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Updated Thursday, August 13, 2009 9:14 am TWN, The China Post news staff

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Beijing needs to rethink its failed ethnic policies

A multicultural ethnic policy strives to preserve the cultural heritage of all ethnicities, a policy that produces something like a salad bowl or crazy quilt, rich and colorful. An example can be found in Canada's Quebec province, which is a “distinct society” within Canada, and which exercises true autonomy. Quebec's legislature is called “National Assembly” instead of provincial parliament. It has the power to enact its own laws in a wide range of areas including language, culture, economy and immigration. Quebecers speak French, not English, though both are the official languages of Canada.

On the other hand, unicultural policy strives to preserve the nation's mainstream culture, making other cultures secondary. The United States is an example of this “melting pot” ethnic policy, under which various cultures of the minorities are “melted” into one. Uber alles, you are American, not Chinese or Mexican, or African, who are equal before the law. Steven Chu or Sonia Sotomayor can be proud of his or her ethnic heritage, but forget about making Chinese or Mexican an official language of the United States. You are free to speak or teach your own language, or to glorify your native culture, but there is only one official language. Beijing's ethnic policies are neither of the two. No wonder that Ms. Kadeer dismissed the autonomy for Uighurs as “fake.” One of the sparks setting off the Urumqi riots was the alleged “deportation” of young Uighur men and women to eastern China to work in factories to alleviate poverty. And the Shaoguan incident in June, caused by a rumor that Uighur workers at a toy factory in Shaoguan in Guangdong raped Chinese women, provok an angry mob to kill two Uighur workers. That triggered the Urumqi protests. Another spark was the language issue. Ms. Kadeer complained about “new pressure to use Chinese rather than the Uighur language,” according to the WSJ interview. “Even during the Mao years, at least the Uighur people spoke their own language. Today, the government is flooding the region with Chinese immigrants, making the Uighurs a minority in their own homeland.” Some of the complaints are justified, if Beijing is indeed pursuing a policy aimed at preserving the Uighurs' cultural identity and meaningful self rule. The real significance of autonomy lies in the substance, not name.

Or, if Beijing's policy is cultural assimilation, after the “melting pot” pattern of the United States, then every ethnic group within China's big family should be treated equally, without special favors and privileges. The examples of Canada and the United States should inspire Beijing to rethink its ethnic policies.

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