Heighten the Sense of National Identity and Improve the Party’s Work on Ethnic Affairs in the New Era

Heighten the Sense of National Identity and Improve the Party’s Work on Ethnic Affairs
in the New Era*

August 27, 2021

It is imperative to accurately understand and fully implement our Party’s guidelines on ethnic affairs, and strengthen and improve this work in the new era, with the goal of reinforcing the sense of the Chinese nation as one community. We need to take a Chinese approach to ethnic issues, build a cultural home shared by the Chinese nation, enhance interactions, exchanges and integration among all ethnic groups, accelerate modernization in areas with large ethnic minority populations, strengthen law-based governance of ethnic affairs, and prevent and resolve major risks and hidden threats in ethnic affairs. We should improve the quality of our ethnic work in the new era, and mobilize the whole Party and all the people to work together for the Second Centenary Goal of building China into a great modern socialist country in all respects.

The history of our Party shows that our greatest achievement in ethnic work is that we have adopted a Chinese approach to ethnic issues. Since the policy of reform and opening up was introduced in 1978, particularly since the 18th CPC National Congress in 2012, the Party has emphasized that the Chinese nation is one family and one single community and that we should heighten this shared identity. We have consistently implemented the Party’s theories and policies concerning ethnic groups while adapting to the changing times. Thus, we have gained valuable experience in properly understanding and handling ethnic issues. The Party has established a set of important principles on strengthening and improving ethnic work, which can be summarized as follows:

First, we must make national rejuvenation our principal goal, understand the historic significance of ethnic work in the new era from the strategic perspective of national rejuvenation, and take a holistic approach to planning and advancing it to serve the purpose.

Second, we must make it a major task for the new era to motivate all ethnic groups to build China into a modern socialist country in all respects, and ensure all ethnic groups strive in unity to achieve shared prosperity and common development.

Third, with a focus on heightening the sense of national identity, we must cultivate in all ethnic groups a growing sense of identity with the home country, the Chinese nation, the Chinese culture, the Communist Party of China, and Chinese socialism, and continue to build the Chinese nation into a strong community.

Fourth, we must develop a good understanding of the history of our nation and strengthen the sense of identity with and pride in the Chinese nation.

Fifth, we must uphold the equality of all ethnic groups, and see to it that they are the masters of the country and participate in the management of state affairs, and that their legitimate rights and interests are protected.

Sixth, we must uphold the unity of the Chinese nation and ensure all ethnic groups remain closely united like the seeds of a pomegranate.

Seventh, we must uphold and improve the system of regional ethnic autonomy, ensure the effective implementation of the Central Committee’s policies and decisions, and of state laws and regulations, and support ethnic groups in their economic development and all-round improvement towards common prosperity.

Eighth, we must build a cultural home shared by the Chinese nation, creating a strong bond among all ethnic groups and inspiring them to move forward in unity and interdependence.

Ninth, we must promote interactions, exchanges and integration among all ethnic groups, and reinforce their affinity and unity in terms of ideals, convictions, mindset and culture, so that they will support each other like brothers and sisters.

Tenth, we must manage ethnic affairs in accordance with the law and actively modernize our system and capacity for handling ethnic affairs.

Eleventh, we must resolutely safeguard our national sovereignty, security, and development interests, and encourage, through education and guidance, all ethnic groups to carry forward the patriotic tradition and consciously safeguard the unity of the country, national security and social stability.

Twelfth, we must uphold the Party’s leadership over work related to ethnic affairs, and increase our ability and performance in handling ethnic affairs.

These important ideas come from our Party’s theoretical and practical work with ethnic communities, and constitute a set of fundamental principles governing ethnic work in the new era. The whole Party must understand them thoroughly and implement them in full and to the letter.

In the new era the Party’s top priority in managing ethnic affairs is to reinforce our sense of national identity. This is to help people of all ethnic groups develop an awareness of the Chinese nation as one community of shared future, in which everyone shares the rough times and the smooth together.

