{"id":5095,"date":"2026-07-28T07:36:13","date_gmt":"2026-07-28T07:36:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=5095"},"modified":"2026-07-28T07:36:13","modified_gmt":"2026-07-28T07:36:13","slug":"beijings-new-law-claims-the-right-to-punish-u-s-citizens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=5095","title":{"rendered":"Beijing\u2019s new law claims the right to punish U.S. citizens"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n
\n

OPINION:<\/strong><\/p>\n

On July 1, a new Chinese law took effect. It claims the right to punish people who have never set foot in China, including those residing on American soil.<\/p>\n

Read more Trump administration rightly cracks down on birth tourism scams<\/a><\/p>\n

Beijing calls it the Law on Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress. In practice, it does two things: orders the country\u2019s minorities to become Chinese and declares that anyone, anywhere who \u201cundermines ethnic unity\u201d can be held to account under Chinese law.<\/p>\n

Becoming Chinese<\/strong><\/p>\n

The law\u2019s core message to the people living under Chinese Communist Party control \u2014 in Tibet, Xinjiang (East Turkestan), Inner Mongolia, Manchuria and other regions with cultures and identities of their own \u2014 is that there is no alternative to becoming Chinese. Refuse, and you can be cast as an enemy of \u201cethnic unity.\u201d<\/p>\n

It also reaches into religion. Faith in China now has to be remade in the party\u2019s image. There are many videos on the internet of Christian priests made to sing party anthems.<\/p>\n

That is no longer just a propaganda campaign; it is the direction of the Chinese legal system. Religion is permitted only once it has been made to serve Beijing.<\/p>\n

The border means nothing<\/strong><\/p>\n

The most alarming provision of the law is Article 63, which states that organizations and individuals outside China who \u201cundermine ethnic unity\u201d are to be pursued for legal responsibility. Amnesty International has warned that this clause could be used as a tool for transnational repression, and the vagueness is the point.<\/p>\n

Beijing deliberately uses elastic language so it can decide after the fact what counts as a violation.<\/p>\n

The CCP applies its own laws loosely, so they can mean almost anything. Waved a Taiwanese flag once. Spoke to a Hong Konger about the protests. Watched \u201cSeven Years in Tibet.\u201d In Beijing\u2019s reading, each of these could \u201cundermine ethnic unity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Under Article 63, a U.S. citizen posting from California is, in the party\u2019s eyes, subject to Chinese law.<\/p>\n

Beijing has spent years expanding its reach abroad. Its approved mega-embassy in London \u2014 situated near critical financial data cables, with plans revealing a network of 208 secret basement rooms close to those cables \u2014 has alarmed Uyghur, Hong Konger and Tibetan dissidents there.<\/p>\n

The former mayor of Arcadia, California, resigned this spring and pleaded guilty to acting as an illegal agent of the Chinese government, promoting its propaganda. Secret Chinese \u201cpolice stations\u201d have been reported operating on American and British soil.<\/p>\n

Read more Trump can finish what 12 presidents failed to do in Cuba<\/a><\/p>\n

Taiwan, by Beijing\u2019s own admission<\/strong><\/p>\n

Then there is Taiwan. For years, the CCP has tried to convince the world and itself that Taiwan is part of one Chinese nation. \u201cCompatriots on both sides of the strait are all Chinese,\u201d President Xi Jinping said in April.<\/p>\n

Even a former foreign ministry spokeswoman claimed that Taiwanese must be Chinese because they like Chinese food.<\/p>\n

Still, year after year, Taiwan\u2019s own identity surveys show that a large majority identify as Taiwanese, not Chinese.<\/p>\n

That is why the new law, for all its talk of one Chinese nation, contains a section devoted to \u201cnourishing the Chinese identity\u201d of the Taiwanese. If the Taiwanese were already part of the Chinese nation, why would that identity need nourishing? Because they are not, and the communists in Beijing understand it perfectly.<\/p>\n

Taipei understands the threat too: Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te has said Taiwan will build protection mechanisms for any citizen the law targets.<\/p>\n

Why this reaches Washington<\/strong><\/p>\n

With this legislation, Beijing is openly challenging the rule of law and basic rights protections wherever its critics live, including the U.S. The CCP has always treated overseas Chinese as its property, and it is now reaching out directly to American citizens who dare criticize a foreign dictatorship.<\/p>\n

