China and Its National Minorities: Autonomy or Assimilation?
TL;DR: In this article, a study of past and present policies of the People's Republic of China towards its numerous and varied minority groups, a subject about which there is scant information in the West, is presented.
Abstract: This book is a study of past and present policies of the People's Republic of China towards its numerous and varied minority groups, a subject about which there is scant information in the West. It examines the impact of Chinese culture on these diverse groups and China's attempt to bring them into the mainstream of Han life. The impact of the Cultural Revolution on the minority peoples, the future of Tibet, and the implications of Chinese minorities policies for Sino-Soviet relations are among the topics discussed in this book.
Citations
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TL;DR: Zhang et al. as mentioned in this paper argue that the rise of Chinese nationalism was not a result of the official propaganda but a reflection of the state of mind of a new generation of Chinese intelligentsia in response to the foreign pressures in the post-Cold War era.
Abstract: The decline of Communism after the end of the post-Cold War has seen the rise of nationalism in many parts of the former Communist world. In countries such as the former Soviet Union and Yugoslavia, nationalism was pursued largely from the bottom up as ethnic and separatist movements. Some observers also take this bottom-up approach to find the major cause of Chinese nationalism and believe that “the nationalist wave in China is a spontaneous public reaction to a series of international events, not a government propaganda.” (Zhang, M. (1997) The new thinking of Sino–US relations. Journal of Contemporary China , 6 (14), 117–123). They see Chinese nationalism as “a belated response to the talk of containing China among journalists and politicians” in the United States and “a public protest against the mistreatment from the US in the last several years.” (Li, H. (1997) China talks back: anti-Americanism or nationalism? Journal of Contemporary China , 6 (14), 153–160). This position concurs with the authors of nationalistic books in China, such as The China That Can Say No: Political and Sentimental Choice in the Post-Cold War Era (Song, Q., Zhang Z., Qiao B. (1996) Zhongguo Keyi Shuo Bu (The China That Can Say No) . Zhonghua Gongshang Lianhe Chubanshe. Beijing), which called upon Chinese political elites to say no to the US, and argue that the rise of nationalism was not a result of the official propaganda but a reflection of the state of mind of a new generation of Chinese intelligentsia in response to the foreign pressures in the post-Cold War era. Indeed, Chinese nationalism was mainly reactive sentiments to foreign suppressions in modern history, and this new wave of nationalist sentiment also harbored a sense of wounded national pride and an anti-foreign (particularly the US and Japan) resentment. Many Chinese intellectuals gave voice to a rising nationalistic discourse in the 1990s (Zhao, S. (1997) Chinese intellectuals' quest for national greatness and nationalistic writing in the 1990s. The China Quarterly , 152 , 725–745). However, Chinese nationalism in the 1990s was also constructed and enacted from the top by the Communist state. There were no major military threats to China's security after the end of the Cold War. Instead, the internal legitimacy crisis became a grave concern of the Chinese Communist regime because of the rapid decay of Communist ideology. In response, the Communist regime substituted performance legitimacy provided by surging economic development and nationalist legitimacy provided by invocation of the distinctive characteristics of Chinese culture in place of Marxist–Leninism and Mao Zedong Thought. As one of the most important maneuvers to enact Chinese nationalism, the Communist government launched an extensive propaganda campaign of patriotic education after the Tiananmen Incident in 1989. The patriotic education campaign was well-engineered and appealed to nationalism in the name of patriotism to ensure loyalty in a population that was otherwise subject to many domestic discontents. The Communist regime, striving to maintain authoritarian control while Communist ideology was becoming obsolete in the post-Cold War era, warned of the existence of hostile international forces in the world perpetuating imperialist insult to Chinese pride. The patriotic education campaign was a state-led nationalist movement, which redefined the legitimacy of the post-Tiananmen leadership in a way that would permit the Communist Party's rule to continue on the basis of a non-Communist ideology. Patriotism was thus used to bolster CCP power in a country that was portrayed as besieged and embattled. The dependence on patriotism to build support for the government and the patriotic education campaign by the Communist propagandists were directly responsible for the nationalistic sentiment of the Chinese people in the mid-1990s. This paper focuses on the Communist state as the architect of nationalism in China and seeks to understand the rise of Chinese nationalism by examining the patriotic education campaign. It begins with an analysis of how nationalism took the place of the official ideology as the coalescing force in the post-Tiananmen years. It then goes on to examine the process, contents, methods and effectiveness of the patriotic education campaign. The conclusion offers a perspective on the instrumental aspect of state-led nationalism.
314 citations
01 Jan 2000
TL;DR: Ghai and Regan as discussed by the authors discuss the role of ethnicity in managing ethnic conflicts in a democratic South Africa and discuss the new constitutional orders of Ethiopia and Eritrea in South Sudan.
