For years, Beijing has been accused of monitoring and intimidating critics living abroad. A new law taking effect this week is now raising fresh concerns because, for the first time, it appears to give Chinese authorities a legal basis to pursue people outside the country’s borders.
A university student who left China to study in Europe and later won a place at a leading university in the UK is now believed to be behind bars.
Rights groups fear her case could become an early example of how far China’s latest law might reach.
Twenty-three-year-old Zhang Yadi, also known as Tara, is believed to be in detention after returning to China from overseas.
Before her arrest, she had publicly wished the Dalai Lama a happy 90th birthday on X and helped edit a Chinese-language online platform that promoted Tibetan rights while studying in France.
Chinese authorities reportedly arrested her in Yunnan province in July last year while she was visiting home.
She is believed to be facing charges of “inciting others to split the country and undermine national unity.”
Her case comes as China’s new Ethnic Unity Law officially takes effect, a law that many rights groups believe could reshape how Beijing responds to criticism from people living outside the country.
The legislation says it is designed to strengthen national unity among China’s 56 officially recognised ethnic groups.
But one section of the law has drawn particular attention.
Article 63 states that Chinese authorities can take action against organisations or individuals outside China who are accused of undermining ethnic unity or creating ethnic division.
Critics argue that wording could be used against activists, writers, journalists and students who speak publicly about Tibet, Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia or other ethnic minority issues while living abroad.
“Rather than protecting diversity and equality, the law requires conformity,” said Sarah Brooks, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director.
“Peaceful advocacy for minority rights in China by anyone, anywhere could be characterised as undermining ‘ethnic unity’.”
For many activists living overseas, the concern isn’t only about themselves.
Many still have parents, siblings and relatives living inside China, leaving families vulnerable to pressure if they continue speaking out.
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Rights organisations say several campaigners have already reported that family members in China have faced growing intimidation over the past year.
The timing is especially sensitive for Tibetans living in exile as the law comes into force just days before the Dalai Lama’s 91st birthday.
Supporters of the legislation say it is about strengthening national identity. Critics see it as another step in a broader campaign to erase ethnic and cultural differences.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has spent years promoting what Beijing calls the “sinicisation” of ethnic minorities, encouraging greater integration into the country’s majority Han culture.
Under the new law, Mandarin will become the compulsory language of education from before kindergarten through high school.
Chinese officials argue the policy will improve opportunities and employment prospects for minority communities.
Human rights groups disagree.
They say it will further weaken the use of Tibetan, Uyghur and Mongolian languages in schools while accelerating the loss of cultural identity.
The concerns build on longstanding criticism of Beijing’s policies in Xinjiang, Tibet and Inner Mongolia.
The United Nations has previously accused China of serious human rights violations in Xinjiang, while rights groups have documented restrictions on religious practices, language education and cultural expression across several minority regions.
“Safeguarding national unity, territorial integrity, and social stability falls within the sovereign rights of all countries,” Deputy Justice Minister Hu Weilie said while defending the legislation.
He rejected claims that the law amounted to what critics describe as “long-arm jurisdiction.”
The legislation has also drawn attention beyond China.
Members of the European Parliament have warned that if the law is used against European citizens, it could seriously affect relations between the European Union and Beijing. Some lawmakers have even suggested reviewing extradition agreements with China.
Meanwhile, advocacy groups fear the law will make it even harder for ethnic minorities to preserve their languages, cultures and traditions.
“The Chinese government’s fist of repression will continue to squeeze,” said Erika Nguyen of PEN America, calling on governments to strengthen protections for exiled Tibetan, Uyghur and Mongolian activists.
Whether the law is ever enforced outside China’s borders remains uncertain.
But for many students, writers and activists living overseas, the message they believe it sends is already clear: what they say abroad may no longer stay abroad.
