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White paper on political democracy
(china.org.cn)
Updated: 2005-10-19 11:01 Ethnic autonomous areas in China are divided into three
levels, namely, autonomous regions, autonomous prefectures and autonomous
counties. In 1947, before the People's Republic of China was founded, under the
leadership of the CPC, the first provincial-level autonomous region in China -
the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region - was established in the liberated areas
inhabited by Mongolians in compact communities. After New China was founded in
1949, the Chinese government began to introduce the system of ethnic regional
autonomy to all areas where ethnic minorities lived in compact communities. In
October 1955, the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region was established; in March
1958, the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region was established; in October 1958, the
Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region was established; and in September 1965, the Tibet
Autonomous Region was established. Now, China has established 155 ethnic
autonomous areas, including five autonomous regions, 30 autonomous prefectures
and 120 autonomous counties (banners). Of the 55 ethnic minorities, 44 have
their own autonomous areas. The population of ethnic minorities implementing
regional autonomy accounts for 71 percent of the total population of ethnic
minorities. Meanwhile, China has established 1,173 autonomous townships in
places equivalent to townships where ethnic minorities live in compact
communities, as a supplement to the autonomous areas. Of the 11 ethnic
minorities for which regional autonomy is not implemented because their
populations and habitats are relatively small, nine have set up autonomous
townships.
In accordance with the Constitution and the Law on
Ethnic Regional Autonomy, the organs of self-government of ethnic autonomous
areas are the people's congresses and people's governments of autonomous
regions, autonomous prefectures and autonomous counties. In addition to
exercising the functions and powers of local state organs at the corresponding
level, they also exercise the power of autonomy. First, independently managing
the internal affairs of their ethnic groups in their autonomous areas. Among the
chairpersons or vice-chairpersons of the standing committees of the people's
congresses of all 155 autonomous areas in China, there are citizens of the
ethnic group or groups exercising regional autonomy in the area concerned. The
chairperson of an autonomous region, the prefect of an autonomous prefecture and
the head of an autonomous county are all citizens of the ethnic group or groups
exercising regional autonomy in the area concerned. In the working departments
of the self-government organs in these autonomous areas, a rational proportion
of officials from the ethnic group or groups exercising regional autonomy as
well as members of other minorities living in the area concerned are appointed
in accordance with the law. At present, minority officials total more than 2.9
million nationwide. Second, having the power to formulate regulations on the
exercise of autonomy and separate regulations. By the end of 2004, the ethnic
autonomous areas had formulated 133 regulations on the exercise of autonomy and
418 separate regulations, all of which are still effective now. In the light of
the particular situation in each area, they had made 68 flexible alterations or
supplementary regulations to such laws as the Marriage Law, the Law of
Succession, the Election Law, the Law on Land Administration and the Grassland
Law. Third, using and developing their own spoken and written languages. At
present, 22 ethnic minorities in China use 28 written languages of their own. In
2003, 4,787 titles of books with a total print-run of 50.34 million copies, 205
magazines with a total print-run of 7.81 million volumes, and 88 newspapers with
a total print-run of 131.3 million copies were published in the languages of
ethnic minorities. Now available are coded character sets, national standards
for fonts and keyboards in the Mongolian, Tibetan, Uygur, Korean and Yi
languages, software in these languages can be run using the Windows system, and
laser photo-typesetting in these languages has been realized. Fourth, respecting
and protecting the freedom of religious belief of ethnic minorities. By the end
of 2004, Tibetan Buddhist sites numbered more than 1,700 in the Tibet Autonomous
Region, with 46,000 resident monks and nuns, and mosques numbered 23,900 in the
Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, with 27,000 clerical personnel. In addition,
regional autonomous areas have the right to preserve or reform their own folk
ways and customs, independently arrange, manage and develop the economic
construction of the locality concerned, independently manage local revenues, and
independently develop undertakings of education, science and technology, culture
and sports.
The state assists ethnic autonomous areas to accelerate
their economic and social development through various measures. Primarily they
are: giving strategic prominence to speeding up the development of ethnic
autonomous areas, giving priority to, and rationally allocating, infrastructure
construction projects in these areas, strengthening financial input and support
to these areas, attaching importance to ecological and environmental protection
in these areas, adopting special measures to help these areas develop education,
science and technology, augmenting assistance to impoverished habitats of ethnic
minorities, expediting input into the social undertakings in these areas,
helping them open wider to the outside world, pairing them up with
more-developed areas for support, and attending to the special needs of ethnic
minorities in their life and work. From 2000, when the grand strategy for
development of western China was adopted, to the end of 2004, 60 key projects,
involving transportation, energy, education, public health and environmental
protection, had been launched in succession, with a total investment of over 850
billion yuan. All the five autonomous regions, 27 autonomous prefectures, and 83
of the 120 autonomous counties are covered in the strategy. Assisting the ethnic
minority areas to accelerate their development has been listed as a major task
in the state's "Seven-Year Program for Delivering 80 Million People from
Poverty" and "Outline for Poverty Alleviation and Development in China's Rural
Areas," as well as in the pairing-off assistance between the more-developed east
coast and the western regions, the "National Project of Compulsory Education in
Poor Areas," the "Food and Clothing Fund for Impoverished Ethnic Minority
Areas," the "National Natural Forest Protection Project" and the "Broadcast and
TV to Every Village Project." The state has made special arrangements for the
development of Tibet. From 1994 to 2001, 30 projects were constructed there,
with 3.9 billion yuan in total investment directly from the central government.
During the Tenth Five-Year Plan (2001-2005), the central government has invested
31.2 billion yuan in Tibet to construct 117 projects.
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