Washington is not blind to it. On the day the law took effect, a bipartisan group of senators \u2014 led by Jim Risch, Jeanne Shaheen, Lindsey Graham, Tim Kaine and others \u2014 warned that the law codifies Beijing\u2019s policies to erase the religion, culture and language of minority groups both inside and outside China and asserts the right to hold people outside China legally responsible.<\/p>\n

That warning has to become policy. The United States must do everything it can to shield its residents from Beijing\u2019s reach and make one thing unmistakable to Mr. Xi: His laws must stop at China\u2019s border. Washington\u2019s job is to make sure he learns that the hard way.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Stan Kwiatkowski is a political commentator and host of the YouTube channels \u201cHard News\u201d and \u201cFreedom Is Not Free.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Read more Trump\u2019s insulting, embarrassing White House Correspondents\u2019 Association dinner performance<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On July 1, a new Chinese law took effect. It claims the right to punish people who have never set foot in China, including those residing on American soil.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5094,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31,30],"tags":[16,426],"class_list":["post-5095","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-commentary","category-opinion","tag-beijing","tag-chinese-communist-party"],"yoast_head":"\nBeijing\u2019s new law claims the right to punish U.S. citizens - Home Buyer Relocation<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=5095\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Beijing\u2019s new law claims the right to punish U.S. citizens - Home Buyer Relocation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"On July 1, a new Chinese law took effect. It claims the right to punish people who have never set foot in China, including those residing on American soil.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=5095\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Home Buyer Relocation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-28T07:36:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/?p=5095#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/?p=5095\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/b2ac56955b020950324cad4c6c27b42a\"},\"headline\":\"Beijing\u2019s new law claims the right to punish U.S. citizens\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-28T07:36:13+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/?p=5095\"},\"wordCount\":791,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/?p=5095#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/fc1655d95b21be0c6c7425de27a668c9.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Beijing\",\"Chinese Communist Party\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Commentary\",\"Opinion\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/?p=5095#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/?p=5095\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/?p=5095\",\"name\":\"Beijing\u2019s new law claims the right to punish U.S. citizens - Home Buyer Relocation\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/?p=5095#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/?p=5095#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/fc1655d95b21be0c6c7425de27a668c9.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-28T07:36:13+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/b2ac56955b020950324cad4c6c27b42a\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/?p=5095#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/?p=5095\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/?p=5095#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/fc1655d95b21be0c6c7425de27a668c9.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/fc1655d95b21be0c6c7425de27a668c9.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":700},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/?p=5095#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Beijing\u2019s new law claims the right to punish U.S. citizens\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Home Buyer Relocation\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/b2ac56955b020950324cad4c6c27b42a\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Beijing\u2019s new law claims the right to punish U.S. citizens - Home Buyer Relocation","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=5095","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Beijing\u2019s new law claims the right to punish U.S. citizens - Home Buyer Relocation","og_description":"On July 1, a new Chinese law took effect. It claims the right to punish people who have never set foot in China, including those residing on American soil.","og_url":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=5095","og_site_name":"Home Buyer Relocation","article_published_time":"2026-07-28T07:36:13+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=5095#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=5095"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b2ac56955b020950324cad4c6c27b42a"},"headline":"Beijing\u2019s new law claims the right to punish U.S. citizens","datePublished":"2026-07-28T07:36:13+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=5095"},"wordCount":791,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=5095#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/fc1655d95b21be0c6c7425de27a668c9.jpg","keywords":["Beijing","Chinese Communist Party"],"articleSection":["Commentary","Opinion"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=5095#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=5095","url":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=5095","name":"Beijing\u2019s new law claims the right to punish U.S. citizens - Home Buyer Relocation","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=5095#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=5095#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/fc1655d95b21be0c6c7425de27a668c9.jpg","datePublished":"2026-07-28T07:36:13+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b2ac56955b020950324cad4c6c27b42a"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=5095#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=5095"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=5095#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/fc1655d95b21be0c6c7425de27a668c9.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/fc1655d95b21be0c6c7425de27a668c9.jpg","width":1200,"height":700},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=5095#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Beijing\u2019s new law claims the right to punish U.S. citizens"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/","name":"Home Buyer Relocation","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b2ac56955b020950324cad4c6c27b42a","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com"],"url":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5095","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5095"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5095\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5094"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5095"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5095"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5095"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}