Reconstructing “nation” (minzu) discourses in China

Abstract

Due to the great gap between the official “nation” (minzu 民族) discourse-policy goals of the Chinese government and the social realities of ethnic relations in China, it is necessary for the leadership, academics, and the public in China to review the historical process involved in creating the “nationality” discourse dynamics of the past century. Chinese need to understand the nature of “nation” as it appears in international discourse, while still retaining a connection to the inherited Chinese cultural traditions which have assisted in managing group relations for thousand years. Based on international experience and historical lessons, China should eventually reconstruct its own “nation” (minzu) discourse system, thereby developing a new system and policies to manage ethnic relations based on a new theoretical framework. One emphasis in this transition should be citizenship with equal rights for every citizen regardless ethnic background. Another emphasis should be the rule of the law in dealing with the “nation/ethnicity” issues in China. In order to transfer to a civic society, the “political colors” that favor ‘nation’ (minzu) in relation to status, prestige, advantages in the judiciary system or distribution of welfare benefits should be weakened. Based on the suggested “de-politicization” of the 56 “nationalities” (minzu) of China, the author suggests the employment of national laws to deal equitably with the events and differences between the various “nationality” (minzu) groups instead of the preferential policies currently employed in favor of certain minority groups.