The Indigenous World 2022: China

Written on 01 April 2022. Posted in China

The People’s Republic of China (PRC or China) officially proclaims itself to be a unified country with a diverse ethnic make-up and all nationalities equal in the Constitution. Besides the Han Chinese majority, the government recognizes 55 minority nationalities within its borders. According to the latest national census in 2020,^[1] the combined minority nationalities’ population stands at 125,332,335 or 8.89% of the country's total population. The “unidentified ethnic groups” in China are included in the “minority nationalities” population, numbering 836,488 persons. Minority nationalities are culturally distinctive and socially marginalized in the Chinese context.

The Law of the People’s Republic of China on Regional National Autonomy is a basic law for the governance of minority nationalities in China. It includes establishing autonomous areas for nationalities, setting up their own local governance and giving them the right to practice their own language and culture. These regional national autonomous areas make up approximately 64% of China’s total territory and include, among others, vast territories of Tibet Autonomous Region, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.

The Chinese government does not recognize the existence of Indigenous Peoples in the PRC despite voting in favor of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).

The Outline of the People’s Republic of China 14^th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development and Long-Range Objectives for 2035, adopted by the National People's Congress in March 2021, has a special section on “promoting equality between men and women and the comprehensive development of women”.^[2] The State Council published the Outline for Women’s Development in China (2021-2030) in August, setting out further objectives, measures and requirements for the coming 10 years to implement the State policy of gender equality in education, employment, entrepreneurship, participation in decision-making, etc. The outline policies require full implementation of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value, increases in public services for the comprehensive development of women, improved social security for women's special needs, and a refined legal system for protecting women’s lawful rights and interests.^[3]

The Human Rights Action Plan of China (2021-2025) adopted in September confirms implementation of the basic national policy of gender equality, and enforcement of the Outline for the Development of Women in China (2021-2030) by improving the environment for women's development, facilitating the exercise of their rights, increasing their participation in socio-economic development, and ensuring their share of development benefits.^[4]

The results of the fourth Survey on Social Status of Women in China, which is organized by the All-China Women's Federation (ACWF) and the National Bureau of Statistics, were revealed on 28 December and concluded that China has created a better social environment for women's individual overall development and achieved wider recognition of gender equality over the past decade.^[5]

The above policies, action plans and survey data are meant to have a significant impact on the Indigenous Peoples and minority nationalities in China. However, upon closer scrutiny, the following can be observed: 

• The policy outlines and 2021 survey lack relevant concerns regarding the issues and special needs or rights of minority nationalities. The survey fails to present the general situation or the specific issues of minority nationalities and unidentified ethnic groups. This noticeably differs from the first similar survey undertaken four decades ago, which contained relevant data on minority nationalities. Together with the policy outlines, which do not address minority groups, it is a sign of a trend towards eliminating differences in the social reality of multiple nationalities to consolidate Chinese Nation-building.
• While the documents claim that their objective is to improve legal protection for women, there is no attention to the rights of women with a minority or Indigenous background. For example, among the 10 annually selected leading cases on women’s rights promoted by the ACWF together with the Supreme Court and other agencies, there is not one case related to the specific rights of minority or Indigenous peoples.
• The documents completely ignore the situation of Turkic women in detention in Xinjiang. There are disturbing reports of sexual violence against Turkic Muslim women in detention in Xinjiang.^[6] The Uyghur Tribunal, an independent people’s tribunal to investigate ongoing atrocities and possible genocide against the Turkic Muslim populations in China confirmed that women in Xinjiang are subjected to systematic involuntary birth control measures, sexual harassment and non-consensual sex, along with interference in many of their cultural and religious habits and customs.^[7] The New EU-China strategy (2021/2037(INI)) adopted by the European Parliament describes human rights violations against Turkic Muslim women in detention in Xinjiang in similar terms.^[8] There were also initiatives to investigate the systematic violation of human rights as crimes against humanity or genocide based on these cases by legislators of several countries including USA, Canada, Belgium, the Netherlands and the UK.^[9] However, China denies these claims and has even stated that discussions on the repression of Uyghur Muslims and other minorities in Xinjiang through the platform of the United Nations was an insult to the institution.^[10]

This article is part of the 36th edition of The Indigenous World, a yearly overview produced by IWGIA that serves to document and report on the developments Indigenous Peoples have experienced. The photo above is of Indigenous Women standing up and taking the lead in the land rights struggle of their community in Jharkhand, India. This photo was taken by Signe Leth, and is the cover of the Indigenous World 2022 where the article is featured.Find The Indigenous World 2022 in full here