Abstract: 1. Autonomy to manage ethnic conflicts Yash Ghai 2. Federalism and diversity in Canada Ronald Watts 3. Federalism and diversity in India Vasuki Nesiah 4. Autonomy regimes in China: coping with ethnic and economic diversity Yash Ghai 5. How the centre holds: managing claims for regional and ethnic autonomy in a democratic South Africa Heinz Klug 6. Autonomous communities and the ethnic settlement in Spain Daniele Conversi 7. Ethnicity and federalism in socialist Yugoslavia and its successor states Sinisa Malesevic 8. Ethnicity and the new constitutional orders of Ethiopia and Eritrea James Paul 9. Accommodating self-rule: Sri Lankan dialectics Neelan Tiruchelvam 10. Cyprus: from consociationalism to federation Reed Coughlan 11. Bougainville and dialectics of ethnicity, autonomy and separation Yash Ghai and Anthony Regan 12. Autonomy for Aboriginal peoples Cheryl Saunders.
174 citations
TL;DR: This article argued that affirmative action has created greater social equity, while not impairing and likely promoting positive Han-minority relations, even in Xinjiang, a fast growing, but unstable PRC minority region.
Abstract: Preferential policies for ethnic minorities in China are implemented in family planning, school admissions, the hiring and promotion, the financing and taxation of businesses, and regional infrastructural support. Affirmative action has created greater social equity, while not impairing and likely promoting positive Han‐minority relations. This is so even in Xinjiang, a fast growing, but unstable PRC minority region. China's preferential policies represent a case that does not conform to the hypothesis of Thomas Sowell and other scholars that affirmative action everywhere fails to produce substantial equity, inhibits economic efficiency and creates inter‐ethnic tensions.
151 citations
Book•
15 Feb 2012TL;DR: Critical Han Studies as mentioned in this paper is a collection of trenchant, penetrating essays interrogating what it means to be "Han" in China, both historically and today, both by examining the social construction of hierarchy and in-group favoritism.
Abstract: Addressing the problem of the ‘Han’ ethnos from a variety of relevant perspectives—historical, geographical, racial, political, literary, anthropological, and linguistic—Critical Han Studies offers a responsible, informative deconstruction of this monumental yet murky category. It is certain to have an enormous impact on the entire field of China studies.” Victor H. Mair, University of Pennsylvania “This deeply historical, multidisciplinary volume consistently and fruitfully employs insights from critical race and whiteness studies in a new arena. In doing so it illuminates brightly how and when ideas about race and ethnicity change in the service of shifting configurations of power.” David Roediger, author of How Race Survived U.S. History “A great book. By examining the social construction of hierarchy in China,Critical Han Studiessheds light on broad issues of cultural dominance and in-group favoritism.” Richard Delgado, author of Critical Race Theory: An Introduction “A powerful, probing account of the idea of the ‘Han Chinese’—that deceptive category which, like ‘American,’ is so often presented as a natural default, even though it really is of recent vintage. . . . A feast for both Sinologists and comparativists everywhere.” Magnus Fiskesjo, Cornell University “This collection of trenchant, penetrating essays interrogates what it means to be ‘Han’ in China, both historically and today. It will make a valuable and enduring contribution to our understanding of the uniqueness and complexity of Chinese history and culture. Dru Gladney, Pomona College Constituting over ninety percent of China's population, Han is not only the largest ethnonational group in that country but also one of the largest categories of human identity in world history. In this pathbreaking volume, a multidisciplinary group of scholars examine this ambiguous identity, one that shares features with, but cannot be subsumed under, existing notions of ethnicity, culture, race, nationality, and civilization. Thomas S. Mullaney is a professor of history at Stanford University. James Leibold is senior lecturer and Asian studies program convenor at La Trobe University. Stephane Gros is a research fellow at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique. Eric Vanden Bussche is a Ph.D. candidate at Stanford University. Contributors: Uradyn E. Bulag, Kevin Carrico, Zhihong Chen, Tamara Chin, Mark Elliott, C. Patterson Giersch, James Leibold, Thomas S. Mullaney, Nicholas Tapp, Emma J. Teng, Chris Vasantkumar, and Xu Jieshun Series: New Perspectives on Chinese Culture and Society, vol. 4
114 citations
TL;DR: The “scientific” project of ethnic classification undertaken for political purposes in Vietnam beginning in 1958 was comparable directly (and not unrelated) to a similar project undertaken in China in the 1950s.
