1. China’s Ethnic Minorities Kara Abramson Congressional-Executive Commission on China

2. 少数民族 Shǎoshù Mínzú

3. 民族 Mínzú

4. 56

5. Historical Overview Minzu in Chinese history Minzu in the PRC
System of categorization
Soviet Tradition
Ethnic groups as fixed
Stalinist definition
Common territory, language, economy, and psychological nature

6. The PRC project: 民族识别 Mínzú shíbié
Stalinist criteria with attention to stage in history
Also: Han traditions, local consciousness
Outcome:
Chinese White Paper on Minorities: “So far, 56 ethnic groups have been identified and recognized by the central government”
Once identified, the 民族工作 mínzú gōngzuò can start

7. “China is a united multi-ethnic state with long history
“China is a united multi-ethnic state with long history. […] Under the old social system it is impossible for all ethnic groups to enjoy equality in the modern sense of the word, and strife, conflicts and even wars among them were inevitable. Still, the long-standing existence of a united, multi-ethnic state in Chinese history greatly enhanced the political, economic and cultural exchanges among different ethnic groups, and constantly promoted the identification of all ethnic groups with the central government, and their allegiance to it.”

8. Minzu Today Tibetan Korean Mongol Russian Tajik Uighur (Uyghur/Uygur)
8.41% of the population, including:
Tibetan
Korean
Mongol
Russian
Tajik
Uighur (Uyghur/Uygur)

12. Also:
Zhuang
Hui
Miao
Lhoba Yi

16. Location: Languages: Religions: About 5/8ths of China’s total area
Over 60, at least 5 different language families
Religions:
Muslim, Buddhist, “minority” religions, Christian

19. Legal Framework
“The regions inhabited by ethnic minorities in compact communities are large, and rich in natural resources. But compared with other regions, particularly with developed regions, the level of economic and social development in these regions is relatively backward. Regional autonomy for ethnic minorities enables them to bring into full play their regional advantages and promote exchanges and cooperation between minority areas and other areas, and consequently quickens the pace of modernization both in the minority areas and the country as a whole and helps achieve common development of all regions and prosperity for all ethnic groups.”

20. Regional Autonomy By end of 2003: 5 Provincial-level autonomous areas
30 autonomous prefectures
120 autonomous countries

21. Regional Ethnic Autonomy Law (REAL)
Applies throughout China
Grants additional legislative powers
Self-governing regulations
Specific regulations
Alterations

22. REAL Freedom to use and develop minority languages
Freedom of religious belief
Preferential policies
Administration of finances
Education in minority languages

23. REAL limitations Vague wording
Legislation must be submitted to higher bodies for approval
No enforcement of monitoring methods
General Rule of Law issues

24. Implementing Provisions
Issued in 2005
Require ethnic affairs commissions at every level of government to monitor implementation and submit findings
Inspection teams now underway

25. Special Focus: Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region

26. XUAR 新疆维吾尔自治区 Xīnjiāng Wéiwúěr Zìzhìqū
History
Xiongnu
Uighur Empire,
Karakhanids
Qing dynasty
Islam
Sufi traditions

27. XUAR 1950s population Current Population: 18.46 million
4.87 million, 6% Han Chinese, 75% Uighur
Current Population: million
2000 census: 40.57% Han, 45.21% Uighur
Also: Hui, Kazaks, Other Turkic groups, Tajiks, Mongols, etc.

28. XUAR XUAR—established 1955 Han Settlement Uighur, Kazak emigration
Bingtuan

29. XUAR Post-Cultural Revolution 1980s 1990 “turning point”
Develop the West
Human Rights Concerns

30. Issues Language and Education School systems and Exams
民考民 Mínkǎomín and 民考汉 Mínkǎohàn
Right to use own languages
Bilingual Education
Recent news:

31. Language
Xinjiang Official Describes Plan to Expand Use of Mandarin in Minority Schools Within the next 10 to 20 years, education in all ethnic minority schools in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region (XUAR) will be bilingual starting in first grade, Ma Wenhua, deputy director of the XUAR Education Department, told the South China Morning Post (SCMP), […]
…the government has already decided to subsidize bilingual education in seven rural prefectures in the southern XUAR, and would implement comprehensively its bilingual pre-school program in 2006.
The government will pay 1.5 yuan per day to pre-schoolers who receive bilingual education and 400 yuan per month to teachers. A leading official of the XUAR Party Committee said that supporting bilingual education in lower levels of schooling would raise the "quality" of ethnic minorities and contribute to the modernization drive.