Legislation and administrative measures to “foster a strong sense of community for the Chinese nation”

The Fifth Central Conference on Ethnic Affairs held on 27 and 28 August formulated the guiding principles, strategic goals, major tasks, as well as policies and measures of the Chinese Communist Party's work on ethnic affairs, focusing on “fostering a strong sense of community for the Chinese nation.”^[11] It is clear that the CCP is urging efforts to forge a stronger sense of national identity and a deeper bond of attachment among people of all ethnic groups in China to ensure the enduring stability of the Party and a strategic perspective of national rejuvenation.^[12] The significant impacts of this focus could be seen in the following legislations and administrative measures:

Legislation on ethnic unity

On 30 January, the People’s Congress of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region adopted Regulations on Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress.^[13] Since there is no legal definition of “ethnic unity” in the document, its application may lead to arbitrariness in its application and consequent violations of the freedom of expression of individuals.

There are similar regulations being adopted or under revision in other minority areas. For example, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region passed Regulations on Creating a Model Region of Ethnic Unity and Progress on 5 February.^[14] Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Yunnan Province has been undertaking a legislative review of their regulations and plans to adopt the new revised local regulations in 2022.^[15]

Policies and laws on minority languages

The State Council issued the Outline of Child Development in China (2021-2030) in September. This outline sets out the measures by which to strengthen the work of promoting the national commonly-used language (Mandarin) and education on ethnic unity, including in particular pushing pre-school children to learn Mandarin before they enter primary school.^[16] There are substantial changes in rules and wording in the relevant part compared to the previous outline (2011-2020). The newly-released outline no longer invites people “to respect and protect the rights of minority children of minority nationalities to use their own language for education, to strengthen bilingual education for pre-school children”, as was stated in the previous version of the outline, but fully promotes the national commonly-used language.^[17]
This change is in line with several measures taken by central and local authorities.

In July, the Ministry of Education issued a notice on implementation on the plan of Mandarin education for pre-school children during the 14^th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025). It focuses on kindergartens in minority and rural areas, and requires them all to use Mandarin in their nursery and educational activities as from the autumn of 2021.^[18]

The National Languages Commission and the Ministry of Education held a press conference to publicize the Instructions on Fully Strengthening Language Work in the New Era from the State Council, the highest administrative body in China, in December.^[19] It is the first document on language from the State Council since 1949. It sets concrete aims and measures aimed at promoting Mandarin in minority areas, which will substantially impact the rights of minority nationalities in the use and development of their own languages.

On 29 September, the Standing Committee of the People’s Congress of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region revised the Methods for Implementing the National Commonly-Used Language Law (2007).^[20] The document expresses its aim of consolidating a sense of community for the Chinese Nation, and maintaining the dominant status of Mandarin. While Article 1 of the document makes references to the state law, it avoids noting that the Constitution of the PRC states that minority nationalities have the freedom to use and develop their own languages (Article 4). Meanwhile, the former version of the law –Regulations on Mongolia Language Work (adopted in 2004)– and which was based on said Constitutional principle in the region, was abolished in 2021.

Policies and measures on minority religions

The National Conference on Religious Affairs was held on 3 and 4 December in Beijing. The objective of the conference was to uphold CCP’s leading role in the adaptation of religions to socialist society. Based on the new policies approved in the CCP’s conferences on ethnic and religious affairs in 2021, ACWF took decisions regarding its work arrangements in Tibet and Xinjiang in December under the “pairing assistance” system.^[21] The main purpose of these measures is to serve to consolidate a sense of community around the Chinese Nation. The pairing assistance is set out in the Regional National Autonomy Law (Article 64). The practices and results of this system are, however controversial.^[22]

There are some essential contradictory aims and measures within the above legislation, policies and administrative measures. While the Chinese Constitution and the new Human Rights Action Plan (2021-2025)^[23] enshrine minority rights protection, there are in practice challenges in respecting this constitutional freedom of religious belief and minority language use while at the same time applying a policy of being guided by the “religious theory of socialism with Chinese characteristics” and Chinese Nation-building. It will be important to monitor the implementation of these normative rules and administrative measures based on the principle of the rule of law.

