By Tenzin Chokyi

DHARAMSALA, 30 June: With China’s “Law on Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress” set to take effect on 1 July, Sikyong (President) Penpa Tsering of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) on Monday rejected the legislation as a significant legal escalation of Beijing’s longstanding assimilation policies in Tibet, arguing that it formally codifies genocidal practices the Tibetans have opposed for decades.

Speaking at a press conference following a four-day International Conference on Sino-Tibetan Relations organised by the Centre for Middle Way Initiative, Penpa Tsering said the Tibetans not only reject but oppose the law, arguing that it violates both China’s Constitution and international law and amounts to a policy aimed at eradicating an entire people. “It can never be accepted,” he said.

Tsering argued the mechanisms underpinning Beijing’s assimilation policies towa...