Having a stronger sense of national identity is essential to defending the fundamental interests of all ethnic groups. Only with this sense rooted in our mind can we build a solid cultural Great Wall for safeguarding national unity and ethnic solidarity, pool efforts of all ethnic groups to defend national security and maintain social stability, and effectively combat infiltration of extremist and separatist ideas and subversion. This is the only way for people to fulfill their expectation for a better life, and to realize, protect and develop the fundamental interests of all ethnic groups.

This sense of national identity is essential to realizing national rejuvenation. Only with this sense rooted in our mind can we effectively address any risks and challenges that may arise in ethnic affairs on our journey towards national rejuvenation, and guarantee the long-term prosperity and stability of the Party and the country.

This sense of national identity is essential to consolidating and developing socialist ethnic relations based on equality, solidarity, mutual aid, and harmony. Only with this sense rooted in our mind can people of all ethnic groups develop a strong sense of belonging to the Chinese nation. Only then can we lay a solid foundation for closer ethnic relations, and make the Chinese nation a more cohesive community of shared future.

This sense of national identity is essential to making new advances in the Party’s work related to ethnic affairs. We should adapt to the changing times and improve our ethnic work by balancing commonality and diversity and by accommodating ethnic and regional factors, with a view to increasing commonality. Only by so doing can we manage ethnic affairs properly and efficiently and deliver concrete results.

To manage ethnic affairs innovatively, we must continue to apply measures that have been proved to be sound and adjust those which are outdated, to better protect the legitimate rights and interests of all ethnic groups.

We need to properly understand the relationship between commonality and diversity that exist among ethnic people. One of the important principles in managing ethnic affairs is to promote commonalities on the one hand, and accommodate differences on the other.

We need to properly understand the relationship between the sense of national identity and that of ethnic identity. It is necessary to guide people of all ethnic groups to always put the interests of the Chinese nation first. Ethnic identity should be subordinate and subscribe to the sense of national identity. However, while ensuring the overall interests of the Chinese nation, we must ensure the specific interests of each ethnic group. Both Han chauvinism and regional ethnic chauvinism are detrimental to the building of the Chinese nation as one community.

We need to properly understand the relationship between Chinese culture and cultures of individual ethnic groups. The fine cultures of the latter constitute an integral part of the former. Chinese culture is like the trunk of a tree, while individual ethnic cultures are branches and leaves; only when the roots are deep and the trunk is strong can the branches and leaves grow well.

We need to properly understand the relationship between material needs and cultural life. Our reform and development should serve the goals of reinforcing the sense of national identity, safeguarding unity, opposing division, improving the wellbeing of the people, and gathering extensive support so as to make our nation a strong community.

Reinforcing our sense of national identity is the fundamental principle for our work concerning ethnic affairs in the new era, and the focus of all activities in this regard.

We should build a cultural home shared by the whole Chinese nation. While studying the history of the CPC, the PRC, reform and opening up, and the development of socialism, we need to work on two specific fronts. One, we must sum up our Party’s century-long experience in ethnic affairs, and further study the important ideas on strengthening and improving this work. Two, we must strengthen education on modern civilization by pressing forward with initiatives to improve social conduct and ethical standards, and foster a new generation well tuned to the new era. We will guide people of all ethnic groups to upgrade their vision and ideas, and modernize their cultural pursuits and lifestyle.

We should popularize the standard spoken and written Chinese language, while at the same time protecting the spoken and written languages of all ethnic groups as well as their rights to study and use their own languages.

We will work to lead all ethnic groups towards socialist modernization.

We need to improve differentiated policies to support regional development and promote further reform and opening up in ethnic minority areas, so that they will build greater capacity for self- development. Based on such factors as their natural resources, development conditions, and comparative strengths, ethnic minority areas need to find the best sector to start the reform and the right point for concerted effort. From there they should apply themselves to understanding and taking advantage of the new development stage, implementing the new development philosophy, integrating into the new development dynamic, achieving quality development, and promoting common prosperity.

