China yesterday denied that it has adopted a policy of cultural
assimilation towards its 55 minority ethnic groups to limit their
cultures' development.
Tondrub Wangben, vice-minister of the State Ethnic Affairs
Commission, said that ethnic minority cultures have "never been as
better protected as now."
"In fact, there is everything but cultural assimilation in our
policy. Our policy is to protect and develop the cultures of
minority ethnic groups," he told a press conference organized by
the State Council Information Office.
The vice-minister was responding to Western media allegations of
local cultures being suppressed.
He noted that legislation and regulations, including the
Constitution and the Law on Regional Ethnic Autonomy, provide a
strong legal basis to help ethnic minorities develop and maintain
their own cultures.
"Each minority ethnic group enjoys the freedom to use its own
language and characters, the freedom to retain or reform its
customs and habits, and the freedom to religious belief," said the
vice-minister.
Given economic torpor in ethnic minority regions, Tondrub
Wangben said, the government has invested heavily to save and
preserve their cultural heritage.
One example he cited was the renovation of Tibet's best-known feature Potala Palace, on which the central government
spent 53 million yuan (US$6.625 million) and 1,000 kilograms of
gold.
China's cultural agencies have collected more than 1 million
ancient ethnic books over the past 50 years in a bid to preserve
cultural heritage from which 5,000 titles have been published.
Tongdrub Wangben, a Tibetan who earlier served as assistant
governor of Yunnan Province, hailed the successful model
of Lijiang of Yunnan Province and Jiuzhaigou of Sichuan Province, both tourist destinations
famous for thriving local minority culture.
"It protects the natural scenery, preserves and develops the
unique aspects of local culture and, at the same time, achieves
good economic returns for local people," he said.
The construction of the Qinghai-Tibet railway and water conservancy
projects in Sichuan and Yunnan provinces have aroused concerns of
cultural damage but Tongdrub Wangben shrugged off concerns that
developing tourism would damage to the original cultures of some
ethnic minorities.
"We cannot deal in absolutes nor dehumanize the protection of
ethnic minority cultures and must take into account the evolution
and development of these cultures," he told reporters, adding that
preservation does not mean isolation.
"I think it is neither good nor right to enclose a minority
ethnic group in an isolated area just for the purpose of preserving
their original culture."
China has 56 ethnic groups with the Han accounting for 90
percent of its total population. Five autonomous regions have been
created for ethnic groups and twenty-one ethnic groups have their
own written languages.
China's autonomous regions boast more than 9,000 cultural
institutions, including 513 performance art troupes, 566 libraries,
163 museums, 81 public art galleries, 642 cultural palaces and
6,894 cultural centers.
The country has 32 publishing houses producing books in 20
ethnic languages and over 50 million books in ethnic languages were
published each year. In addition, 99 newspapers and 223 periodicals
are issued in 10 ethnic languages.
Tondrub said with government support, radio and TV broadcasting
in ethnic minority areas had achieved great progress, particularly
in west China's border regions. The government has set up 73 radio
and 90 television stations in autonomous regions with more than 200
programs in ethnic languages.
Tondrub said the Chinese government encourages ethnic people to
create and perform literatures, operas, dramas and musical skills
in their own languages.
"The Tibetan operas, the Biography of King Gesar in
Tibetan language, the Uyghur Dastan, the Korean talk shows, the
Mongolian Haolaibao...are all welcomed by the public," he said,
referring only to China's largest and well-known ethnic groups.
Related stories:
China Collects 1 Million Ancient Ethnic
Books
China Spends 53 Million Yuan to Refurnish Potala
Palace in Tibet
(China Daily, Xinhua News Agency, China.org.cn
September 22, 2006)