China's National Minorities and Federalism

...22 states) Autonomous Municipalities Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin SPECIAL MEMBERS Autonomous States Taiwan, Tibet, Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, Ningxia, and Guangxi Special Regions Hong Kong and Macao SUMMER • 1996 • 143 China would fashion a local political structure suited to the nature of the region...

...After the 1911 revolution overthrew the old imperial regime, and following two tumultuous, unstable decades, Chinese republics consolidated, first under the Nationalists (the Guomindang) and then under the Communists...

...In the past half decade, the collapse of Communistgoverned multinational states has inevitably brought disintegration: the seventy-yearold Soviet Union crumbled, Czechoslovakia divided peacefully, and civil war tore apart Yugoslavia...

...In this atmosphere, movements advocating the secession of Inner Mongolia from China emerged...

...One is the example of Taiwan...

...A Mongolian scholar, Dao Erjie, also suggests— 142 • DISSENT China with some qualification—that instead of pressing for secession of Inner Mongolia from China or an attempt to create Greater Mongolia, it would be better to establish "a federal system with other parts of China, on the condition that Mongolians are not deprived of the right to independence...

...For over two thousand years Chinese politics has been dominated by distinct, sometimes parallel cycles...

...My idea is what might be called a "confederated federal system...

...China's largest minority, however, is the Zhuang...

...Tibet was under Mongol influence from the thirteenth to the eighteenth century and then under the (relatively) light dominance of the Qing, the last imperial dynasty...

...Few Han can be found in Xinjiang's south, where the Uighurs are densely settled and Chinese is rarely spoken...

...In China, the development of a market economy has led to a steady decline in the influence of Communist ideology...

...The best opportunities for federalism have been when numerous centers of power emerged in the country...

...Nevertheless, he argues that the only realistic option is to try to resolve Mongolian-Chinese relations on the basis of a "federal system...

...Tibetans have held many prominent positions in their native region, but such office holders have been obliged to do Beijing's bidding...

...Many people think that when Deng—today's "old emperor"— dies, and Communist party chief Jiang Zemin begins to lose a grip on power, division will set in...

...Special component states would have a relatively loose relationship to the federation as a whole, whereas ordinary component states would be more tightly linked...

...The Dalai Lama fled after an anti-Chinese rebellion in 1959...

...In 1933 and 1945, Uighur leaders made two attempts to establish a "Republic of Turkistan" in Xinjiang, but these were quickly suppressed...

...The latter account for only 15.8 percent of the inhabitants, which makes independence for Inner Mongolia an unlikely prospect...

...As to Tibetans—there are 4.6 million of them, of whom 44 percent live in the Tibetan Autonomous Region and 52.3 percent live elsewhere in China...

...2 See Mo Min, "The Outbreak of the Independence Movement in Inner Mongolia," Zheng Ming, July 1990 and "The Unity of Inner Mongolia and China," Zhongguo Zhichun, December 1995...

...in fact, the relation between Tibet and the central government has been different from all the other provinces in China's interior...

...The central government was primarily concerned with controlling Tibet's foreign policy, so that although it was denied the right to make treaties with other countries, the area was able to have its own army, raise taxes, and make most of its own laws...

...This, in turn, would open the path to resolving, in a similar way, the questions of Tibet, Inner Mongolia, and Xinjiang...

...The second factor is the emergence of separatist movements in regions on the mainland, such as Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, and Tibet...

...But Chiang Kai-shek, Mao Zedong, and Deng Xiaoping were, each in his own way, like emperors, grabbing hold of power and refusing to relinquish it...

...But it won't be as it was after the collapse of the Qing dynasty in 1911, when warlords set up fiefdoms throughout the country...

...China has a vast territory...

...Although dissimilarities between the United States and China are great, Americans might think of this as somewhat like the contrast between the status of states under the Articles of Confederation and under the Constitution...

...If the Tibetan Autonomous Zone alone were proclaimed independent, most Tibetans would still be living outside it...

...Uighur is similar to Turkic languages spoken in Turkey and some Central Asian countries...

...Tibetans make up 95 percent of the population of Tibet proper, but fewer than half the inhabitants of the other regions...

...3 Deng Minghai, "The Third Voice of Tibetan Chinese," Zhongshi Zhoukan, 1992...

...in it dwells a population of 1.2 billion with fifty-five different nationalities...

...Each has its own language, script, and religious beliefs...

...Finally, federalism would allow China's different regions to express fully their special characteristics, fostering regional diversity...

...The ideal of the Mongolian people is a united state of Greater Mongolia," says Bache, chair of a U.S.based Mongolian human rights organization...

...A Federal Alternative It seems to me that only some type of genuine federalism can provide a balanced response to separatist demands...

...in fact it goes back to the nineteenth century...

...The Xinjiang Separatist Movement Swells," Ouzhou Ribao, August 17, 1990...

...They are Muslims, but communicate in Chinese...