Important inputs to/outcomes from international processes

In 2021, there were global concerns regarding the human rights situations in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. There are reports and opinions from various sources on the systematic human rights violations, including:

• The Essex Court Chambers Opinion (January): International criminal responsibility for crimes against humanity and genocide against the Uyghur population in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region^[24]
• Newlines Institute for Strategy and Policy report (March): The Uyghur Genocide – An Examination of China’s Breaches of the 1948 Genocide Convention^[25]
• Human Rights Watch (HRW) report (April): Break Their Lineage Break Their Roots^[26]
• Amnesty International report (June): Like we were Enemies in a War - China’s mass internment, torture and persecution of Muslims in Xinjiang^[27]
• Australian Strategic Policy Institute’s International Cyber Policy Centre (October): The Architecture of Repression Unpacking Xinjiang’s governance^[28]
• United States Holocaust Memorial Museum report (November): To Make Us Slowly Disappeared^[29]

These reports reveal a range of widespread and systematic human rights violations in Xinjiang, including arbitrary detention, torture, forced sterilization, sexual and gender-based violence, forced separation of children, severe restrictions on freedom of religion or belief and the freedoms of movement, association and expression as well as on practicing Uyghur culture. Some reports reached the same conclusion as that of the Uyghur Tribunal on 9 December when it stated that China “has committed genocide, crimes against humanity and torture” against Uyghurs and other Turkic peoples. ^[30]

On 29 March 2021, 16 UN human rights experts raised serious concerns about the alleged detention and forced labor of Muslim Uyghurs in China, calling for unhindered access to the country to conduct fact-finding missions and urging global and domestic companies to closely scrutinize their supply chains.^[31]

A joint statement of 43 countries at the UN General Assembly’s Third Committee expressed particular concerns about the situation in Xinjiang. It called on China to allow immediate, meaningful and unfettered access to Xinjiang for independent observers, including the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and relevant special procedure mandate holders, as well as to urgently implement CERD’s eight recommendations related to Xinjiang.^[32]

There are a few countries, including the United States, Australia, UK, Canada, Estonia, Latvia, Sweden, the Netherlands and Denmark, that announced diplomatic boycotts of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics because of human rights violation in China, especially in Xinjiang. China has denied all allegations and sanctioned related politicians, officials, scholars in various countries. On 26 March 2021, China announced its sanction of nine individuals and four entities in the UK, including the Uyghur Tribunal and its Chair for their “maliciously spreading lies and disinformation.”^[33]

General outlook for 2022

It is crucial that the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights undertakes a fact-finding mission to Xinjiang, which will act as an indicator of the effectiveness of collaborative multilateralism through the UN human rights mechanism. An OHCHR spokesperson noted that it had made its own assessment and identified “patterns of arbitrary detention and ill-treatment in institutions, coercive labor practices and erosion of social and cultural rights” in Xinjiang.^[34] The assessment report will be published in early 2022.^[35] Negotiations regarding a field visit to China by the High Commissioner, Michelle Bachelet, and members of the OHCHR have been going on.

Due to the sensitivity of some of the issues covered in this article, the author prefers to remain anonymous.

This article is part of the 36th edition of The Indigenous World, a yearly overview produced by IWGIA that serves to document and report on the developments Indigenous Peoples have experienced. The photo above is of Indigenous Women standing up and taking the lead in the land rights struggle of their community in Jharkhand, India. This photo was taken by Signe Leth, and is the cover of the Indigenous World 2022 where the article is featured. Find The Indigenous World 2022 in full here

Notes and references 

^[1] National Bureau of Statistics. http://www.stats.gov.cn/tjsj/ndsj/2021/indexch.htm

^[2] “Outline of the People’s Republic of China 14th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development and Long-Range Objectives for 2035, adopted by the National People's Congress in March 2021.”  Section 1, Chapter 50, https://www.ndrc.gov.cn/xxgk/zcfb/ghwb/202103/P020210323538797779059.pdf

^[3] The State Council. Circular of the State Council on Printing and Distributing the Program for the Development of Chinese Women and the Program for the Development of Chinese Children, The State Council, September 27, 2021. http://www.gov.cn/zhengce/content/2021-09/27/content_5639412.htm

^[4] The State Council. “Full Text: Human Rights Action Plan of China (2021-2025).” The State Council, September 9, 2021. http://english.www.gov.cn/news/topnews/202109/09/content_WS6139a111c6d0df57f98dfeec.html

^[5] Shanghai Municipal Women & Children Committee (SMWCC).

http://fegw.sh.gov.cn/type3/20211228/a528ce531dd04f29a842bfd68bb6819c.html. There were three previous surveys undertaken in 1990, 2000, and 2010 respectively.

