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Does China have ethnic unity?
Violence indicates 'no;' leaders say 'yes'
April 4, 1997
Web posted at: 4:07 p.m. EST (2107 GMT)
In this story:
From Correspondent Rebecca MacKinnon
(CNN) -- Despite China's problems with separatists in Tibet and the Muslim-dominated Xinjiang region, Beijing insists that the vast country's ethnic groups are treated fairly and are in harmony with the majority. Critics aren't so sure.
Authorities blame ethnic minorities for a series of recent violent incidents, but they deny claims that five Muslim men from the Uighur ethnic group were executed late last month in the aftermath of anti-Chinese riots in the far western province of Xinjiang.
Most Uighurs (pronounced WEE-ghers) in China are peaceful and law-abiding. In the rest of China, the majority Han Chinese generally associate the Uighurs with ethnic songs, dances, food and colorful clothing.
But there are signs of a growing and sometimes violent separatist movement.
In February there was a bus bombing in the middle of Beijing's busiest shopping district. No one claimed responsibility for that blast, which came just one week after bombs allegedly planted by Uighur terrorists killed and injured people in Urumqi, capital of Xinjiang where most of China's Uighurs live.
Those bombings came soon after riots by Uighurs were suppressed by police in another part of Xinjiang.
Within days of the Beijing bombing, President Jiang Zemin appeared on national television with China's most famous Uighur singer to appeal for ethnic unity.
The annual National People's Congress, which meets in Beijing, includes delegates from more than 50 ethnic groups making up 7 percent of China's population.
But actions taken by the Congress "become token, particularly in terms of political representation," says Dru Gladney of the East-West Center, a Hawaii-based research center.
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At Beijing's Central Nationalities University, President Ha Jing Xiong, himself a Muslim, says he's a living example of the government's policy of ethnic equality.
The school's ethnic minority students come from around the country to be educated the government's way . They're taught how to become loyal citizens, not separatists.
"I didn't decide to come here," says a woman student from Tibet. "I got a high score on the college entrance exam, so they sent me here."
To emphasize their commitment to ethnic equality, Chinese leaders continue to stage photo opportunities to show how much they care about minorities.
But in a time when terrorist bombs can reach Beijing, such images may no longer be convincing.
Related stories:
Taiwan silent on expected meetings with Dalai Lama - March 25, 1997 Top Chinese official: U.S., China have common interests - March 7, 1996 Tibetan exile leaders fear Chinese reprisals after bomb - December 30, 1996 Exiled Tibetans sustain culture from afar - December 7, 1996 Related sites:
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- Human Rights in China (HRIC)
- Dalai Lama - site features background information on the Dalai Lama, including speeches and interviews.
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