Priorities of ethnic policy in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, China, since 2000

This article focuses on researching the ethnic policy in Xinjiang-Uyghur Autonomous Region of the PRC (XUAR), which has been implemented there since 2000. Since that time the course of the ethnic policy has become determined predominantly by the prominent place of Xinjiang in contemporary domestic and foreign policy of China. The author considers that Xinjiang gets a special treatment, largely formed under the influence of its regional specificity, opportunities and prospects, numerous problems and challenges that appear at the local level, etc. The same factors also predetermined the comprehensive nature of the contemporary ethnic policy in XUAR. However, the author believes there are several priority areas, distinguished by the Chinese authorities, which support social and inter-ethnic stability, reinforce total Chinese control under this territory, as well as territorial integrity of the PRC and security in Xinjiang, etc. Therefore, in this article the author examines the following areas of the ethnic policy in XUAR: political and administrative, socio-economic, religious, language policy as an integral part of the cultural area, maintaining security there. The author makes a conclusion that at this point the Central Government emphasizes socio-economic development of the region, equalization of the living standards of local non-Han population to the level of the eastern provinces along, confronting different security challenges and threats, for example, implementing the "struggle against the three evils" policy. Socio-economic development is the key factor of eliminating the main reasons for the growing discontent of the non-Han people, the triggers of social tensions, which often turn into inter-ethnic and anti-Han sentiment. These are social inequality, underdevelopment and poverty of the non-Han people. Confronting security challenges is extremely relevant as there are dangerous trends, like ethnic nationalism, separatism, terrorism and religious extremism in Xinjiang, which are even worrying, because of their stronger positions not only in the region, but also in the whole China and in the Central-Asia region. However, as the author fairly admits, even though the Chinese authorities pay much attention to the ethnic policy in XUAR, it is not flexible enough now. It has not only achievements, but obvious fails and excesses, too. Despite the fact that this circumstance is one of potential conflict factors, the whole system of the ethnic policy in Xinjiang has been functioning for a long time to show its resilience and has no alternative for now.

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