We need to increase support for infrastructure construction and industrial restructuring in ethnic minority areas, optimize overall plans for social and economic development and eco-environmental progress there, and ensure that the people of all ethnic groups have a greater sense of gain, fulfillment and security.

We need to help all ethnic minority areas to effectively consolidate the results of poverty alleviation in tandem with rural revitalization, to achieve more efficient and higher-quality development of agriculture and animal husbandry, to build the countryside into a pleasant place to live and work, and to provide farmers and herdsmen with a prosperous and happy life.

We need to improve the policies for developing and opening up border regions, and advance the campaigns aimed at ensuring their stability, reviving their economy, and bringing prosperity to their inhabitants.

We should promote interactions, exchanges and integration among all ethnic groups. It is essential that we give full consideration to the specific conditions of different ethnic groups and regions, coordinate urban and rural construction planning and allocation of public service resources, improve relevant policies and measures, foster a favorable social atmosphere, and gradually realize an all-round integration of all ethnic groups in terms of space, culture, economy, society and ethos. We should initiate innovative and meaningful activities in multiple forms to promote unity and progress for all ethnic groups. We should put in place a mechanism for regular education on strengthening the sense of national identity, incorporate it into the education of officials, Party members and all citizens, and make it a society-wide education and communication program.

We will modernize our system and capacity for governing ethnic affairs. We should create and implement differentiated policies to address specific problems or concerns in specific regions in light of the local conditions and needs of specific ethnic groups and based on the principle of fairness and justice. These policies should be targeted and should respect regional differences. We must protect the lawful rights and interests of all ethnic groups, properly handle cases or incidents involving ethnic factors, combat all kinds of criminal act in accordance with the law, and ensure equality of all before the law.

We must resolutely protect against major risks and hidden threats in ethnic affairs. We must defend our ideological positions, actively and prudently handle political issues involving ethnic factors, and constantly work to eliminate harmful influences calling for ethnic separatism and inciting religious extremism. We should strengthen international cooperation against terrorism, and effectively conduct the anti-terrorism work in cooperation with key countries and regions, international organizations, and ethnic minority Chinese overseas.

Stronger and better overall leadership by the Party is the fundamental political guarantee of success in work related to ethnic affairs in the new era. Party committees at all levels should strengthen their commitment to the Four Consciousnesses, the Four-sphere Confidence, and the Two Upholds. They should constantly strengthen their political acumen, understanding and capacity to deliver, always keep in mind the fundamental interests of the country, and conscientiously fulfill their principal responsibilities. We should ensure the leadership of the Party in handling all matters concerning ethnic affairs. A mechanism for the Party’s ethnic work in the new era will be put in place in which the government manages ethnic affairs under the leadership of the Party committee in accordance with the law, with the united front department of the Party playing a coordinative role, the ethnic affairs department of the government taking up the responsibility for ethnic affairs with due diligence, all other Party and government departments acting in concert, and the whole society being involved.

We should strengthen the primary-level offices for ethnic affairs and their staffing to ensure that they function properly and ethnic affairs are effectively handled. We will build a team of competent public servants in ethnic minority areas in accordance with the qualification requirements for public servants in the new era, and ensure that the management of ethnic affairs at all levels is in the hands of those who unswervingly uphold the centralized, unified leadership of the Party, take a firm stance on major issues of principle, act decisively to reinforce the sense of national identity, and show genuine compassion and care for all ethnic groups. We must ensure that the leadership at all levels is in the hands of officials who are loyal, honest and responsible. It is of critical importance that attention and care are given to public servants working on the front line of disadvantaged regions. We must attract more competent personnel into this work. We should pay special attention to the training and selection of ethnic minority people, trust them fully and assign important posts to those outstanding ones with a firm political stance and the courage to shoulder responsibilities.

We need to strengthen the government at the primary level in ethnic minority areas, so that the Party’s theories and policies concerning ethnic groups are correctly understood and fully implemented at the grassroots.

* Main points of the speech at the Central Conference on Ethnic Affairs.

(Not to be republished for any commercial or other purposes.)