...The dictatorial and corrupt nature of the central government, together with the cultural differences between the Tibetans and the Han, have all encouraged separatism, though its advocates have been repeatedly repressed by Beijing...

...Other factors are now involved...

...However, they have never sought to secede and this is due, in part, to the fact that they all speak Chinese...

...From the Qin and Han to the Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing, one dynasty perished and another was born...

...In 1990, Outer Mongolia ended its Communist dictatorship and then held free elections for the first time...

...China would still be unified but in a special way...

...But the Dalai Lama, in a 1988 discussion with members of the European Parliament, also suggested that federalism might solve Tibet's problems...

...Some separatists have gone into exile in the Outer Mongolian capital of Ulan Batur and use the city as a base from which to agitate for Inner Mongolian independence.' 140 • DISSENT Qinghai Tibet Autonomous Region 3,200,000 Mongolians (only 15 percent of the total population there) Hong Kong Fig...

...The reason is simple: before the revolution, Tibet enjoyed substantial autonomy...

...the result, however, would likely be rejection of independence...

...There is another "natural" obstacle to independence hopes for Xinjiang, Tibet, and Inner Mongolia...

...In contrast, separatist forces have long been active in Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, and Tibet, and recently they have found encouragement in the USSR's decline and in Taiwanese assertiveness...

...Since then Beijing has asserted its central authority while maintaining a facade of formal autonomy...

...A small fraction resides in exile in India, Nepal, Europe, or America...

...In April 1990, ten people died when a large demonstration turned violent in Aketao County near Kashi...

...At various times in the 1980s there were protests and riots, most of which were instigated by disputes concerning nationality and religion...

...They fashioned their own dynasties, although Taiwan has now evolved in a new direction...

...Mongolians make up the vast majority in Outer Mongolia (population 1.9 million), but in Inner Mongolia there are 3.4 million Mongolians...

...Nowadays, the idea of a federal China is attracting attention because it reflects new social and historical demands...

...Constitutional protections would guarantee a high degree of autonomy for Hong Kong and Macao, and Beijing would not be able to renege on them, as was stipulated in the joint declarations issued by China and, respectively, England and Portugal...

...The Tibetans have vigorously resisted attempts by the central authorities to impose on them any regime resembling that used to govern the Han...

...with a confederal-federal system, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and all the minority regions would have autonomy together with a stake in the future of the country as a whole...

...There would be two kinds of component states within China—"ordinary" and "special" ones...

...Tibet, Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, and Taiwan, along with Hong Kong, Macao, Guangxi, and Ningxia would be in the "special" category...

...From the point of view of strategy— especially national security—that cannot be permitted...

...In Guangxi, where the majority are still Han, the Zhuang make up 38 percent of the population...

...Their goal is to merge with Outer Mongolia to form a "Greater Mongolia...

...There are also 8.6 million people of the Hui nationality scattered all across China, largely interspersed with the Han...

...The first step toward a federal China must be democratization of the mainland...

...Since then, Beijing's dominance over the region— by means of tight, centralized controls exercised from the capital—has led often to serious conflicts between local Han and Uighurs...

...Translated from the Chinese by JENNIFER HOLDAWAY q Notes See "A Storm Rises in Xinjiang" and "National Minorities on the Border are Restless," Yazhou Zhoukan, April 29, 1990...

...Not surprisingly, pro-independence activists have faced harsh repression by Beijing...

...Xinjiang is the home of the Uighurs, who, almost seven million strong, compose some 45 percent of the population there and are Muslim...

...Although sometimes division has actually occurred, the ideal of unity has become ever more entrenched with time...

...From the time when the Qin dynasty unified China, and later in the Han period when the next step was taken toward unification, the ideal and reality of unifying the whole country have permeated society and culture, and have never left the imagination of the Chinese under any of the empires...

...The Dalai Lama has favored a popular election to decide Tibet's future, and is willing to allow all citizens of Greater Tibet to vote...

...Two percent of the population in these areas are Han, although in the Tibetan Autonomous Region, Han are 4 percent of the population...

...With a population of sixteen million, they reside mostly in the Wenshan region of Guangxi and Yunnan provinces...

...Following one incident in 1962, some seventy thousand Uighers fled en masse from the Yining and Tacheng areas to the Soviet Union...

...2: Outer Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang, and Tibet 1,900,000 Mongolians (accounting for 80 percent of the total population there) Outer Mongolia cP oNel kt`° Xinjiang Taiwan China Distinct Tibet Tibet's independence movement is rooted in a historical experience quite different from those of Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia...

...if these three regions actually became independent, China would lose half its territory...

...The traditional system in which power is centralized in the capital would end and each province and city Fig...

...This idea is not new...

...In my view, federalism must come from a spirit of nonviolence...

...The religious distinctiveness of Tibetans, who are devout followers of Lama Buddhism led by the exiled Dalai Lama, has been a major source of conflict with Beijing...

...144 • DISSENT...

...Taiwanese assertiveness, Beijing worries, encourages separatists in Tibet, Xinjiang, and Inner Mongolia...

