
China expands its reach: new law targets critics abroad
China’s Law on Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress, especially Article 63, asserts extraterritorial reach to prosecute individuals outside China who “undermine ethnic unity,” signaling a framework for transnational repression against diaspora activists and critics. The piece argues this is a vague, exportable censorship tool that relies on coercive practices (exit bans, overseas pressures, and passport leverage) rather than due process, and calls host governments to reject enforcement, shutter overseas police stations, bolster protections for affected communities, and consider Article 63 as evidence of persecution in asylum processes.