Abstract: On a visit to a northern province in the 1950s, Ho Chi Minh, who had spent many years during the war with the French living with upland peoples in northern Vietnam, asked local authorities how many ethnic groups were found within the province. Professor Đang Nghiem Van, the doyen of ethnologists in Vietnam, has written that President Ho received the following response:The “scientific” project of ethnic classification undertaken for political purposes in Vietnam beginning in 1958 was comparable directly (and not unrelated) to a similar project undertaken in China in the 1950s.
110 citations
References
More filters
TL;DR: Zhang et al. as mentioned in this paper argue that the rise of Chinese nationalism was not a result of the official propaganda but a reflection of the state of mind of a new generation of Chinese intelligentsia in response to the foreign pressures in the post-Cold War era.
Abstract: The decline of Communism after the end of the post-Cold War has seen the rise of nationalism in many parts of the former Communist world. In countries such as the former Soviet Union and Yugoslavia, nationalism was pursued largely from the bottom up as ethnic and separatist movements. Some observers also take this bottom-up approach to find the major cause of Chinese nationalism and believe that “the nationalist wave in China is a spontaneous public reaction to a series of international events, not a government propaganda.” (Zhang, M. (1997) The new thinking of Sino–US relations. Journal of Contemporary China , 6 (14), 117–123). They see Chinese nationalism as “a belated response to the talk of containing China among journalists and politicians” in the United States and “a public protest against the mistreatment from the US in the last several years.” (Li, H. (1997) China talks back: anti-Americanism or nationalism? Journal of Contemporary China , 6 (14), 153–160). This position concurs with the authors of nationalistic books in China, such as The China That Can Say No: Political and Sentimental Choice in the Post-Cold War Era (Song, Q., Zhang Z., Qiao B. (1996) Zhongguo Keyi Shuo Bu (The China That Can Say No) . Zhonghua Gongshang Lianhe Chubanshe. Beijing), which called upon Chinese political elites to say no to the US, and argue that the rise of nationalism was not a result of the official propaganda but a reflection of the state of mind of a new generation of Chinese intelligentsia in response to the foreign pressures in the post-Cold War era. Indeed, Chinese nationalism was mainly reactive sentiments to foreign suppressions in modern history, and this new wave of nationalist sentiment also harbored a sense of wounded national pride and an anti-foreign (particularly the US and Japan) resentment. Many Chinese intellectuals gave voice to a rising nationalistic discourse in the 1990s (Zhao, S. (1997) Chinese intellectuals' quest for national greatness and nationalistic writing in the 1990s. The China Quarterly , 152 , 725–745). However, Chinese nationalism in the 1990s was also constructed and enacted from the top by the Communist state. There were no major military threats to China's security after the end of the Cold War. Instead, the internal legitimacy crisis became a grave concern of the Chinese Communist regime because of the rapid decay of Communist ideology. In response, the Communist regime substituted performance legitimacy provided by surging economic development and nationalist legitimacy provided by invocation of the distinctive characteristics of Chinese culture in place of Marxist–Leninism and Mao Zedong Thought. As one of the most important maneuvers to enact Chinese nationalism, the Communist government launched an extensive propaganda campaign of patriotic education after the Tiananmen Incident in 1989. The patriotic education campaign was well-engineered and appealed to nationalism in the name of patriotism to ensure loyalty in a population that was otherwise subject to many domestic discontents. The Communist regime, striving to maintain authoritarian control while Communist ideology was becoming obsolete in the post-Cold War era, warned of the existence of hostile international forces in the world perpetuating imperialist insult to Chinese pride. The patriotic education campaign was a state-led nationalist movement, which redefined the legitimacy of the post-Tiananmen leadership in a way that would permit the Communist Party's rule to continue on the basis of a non-Communist ideology. Patriotism was thus used to bolster CCP power in a country that was portrayed as besieged and embattled. The dependence on patriotism to build support for the government and the patriotic education campaign by the Communist propagandists were directly responsible for the nationalistic sentiment of the Chinese people in the mid-1990s. This paper focuses on the Communist state as the architect of nationalism in China and seeks to understand the rise of Chinese nationalism by examining the patriotic education campaign. It begins with an analysis of how nationalism took the place of the official ideology as the coalescing force in the post-Tiananmen years. It then goes on to examine the process, contents, methods and effectiveness of the patriotic education campaign. The conclusion offers a perspective on the instrumental aspect of state-led nationalism.
314 citations
01 Jan 2000
TL;DR: Ghai and Regan as discussed by the authors discuss the role of ethnicity in managing ethnic conflicts in a democratic South Africa and discuss the new constitutional orders of Ethiopia and Eritrea in South Sudan.
