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They also say this suggests a further setback in affirmative action against ethnic minorities as the Chinese government retreats from emphasizing the unique characteristics of ethnic minorities.
The book argues that since the 1970s, under the influence of neoliberalism in Western countries, “conflicts between various groups based on subnational and subcultural identities have continued to increase, and racial and ethnic tensions have increased. “It has become particularly intense.”
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State-backed tourism boom in Xinjiang city surrounded by camps
State-backed tourism boom in Xinjiang city surrounded by camps
The textbook cited America’s “political divisions” and “social rifts” as an example, and referenced the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. The textbook said that in the United States, lower-middle-class whites “blame people of color.” About the disparity between rich and poor brought about by economic globalization.
The report also enumerated the “national identity dilemmas” faced by regions as diverse as Europe, Africa, the United States and India, and concluded that none of the policies of other countries were able to address them.
“Neither a harmonious ‘melting pot’ policy nor a hyper-diverse model of ethnic governance will work,” the authors write.
The book was co-authored by about a dozen Chinese scholars known for advocating ethnic integration.
How Inner Mongolia is emerging as a model for China’s ethnic affairs policy
How Inner Mongolia is emerging as a model for China’s ethnic affairs policy
The Chinese government’s ethnic integration policy has accelerated since 2014, when President Xi Jinping spoke of the “community sense of the Chinese nation.” He told the 2021 conference that building this sense of community should be at the heart of any ethnic minority policy, and called on local governments to take more proactive steps.
These included promoting the use of “standard spoken and written Chinese,” or Mandarin.
The textbook also details how current ethnic policies differ from those practiced in China before Xi took office.
This change includes an emphasis on the wholeness of the “Chinese nation” and a shift in special focus from ethnic minorities to “all ethnic groups” and “all regions.”
According to the book, policies up until now have focused primarily on “managing the belly,” or enriching people. But this time we need to manage both the “stomach” and the “brain,” which means intervening in the mind.
He also criticized China’s past ethnic policies, which were modeled after those of the former Soviet Union.
The report said some outdated measures had “deviated from their original objectives, entrenched ethnic differences, fostered a narrow national consciousness and created a false theory of ethnic minority exceptionalism”. .
This refers to positive policies towards ethnic minorities and leads to path dependence, “demanding special policies with special status.”
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Is Hong Kong’s education system failing biracial Chinese children?
Is Hong Kong’s education system failing biracial Chinese children?
Some members of China’s Han Chinese, China’s largest ethnic group, resented aggressive policies such as exempting some ethnic minority groups from the one-child policy and relaxing university admission standards; Some of the group “looked to the West” due to their ethnic roots, and to foreign countries due to their cultural roots. ”
Lai Hongyi, an associate professor of social science at the University of Nottingham, said the book “seems to present a new and broader perspective on China’s ethnic issues, from the evolution of the Chinese nation through history to the present day.”
Lai said the move suggests that the cultural privileges of affirmative action granted to ethnic minorities will be “drastically rolled back.”
Although this book does not name any ethnic groups in China, some of China’s minority groups, especially in the periphery, have historical and cultural closeness to groups beyond China’s borders, such as Uyghurs, Tibetans, and Mongolians. It is common that they are shared.
The authors note in the text that pan-nationalism, ethnic separatism, and religious extremism from other countries continue to influence China.
Ma Haiyun, an associate professor of history at Frostburg State University in Maryland, said the comments signaled “an abandonment of Soviet-inspired communist policies regarding nationality and ethnicity.” .
He added that current policy goals “are not only aimed at political unity, but also cultural assimilation.” However, if this concept is “Han Chinese in a narrow sense, such policy practices will create more tension than harmony.”
China to more tightly control ethnic minority debate to mitigate ‘risks’
China to more tightly control ethnic minority debate to mitigate ‘risks’
James Liebold, an expert on Chinese ethnic politics and a professor at Melbourne’s La Trobe University, said the book was “the most candid assessment of the need for a policy U-turn” he had read in 2012. .
The authors claim that since ancient times, all ethnic groups have accepted the concept of: Chinese food – means Chinese culture or civilization.
This book seeks to redefine the concept of. mins In Chinese, he said that in English it encompasses the triple meaning of race, ethnicity, and nation, and argued that China’s ethnic policies are superior to those of Western countries.
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Cantonese or Mandarin? Hong Kong education debate since 2008
Cantonese or Mandarin? Hong Kong education debate since 2008
Aaron Glasserman, who studies China’s ethnic policy at Harvard University’s Harvard Academy of International and Area Studies, once said that ethnic minority intellectuals “study and develop the unique culture, traditions, and history of their own people.” He said he was encouraged to do so.
But he said: “On this intellectual front, the old system has already been abandoned and this new textbook is the nail in the coffin.”
A scholar who teaches anthropology at a university in eastern China asked not to be identified due to the sensitivity of the issue, but he and his colleagues said the issue is vast and due to the fact that some people know about it. said he expected this course to be difficult to teach. Its interpretation of Chinese history was different from previous history textbooks.
As an example, the book describes the decades-long fighting between five nomadic groups and the Han regime in the early 4th century as a mixture of nationalities, but not as a war that hindered the country’s development as described above. has been done.
This is a point made by Pan Yue (editor-in-chief of textbooks) of the National Ethnic Affairs Commission in 2021.
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