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I. A
Unified Multi-Ethnic State, and Regional Autonomy for Ethnic Minorities
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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 ethnic minorities, 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 founding of 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's ethnic 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-220 AD) further consolidated
the country's unification. Administrative areas known as jun (prefecture)
and xian (county) were established across 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 were
established 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 the Office of Protector-General of the
Western Regions in what is now the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, and
the Tang Dynasty established Anxi and Beiting Office 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 areas in 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 Dalai Lama and the
Panchen Lama. In the areas where Uygur people lived in compact communities,
a Beg (a generic term for chiefs of Moslem groups appointed by
the central government) system was adopted. In places 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-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. (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 Chinese people of all
ethnic groups were subject to oppression and slavery. At the critical
moment when China faced the danger of being carved up, 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 in the 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 territorial integrity, 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 of frequent
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 relations
between different ethnic groups and their common development.
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