^[6] Hill, Matthew, David Campanale and Joel Gunter. “'Their goal is to destroy everyone': Uighur camp detainees allege systematic rape.” BBC News, February 3, 2021. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-55794071

^[7] Uyghur Tribunal. “Uyghur Tribunal Judgment.” As delivered at Church House, Westminster on Thursday 9 December 2021. https://uyghurtribunal.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Uyghur-Tribunal-Summary-Judgment-9th-Dec-21.pdf

^[8] European Parliament. “European Parliament 2019–2024. P9_TA(2021)0382. A new EU-China strategy. European Parliament resolution of 16 September 2021 on a new EU-China strategy (2021/2037(INI))”. https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/TA-9-2021-0382_EN.pdf

^[9] Congress.gov – Library of Congress. “H. Res. 317. In the House of Representatives, U. S., December 8, 2021.

https://www.congress.gov/117/bills/hres317/BILLS-117hres317eh.pdf. BBC News. “Canada's parliament declares China's treatment of Uighurs 'genocide'.” BBC, February 23, 2021. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-56163220. World Yughur Congress. “Press Release: The WUC Applauds Joint Motion in Belgian Parliament Recognizing Crimes Against Humanity and Serious Risk of Genocide.” World Yughur Congress, June 15, 2021. https://www.uyghurcongress.org/en/press-release-the-wuc-applauds-joint-motion-in-belgian-parliament-recognizing-crimes-against-humanity-and-serious-risk-of-genocide/. Tweede Kamer der Staten-Generaal. “Motie van de leden Van Ojik en Van den Nieuwenhuijzen over alle Nederlandse bedrijven met activiteiten in China oproepen hun toeleveringsketens te onderzoeken op mogelijke links met de onderdrukking van Oeigoeren.”  February 25, 2021. https://www.tweedekamer.nl/kamerstukken/moties/detail?id=2021Z03866&did=2021D08395. UK Parliament. Committees. “House of Commons. Foreign Affairs Committee. Never Again: The UK’s Responsibility to Act on Atrocities in Xinjiang and Beyond. Second Report of Session 2021–22.Report, together with formal minutes relating to the report. Ordered by the House of Commons to be printed 29 June 2021. HC 198. HC 800 (in session 2019–21). Published on 8 July 2021 by authority of the House of Commons.”

https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/6624/documents/71430/default/

^[10] Reuters. “China foreign ministry says planned U.N. event on Xinjiang an insult.” Reuters, May 10, 2021. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/china-foreign-ministry-says-planned-un-event-xinjiang-an-insult-2021-05-10/

^[11]Xinhua. “Xi Focus: Xi stresses high-quality development of Party's work on ethnic affairs.” Xinhuanet, August 28, 2021 http://www.news.cn/english/2021-08/28/c_1310154568.htm

^[12] Wikipedia. “Chinese Dream.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_Dream

^[13] Inner Mongolia Digital Daily News. “Regulations of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region on promoting ethnic unity and progress.”  Inner Mongolia Digital Daily News, February 9, 2021. https://swt.nmg.gov.cn/ztzl/djgz/202102/t20210209_886982.html

^[14] Xinjiang Daily. “Regulations on the Establishment of the Model Zone of Ethnic Unity and Progress in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region come into Force.” Xinjiang Daily, March 24, 2021. http://xj.people.com.cn/n2/2021/0324/c186332-34638528.html

^[15] Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture People’s Government. “Diqing Promoted the Revision of the ‘Regulations on National Unity and Progress’ in Accordance with the Law.” Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture People’s Government, September 9, 2021. http://www.diqing.gov.cn/xwzx/dqyw/202110/20211009_144557.html

^[16] The State Council. “Circular of the State Council on Printing and Distributing the Program for the Development of Chinese Women and the Program for the Development of Chinese Children.” The State Council, September 27, 2021. http://www.gov.cn/zhengce/content/2021-09/27/content_5639412.htm

^[17] The State Council Information Office of the People’s Republic of China. “Outline for the Development of Children in China (2011-2020).” The State Council Information Office of the People’s Republic of China, August 8, 2011. http://www.scio.gov.cn/ztk/xwfb/46/11/Document/976030/976030_2.htm

^[18] The State Council. “Notice of the General Office of the Ministry of Education on the Implementation of the ‘Children's Language Homophony’ Program for Mandarin Education for Preschool Children.” The State Council, July 21, 2021. http://www.gov.cn/zhengce/zhengceku/2021-08/02/content_5629074.htm

^[19] The State Council. “China Has Made It Clear That, by 2025, the National Penetration Rate of Mandarin Will Reach 85%.” The State Council, December 1, 2021. This document was actually published on 14 September, 2020. http://www.gov.cn/xinwen/2021-12/01/content_5655296.htm.

