I'm from central Europe, so maybe the fine details regarding this topic escape my attention, but I would understand heritage as a much more social concept than race. For example, a kid born to Japanese parents and growing up in Poland may very well feel connection to Polish heritage. This obviously doesn't make them Slavic, but that's not a requirement to be Polish. On the other hand, some people deliberately escape their countries and may find the idea of implicitly connecting them to that heritage offensive.