I. A Unified Multi-Ethnic State, and Regional Autonomy
for Ethnic Minorities
Since its founding in 1921, the Communist Party of China (CPC) has made
active efforts to solve China's ethnic problems. It successfully formulated and
implemented policies concerning ethnicminorities, and united and led the people
of all ethnic groups to win the final victory of the New Democratic Revolution.
The first session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference
(CPPCC) was convened in September 1949, on the eve of the foundingof the
People's Republic of China. At the suggestion of the CPC, deputies of different
ethnic groups and political parties held consultations, and decided to proclaim
the establishment of the People's Republic of China as a united multi-ethnic
state. The conference also adopted the Common Program of the CPPCC, which
actually served as a provisional constitution of the new republic.A chapter in
the Common Program specially expounded on New China'sethnic policies, and
clearly defined regional autonomy for ethnic minorities as a basic policy of the
state. This major historical decision was made out of consideration for the
particular situation of China.
(1) The Long Existence of a United Multi-Ethnic State Is the Historical Basis
for Practicing Regional Autonomy for Ethnic Minorities
China is a united multi-ethnic state with long history. As early as 221 BC,
the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC), the first feudal empire in the history of China,
brought about unification to the country for the first time. The subsequent Han
Dynasty (206 BC-220AD) further consolidated the country's unification.
Administrativeareas known as jun (prefecture) and xian (county) were
establishedacross the country, and uniform systems of law, language,
calendar,carriage, currency, and weights and measures were adopted. This
promoted exchanges between different areas and ethnic groups, and created the
fundamental framework for the political, economic and cultural development of
China as a united multi-ethnic state over the next 2,000 years or more. Later
dynasties -- whether they wereestablished by Han people, such as the Sui
(581-618), Tang (618-907), Song (960-1279) and Ming (1368-1644), or by other
ethnic minority groups, such as the Yuan (1271-1368) and Qing (1644-1911)-- all
considered themselves as "orthodox reigns" of China and regarded the
establishment of a united multi-ethnic state their highest political goal.
Almost all the central authorities of the feudal dynasties adopted a policy
of "rule by custom" toward the ethnic minorities.Under this policy, the
political unification of China was maintained while the ethnic minorities were
allowed to preserve their own social systems and cultures. The Han Dynasty
created theOffice of Protector-General of the Western Regions in what is now the
Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, and the Tang Dynasty established Anxi and
Beiting Offices of Protector-General in the same area. These organizations
administered only political and military affairs. The central authorities of the
Qing Dynasty adopted different measures for governing the ethnic-minority
areasin accordance with local characteristics. In the areas where Mongolians
lived, a league-banner (prefecture-county) administrative system was exercised.
In Tibet, the central government sent Grand Ministers Resident in Tibet and
exercised a religion-political rule of lamas and nobles by granting honorific
titles to the two most important Living Buddhas, namely, the DalaiLama and the
Panchen Lama. In the areas where Uygur people lived in compact communities, a
Beg (a generic term for chiefs of Moslemgroups appointed by the central
government) system was adopted. Inplaces where ethnic peoples lived in south
China, a system of tusi("aboriginal office" literally) was introduced. 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-standingexistence 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.
(2) The Patriotic Spirit Formed During the Fight Against Foreign Invasions in
Modern Times Is the Political Basis for Practicing Regional Autonomy for Ethnic
Minorities
For 110 years from the Opium War in 1840, China suffered repeated invasions
and bullying by imperialist powers, and Chinesepeople of all ethnic groups were
subject to oppression and slavery.At the critical moment when China faced the
danger of being carvedup, and when the nation was on the verge of being
subjugated, the Chinese people of all ethnic groups united as one, and put up
the most arduous and bitter struggles against foreign invaders in order to
uphold the country's sovereignty, and win national independence and liberation.
During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1937-1945), in
particular, Chinese people of all ethnic groups, sharing a bitter hatred for the
aggressors, rose in united resistance against the Japanese invaders to safeguard
their homes. Many anti-Japanese forces whose members were mainly of ethnic
minorities, such as the Hui Detachment and the Inner Mongolia Guerrillas, waged
heroic struggles against the Japanese invaders, and contributed greatly to the
final victory inthe war against fascism. While fighting against imperialist
invasions, the Chinese people of all ethnic groups also waged struggles against
separatist plots to bring about "independence" for Tibet, "East Turkistan" and
"Manchukuo" by a small number of separatists with the support of imperialist
powers. Through their struggles against foreign invasions, the Chinese people of
all ethnic groups keenly realized that the great motherland is the common
homeland of them all, and that only when China's sovereignty and territorial
integrity are maintained will all ethnic groups truly come to enjoy freedom,
equality, development and progress. People of all ethnic groups must further
enhance their unity to safeguard the country's sovereignty and
territorialintegrity, and make China a prosperous and rich country.
(3) The Population Distribution Pattern of China's Ethnic Groups, in Which
They Live Together over Vast Areas While Some Live in Compact Communities in
Small Areas, Plus the Disparities Between Different Areas in Access to Natural
Resources and Stage of Development Make It Pragmatic to Adopt the Policy of
Regional Autonomy for Ethnic Minorities.
The history of the evolution of China's ethnic groups is one offrequent
contacts and intermingling. In its long historical development, the various
ethnic groups moved frequently from one place to another and gradually formed
the pattern of living together over vast areas while some live in individual
compact communities in small areas. The Han people, with the largest population,
are distributed all over China, while the populations of the other 55 ethnic
groups are relatively small, and most of them live in the frontier areas. Still,
they can be found in all the administrative regions above county level in the
hinterland. Given this population distribution pattern, establishing ethnic
autonomous areas of different types at different administrative levels based on
regions where ethnic minorities live in compact communities is conducive to the
harmony and stability of relationsbetween different ethnic groups and their
common development.
The regions inhabited by ethnic minorities in compact communities are large,
and rich in natural resources. But comparedwith other regions, particularly with
developed regions, the levelof 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 commondevelopment of all regions and prosperity for all ethnic
groups.