32. Migration Freedom of movement issues Incentives to migrate
Qinghai-Tibet railway

33. Attitudes Minority culture as “backward” (Chinese White Paper)
Exoticization of minority culture
Commodification of minority culture
Anti-Muslim sentiment
Assimilation
Opportunities

34. Religion Freedom of religious belief in China 5 religions
Minority religions as minority customs
Harsh Controls esp. over Islam in the XUAR and Tibetan Buddhism

36. Health
AIDS
Ministry of Health to Distribute AIDS Prevention Guides in Minority Languages The Ministry of Health (MOH) will give out 90,000 free AIDS prevention guides to members of China's ethnic minority communities, according to an MOH announcement on November 30 reported in Xinhua. The MOH subsidized publication of a Chinese-language guide translated into Uighur, Tibetan, Kazak, Korean, and Mongolian. It will give out the guides to village-level health care facilities in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region (XUAR), Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Tibet Autonomous Region, and the provinces of Yunnan, Sichuan, Gansu, Qinghai, Liaoning, Jilin, and Heilongjiang. […]
Yunnan province, the XUAR, and the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region are among the five provincial-level areas that reported more than 10,000 people infected with HIV by the end of September 2005.
Drug Use

39. Jobs Head of Autonomous govt to be ethnic minority
Other priorities provided for in law
Reality is far different

40. Xinjiang Government Says Ethnic Han Chinese Will Get 500 of 700 New Civil Service Appointments The Xinjiang government will hold open examinations for 700 civil service positions, according to Tianshan Net, a website jointly managed by Xinjiang’s Propaganda Department and the People’s Daily. 500 of these positions will go to ethnic Han Chinese, while ethnic nationalities will fill the remainder. Examinees with the highest scores will go to southern Xinjiang to serve for six-year terms in county and village-level government positions. Uighurs make up more than 95 percent of the population in southern Xinjiang. The government also said that it will not assign successful examinees to their hometowns.

41. 招聘 汉族服务员 Zhāopìn Hànzú fúwùyuán

42. Advocating for Rights
Rebiya Kadeer
Hada
Nurmuhemmet Yasin

43. Terrorism 9/11 Changes East Turkistan Islamic Movement
Shanghai Cooperation Organization
“Three Evil Forces”
Outside Government Assessments

44. Resources Regional Ethnic Autonomy Law
Implementing Guidelines for REAL

45. PRC Sources
Tianshan Net （天山网）
Posts news stories from Xinjiang newspapers
China Ethnicities News (中国民族报)
In-depth articles related to minzu and religion
State Ethnic Affairs Commission （国家民族事务委员会）
News and regulations from the government’s highest agency in charge of ethnic affairs. Also posts regional news
Communist Party United Front Web site
Local “Ethnic and Religious Affairs Commission” Web sites and local government Web sites, such as:
Zhejiang Ethnic and Religious Affairs Commission Web Site
Yili City Government Web site
Islam-related news sites and chat rooms, such as
China-Muslim Net
Green China Islam Net

46. Uyghur American Association / Uyghur Human Rights Project
Overseas Web Sites
Uyghur American Association / Uyghur Human Rights Project
and
Information on conditions in Xinjiang
Southern Mongolian Human Rights Information Center
Monitors events in Inner Mongolia
Introduction to Uighur Culture and History by University of Toledo Professor Nathan Light
Contains a bibliography
Mongolia Society Directory of Scholars
US Universities
University of Washington
Indiana University
Harvard