^[20] Inner Mongolia Daily. “The Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Implements the Measures of the Law of the People's Republic of China on the National Common Language and Writing to Take Effect on 1 January 2022,.” Inner Mongolia Daily, October 9, 2021. http://tyj.nmg.gov.cn/xwzx/tzgg/202110/t20211009_1899870.html

^[21] All-China Women's Federation. “Research and Deployment of the All-China Women's Federation do a Solid Job in the Work of Uniting the Hearts and Minds of Women of All Nationalities for the Party.” All-China Women's Federation, December 8, 2021. http://www.women.org.cn/art/2021/12/8/art_19_167761.html

^[22] Huifeng, He. “China’s Xinjiang gets money, talent from ‘pairing assistance’, but is the controversial programme helping?.” South China Morning Post, October 5, 2021. https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3151279/chinas-xinjiang-gets-money-talent-pairing-assistance?

^[23] The State Council. “Full Text: Human Rights Action Plan of China (2021-2025).” The State Council, September 9, 2021. http://english.www.gov.cn/news/topnews/202109/09/content_WS6139a111c6d0df57f98dfeec.html

^[24] Essex Court Chambers. “International Criminal Responsibility for Crimes Against Humanity and Genocide Against the Uyghur Population in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.”  January 26, 2021. https://14ee1ae3-14ee-4012-91cf-a6a3b7dc3d8b.usrfiles.com/ugd/14ee1a_3f31c56ca64a461592ffc2690c9bb737.pdf

^[25] Newlines Institute for Strategy and Policy. The Uyghur Genocide: An Examination of China’s Breaches of the 1948 Genocide Convention (Washington D.C.: Newlines Institute for Strategy and Policy, 2021.) https://newlinesinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/Chinas-Breaches-of-the-GC3-2.pdf

^[26] Human Rights Watch. Break Their Lineage, Break Their Roots”: Chinese Government Crimes against Humanity Targeting Uyghurs and Other Turkic Muslims (United States of America: Human Rights Watch, 2021). https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/media_2021/04/china0421_web_2.pdf

^[27] Amnesty International. Like we were enemies in a war” China’s Mass Internment, Torture and Persecution of Muslims in Xinjiang (London:  Amnesty International, 2021). https://www.amnesty.org/en/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/ASA1741372021ENGLISH.pdf

^[28] Xiuzhong Xu, Vicky, Dr James Leibold and Daria Impiombato. “The architecture of repression: Unpacking Xinjiang’s governance.” Australian Strategic Policy Institute, October 19, 2021. https://www.aspi.org.au/report/architecture-repression

^[29] The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Simon-Skjodt Center for the Prevention of Genocide. “To Make Us Slowly Disappear”: The Chinese Government’s Assault on the Uyghurs (Washington DC:United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.Simon-Skjodt Center for the Prevention of Genocide, 2021). https://www.ushmm.org/m/pdfs/November_2021_Uyghur_Report.pdf

^[30] Uyghur Tribunal. “Uyghur Tribunal Judgment.” As delivered at Church House Westminster on Thursday 9 December 2021. https://uyghurtribunal.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Uyghur-Tribunal-Summary-Judgment-9th-Dec-21.pdf

^[31] United Nations. OHCHR. “China: UN experts deeply concerned by alleged detention, forced labour of Uyghurs.” OHCHR, March 29, 2021. https://www.ohchr.org/en/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=26957&LangID=E

^[32] Permanent Mission of France to the United Nations in New York. “Cross-Regional Joint Statement on the Human Rights Situation in Xinjiang on behalf of 43 Member States, 3rd Committee – UN General Assembly., New York, 21 October 2021.”  https://onu.delegfrance.org/we-call-on-china-to-allow-immediate-meaningful-and-unfettered-access-to

^[33] Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the United States of America. “Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Announces Sanctions on Relevant UK Individuals and Entities.” March 26, 2021. https://www.mfa.gov.cn/ce/ceus//eng/fyrth/t1864366.htm

^[34] UN Geneva. “Press Briefing by the United Nations Information Service.” UN Geneva, December 10, /2021. https://www.ungeneva.org/en/news-media/bi-weekly-briefing/2021/12/press-briefing-united-nations-information-service-1

^[35] Nebehay, Stephanie. “U.N. says to publish findings soon on abuses in Xinjiang.” Reuters, December 11, 2021. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/un-publish-xinjiang-findings-soon-2021-12-10/