Abstract: 1. Autonomy to manage ethnic conflicts Yash Ghai 2. Federalism and diversity in Canada Ronald Watts 3. Federalism and diversity in India Vasuki Nesiah 4. Autonomy regimes in China: coping with ethnic and economic diversity Yash Ghai 5. How the centre holds: managing claims for regional and ethnic autonomy in a democratic South Africa Heinz Klug 6. Autonomous communities and the ethnic settlement in Spain Daniele Conversi 7. Ethnicity and federalism in socialist Yugoslavia and its successor states Sinisa Malesevic 8. Ethnicity and the new constitutional orders of Ethiopia and Eritrea James Paul 9. Accommodating self-rule: Sri Lankan dialectics Neelan Tiruchelvam 10. Cyprus: from consociationalism to federation Reed Coughlan 11. Bougainville and dialectics of ethnicity, autonomy and separation Yash Ghai and Anthony Regan 12. Autonomy for Aboriginal peoples Cheryl Saunders.
174 citations
TL;DR: This article argued that affirmative action has created greater social equity, while not impairing and likely promoting positive Han-minority relations, even in Xinjiang, a fast growing, but unstable PRC minority region.
Abstract: Preferential policies for ethnic minorities in China are implemented in family planning, school admissions, the hiring and promotion, the financing and taxation of businesses, and regional infrastructural support. Affirmative action has created greater social equity, while not impairing and likely promoting positive Han‐minority relations. This is so even in Xinjiang, a fast growing, but unstable PRC minority region. China's preferential policies represent a case that does not conform to the hypothesis of Thomas Sowell and other scholars that affirmative action everywhere fails to produce substantial equity, inhibits economic efficiency and creates inter‐ethnic tensions.
151 citations
Book•
15 Feb 2012TL;DR: Critical Han Studies as mentioned in this paper is a collection of trenchant, penetrating essays interrogating what it means to be "Han" in China, both historically and today, both by examining the social construction of hierarchy and in-group favoritism.
Abstract: Addressing the problem of the ‘Han’ ethnos from a variety of relevant perspectives—historical, geographical, racial, political, literary, anthropological, and linguistic—Critical Han Studies offers a responsible, informative deconstruction of this monumental yet murky category. It is certain to have an enormous impact on the entire field of China studies.” Victor H. Mair, University of Pennsylvania “This deeply historical, multidisciplinary volume consistently and fruitfully employs insights from critical race and whiteness studies in a new arena. In doing so it illuminates brightly how and when ideas about race and ethnicity change in the service of shifting configurations of power.” David Roediger, author of How Race Survived U.S. History “A great book. By examining the social construction of hierarchy in China,Critical Han Studiessheds light on broad issues of cultural dominance and in-group favoritism.” Richard Delgado, author of Critical Race Theory: An Introduction “A powerful, probing account of the idea of the ‘Han Chinese’—that deceptive category which, like ‘American,’ is so often presented as a natural default, even though it really is of recent vintage. . . . A feast for both Sinologists and comparativists everywhere.” Magnus Fiskesjo, Cornell University “This collection of trenchant, penetrating essays interrogates what it means to be ‘Han’ in China, both historically and today. It will make a valuable and enduring contribution to our understanding of the uniqueness and complexity of Chinese history and culture. Dru Gladney, Pomona College Constituting over ninety percent of China's population, Han is not only the largest ethnonational group in that country but also one of the largest categories of human identity in world history. In this pathbreaking volume, a multidisciplinary group of scholars examine this ambiguous identity, one that shares features with, but cannot be subsumed under, existing notions of ethnicity, culture, race, nationality, and civilization. Thomas S. Mullaney is a professor of history at Stanford University. James Leibold is senior lecturer and Asian studies program convenor at La Trobe University. Stephane Gros is a research fellow at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique. Eric Vanden Bussche is a Ph.D. candidate at Stanford University. Contributors: Uradyn E. Bulag, Kevin Carrico, Zhihong Chen, Tamara Chin, Mark Elliott, C. Patterson Giersch, James Leibold, Thomas S. Mullaney, Nicholas Tapp, Emma J. Teng, Chris Vasantkumar, and Xu Jieshun Series: New Perspectives on Chinese Culture and Society, vol. 4
114 citations
TL;DR: The “scientific” project of ethnic classification undertaken for political purposes in Vietnam beginning in 1958 was comparable directly (and not unrelated) to a similar project undertaken in China in the 1950s.
Abstract: On a visit to a northern province in the 1950s, Ho Chi Minh, who had spent many years during the war with the French living with upland peoples in northern Vietnam, asked local authorities how many ethnic groups were found within the province. Professor Đang Nghiem Van, the doyen of ethnologists in Vietnam, has written that President Ho received the following response:The “scientific” project of ethnic classification undertaken for political purposes in Vietnam beginning in 1958 was comparable directly (and not unrelated) to a similar project undertaken in China in the 1950s.
110 citations