How we know what we know

This page summarizes, in plain language, the Law on Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress and its documented impact on Tibetans. It is written to inform a reader with no prior background — not to persuade.

Independent access to Tibetan areas is severely restricted. Much of the evidence therefore rests on analysis of China’s own laws and policy documents, combined with interviews conducted by human-rights researchers with people who have recent, direct knowledge of conditions on the ground. A significant part of the analytical and advocacy sourcing comes from Tibetan institutions and international human-rights organizations, whose perspective is explicit. We have sought to corroborate factual claims across independent scholarly, journalistic, and inter-governmental sources, and to present the Chinese government’s stated position on its own terms.

Where a claim is contested, we say who makes it. Where we were uncertain, we left it out. Several sources below were published within days of the law taking effect; time-sensitive details will be updated as reporting develops. Readers are encouraged to consult the primary legal text and its official English translation, and the full-length Human Rights Watch and UN documents, directly.