...During the Cultural Revolution scores of their monasteries were sacked and their relics desecrated or destroyed...

...The first is a cycle of dynasties...

...They are most concentrated in the official Hui Nationality Autonomous Region in Ningxia province, although only 1.6 million of them live there (accounting for 35 percent of the population...

...The other cycle is characterized by alternating processes of unification and division...

...Still, from a geopolitical perspective, it is almost impossible to imagine the south separating alone...

...In northern Xinjiang, Uighurs are mixed in with other nationalities, while in the south their numbers are densely concentrated...

...On the other hand, if the Autonomous Region alone were to proclaim independence, this might well result in a prolonged civil war, reminiscent of Bosnia, in other areas where Tibetans live...

...Most of them can speak and write Chinese, although their native tongue is the Zhuang dialect, part of the Chinese-Tibetan language system...

...Casting a long glance back over Chinese history, we can see that fissures emerged regularly as the centralized power of a dynasty declined...

...Then, on a democratic and confederal-federal basis, we could begin to unify, peacefully, the mainland with Taiwan...

...The majority of Uighurs, Mongolians, and Tibetans are scattered throughout China and live interspersed with the Han...

...Yet an increasingly vocal movement in Taiwan wants the island to SUMMER • 1996 • 139 China be permanently severed from the mainland: the "Republic of China" would become the "Republic of Taiwan...

...But then violence usually brought about unification and the dream of federalism disappeared...

...Few troops were kept there under the Qing, and it was only in the event of foreign aggression or internal disturbances that soldiers were sent in...

...In a federal system, the interaction between the provinces and cities of mainland China and the government in Beijing would also undergo some fundamental changes...

...SUMMER • 1996 • 141 UAN Kanze Deche Ngapa S U-TSANG Tibet Autonomous Region LHASA ANGLADES BURMA YUNNAN Fig...

...However, federalism never became a reality, primarily because Chinese unity was always the result of war or violent revolution...

...Throughout history, whenever China fragments, this idea has returned tenaciously to promote reconsolidation...

...There needs to be a compromise between the urge to independence of minorities and the aspirations to unity of the Han majority...

...There have been repeated incidents of violence against protesting monks and nuns...

...A federal system would also provide for the unification of Taiwan and mainland China, but on a peaceful and equal basis...

...3: Tibet Autonomous Region and Greater Tibet Eastern Turkistan (Xinjiang) GANSU AMDO Qinghai INDIA China Obstacles Separatist movements within China face a major obstacle: the Han majority, numbering over a billion people, are devoted to the idea of a united China under a system of centralized state power...

...Tibetan independence, remarks a soldier stationed in Tibet, would "expose China's soft underbelly...

...4: Component States in a Federal China ORDINARY MEMBERS Autonomous Provinces Shandong, Shanxi, Sichuan, Jiangsu, Guangdong, Gansu, Liaoning, etc...

...On the other hand, if "Greater Tibet," which includes both the Autonomous Region and other areas of China where Tibetans live, were proclaimed independent, Tibetans would be less than half the population in this new state...

...After the 1911 revolution, Tibet freed itself, only to be subdued by Mao in 1951...

...These include the breach between the mainland and Taiwan, the rise of independence movements in Tibet, Xinjiang, and Inner Mongolia, and the need for increasing regional autonomy due to the marketization of the economy...

...Since 1949, the regimes on both sides of the Taiwan Strait have proclaimed that there is only "one China...

...In addition, more than a hundred thousand Tibetans live outside of the country today, and most of them support independence...

...Nowadays, the idea of Xinjiang independence has thousands of backers, and there are activists on its behalf in Alma-Ata, the capital of the Central Asian Republic of Kazakhstan) There are 3.4 million Mongolians in Inner Mongolia, while in neighboring Outer Mongolia (the independent state of Mongolia), there are only 1.9 million...

...The Zhuang and the Hui have repeatedly demanded distinct status as national minorities...

...Genghis Khan, who in the thirteenth century founded an empire that straddled Europe and Asia, is their greatest hero...

...also, Yan Shanxue, "The Trend towards Separatism in Inner Mongolia Grows," Zhongguo Zhichun, September 1992...

...Historically they have been polytheists, believing in ancestor worship and animism, although they include a small number of Protestants and Catholics...

...as the party's controls weaken, more and more people wonder if China will face traumas of division and secession...

...Democratization led to a burst of national consciousness, replete with public accolades in Genghis Khan's memory throughout both Mongolias...

...As historian Daniel W. Y. Kwok points out, "the idea of unity is firmly rooted in the thinking of Chinese...

...His idea was to leave foreign policy in Beijing's hands while making Tibet a truly "autonomous democratic political entity" within China...

...Xinjiang—A Place Whose 'Heart' Is Not In China," Tzu-li tsao-pao, May 14, 1990...

...Ninety-two percent are ethnic Han Chinese, but three minorities, the Uighurs, Mongols, and Tibetans, make up about 2 percent of the population, and together inhabit over half of China's land mass...