China strongly opposed claims by some overseas organizations that its Ethnic Unity and Progress Promotion Law is intended to 'assimilate ethnic minorities', a senior national legislator said on Wednesday in Beijing, calling such accusations interference in China's internal affairs.

Bayanqolu, head of the Ethnic Affairs Committee of China's top legislature, the National People's Congress, made the remarks in response to reports that some overseas groups had issued statements attacking the law and calling for human rights sanctions against China.

The formulation of the law, which will come into effect on July 1, is a common aspiration of people from all ethnic groups in China, he said at a news briefing held by the State Council Information Office, adding that since 2012, NPC deputies have submitted more than 700 motions and suggestions related to the legislation. After the law was adopted, people from all ethnic groups expressed strong recognition and firm support for it, said Bayanqolu.

"Friendly figures, media outlets, and institutions from many countries also gave positive comments, saying the law suits China's national conditions and modern governance trends, and offers a reference for multiethnic countries in addressing ethnic issues," he added. However, some Western institutions and overseas forces have continued to smear China's human rights record on ethnic issues, spread fallacies, and display ignorance and prejudice toward China, said the senior official.

"The so-called statements issued by relevant organizations ignore the tremendous achievements made in China's ethnic regions and ethnic work, and make groundless accusations against China's ethnic policies and rule-of-law development," he said.

Bayanqolu called those accusations "crude interference" in China's internal affairs, expressing strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition. He said the Chinese nation, with more than 5,000 years of civilization, is an unbreakable community with a shared future. The Communist Party of China has successfully found a correct path for handling ethnic issues with Chinese characteristics, he said.

Regarding cultural protection in ethnic areas, the country has invested heavily in protecting cultural heritage sites such as the Potala Palace and Jokhang Temple in Lhasa, Xizang, and Norbulingka, also known as Lhasa's Summer Palace, he said. China has also translated, collated, and published endangered ancient books, including Kutadgu Bilig (Wisdom of Fortune and Joy) and Compendium of the Turkic Dialects, in Chinese and Uygur, said Bayanqolu. More than 3,000 precious cultural relics have been rescued, protected, and restored, he said. Of the 45 Chinese items inscribed on UNESCO intangible cultural heritage lists, more than one-third are related to ethnic minority cultures.

In the meantime, economic and social development in ethnic areas has made unprecedented progress, people's living standards have reached their best level in history, and the legitimate rights and interests of ethnic minorities have been better protected, Bayanqolu stressed.

He cited poverty alleviation as one example. All 420 impoverished counties in ethnic autonomous areas, as well as 31.2 million impoverished people in five autonomous regions and in Guizhou, Yunnan, and Qinghai provinces, were lifted out of poverty as scheduled, he said.

"On the road to poverty alleviation and building a moderately prosperous society in all respects, no ethnic group was left behind and no one was left behind," Bayanqolu said. "In advancing Chinese modernization, no ethnic group and no one should be left behind either."

"Which other country and political party can make such achievements?" he asked.

The official said education, medical care, transportation, water, electricity, and other basic public services and infrastructure in ethnic regions have improved significantly, with information networks reaching even remote and border areas. "These achievements are there for all to see," he said. "What is the point of fabricating and hyping up stories with prejudice? Facts should be the basis."

These historical and practical achievements fully prove that China's path for handling ethnic issues with Chinese characteristics is correct, Bayanqolu said. He said the Ethnic Unity and Progress Promotion Law builds a systematic, clear, and efficient institutional framework to safeguard equality, unity, and progress among all ethnic groups. The law is a rule-of-law summary of China's successful experience in handling ethnic issues with Chinese characteristics, Bayanqolu said.

China's law-based efforts to promote ethnic unity and progress not only benefit its own people but also provide Chinese wisdom and a Chinese approach for countries around the world in handling ethnic issues, he said.