Full Text: Historical Witness to Ethnic Equality, Unity and Development in Xinjiang (2)

In its official written reply on December 22, 1953, the Government Administrative Council of the Central People's Government approved the Measures for Exercising Ethnic Regional Autonomy in Xinjiang Province, initiating the preparatory work for establishing autonomous areas in Xinjiang in an orderly fashion. By 1954, with the approval of the central government, Xinjiang had completed the preparations for the establishment of autonomous areas at or below the prefecture level, establishing five autonomous prefectures, i.e., Bayingolin Mongolian, Bortala Mongolian, Kizilsu Kirgiz, Changji Hui and Ili Kazak, six autonomous counties, i.e., Yanqi Hui, Qapqal Xibe, Mori Kazak, Hoboksar Mongolian, Tashkurghan Tajik and Barkol Kazak.

The establishment of these autonomous prefectures and counties laid the foundation for the establishment of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. In accordance with the Program of the People's Republic of China for Practicing Ethnic Regional Autonomy, the CPC Xinjiang Bureau made proactive and prudent preparations for establishing the autonomous region. The 21st meeting of the Standing Committee of the First National People's Congress passed on September 13, 1955 the resolution to establish the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region to replace the former Xinjiang Province, with the former areas under the jurisdiction of the Xinjiang Province being put under the jurisdiction of the newly established autonomous region.

In September 20-30, 1955, the second session of the First People's Congress of Xinjiang Province was convened in Urumqi. The meeting approved the Report on Preparatory Work for the Establishment of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region along with some other instruments, and elected a 41-member People's Committee of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, with Seypidin Ezizi (Uygur) as chair, and Gao Jinchun (Han), Memetmin Iminof (Uygur) and Patihan Sugurbayev (Kazak) as vice chairs. On October 1, 1955, the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region was officially founded.

The establishment of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region marked the full implementation of the system of ethnic regional autonomy in Xinjiang. Under the leadership and care of the central government and with the strong support and help from other provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities, the people of the various ethnic groups in Xinjiang plunged into the construction of Xinjiang in a massive scale.

In 1984, the state promulgated and put into effect the Law of the People's Republic of China on Ethnic Regional Autonomy, establishing ethnic regional autonomy as a basic political system of the state, thereby providing a powerful legal basis for all ethnic peoples in Xinjiang to fully exercise their right of autonomy based on the principle of safeguarding national unification.

In May 2010 and May 2014, the central government held two meetings to specially discuss work in relation to Xinjiang, emphasizing the importance of upholding and improving the system of ethnic regional autonomy, and calling for efforts to build a socialist Xinjiang featuring unity and harmony, prosperity and vigor, civility and progress, and peace and contentment for its people. The various undertakings of Xinjiang had entered a new stage of development.

II. Upholding Ethnic Equality and Unity

Since its establishment in 1955, the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region has remained committed to supporting and improving the system of ethnic regional autonomy. It has implemented China's ethnic policies, endeavored to promote the unity and common prosperity of various ethnic groups, and developed and consolidated the new type of socialist ethnic relations of equality, unity, mutual assistance and harmony.

The principle of equality among all ethnic groups has been upheld. All ethnic groups in China, regardless of the sizes of their population and levels of development, are equal. They enjoy equal rights and are required to fulfill the same obligations in accordance with the law. The establishment of the system of ethnic regional autonomy served to protect the legitimate rights and interests of ethnic minorities and safeguard the equal rights and interests of individual citizens. People of all ethnic origins in Xinjiang are ensured an equal legal status. They enjoy the rights to vote and stand for election as prescribed by the Constitution and the law, the right of equal participation in the administration of state affairs, the right of religious belief, the right to receive education, the right to use their own spoken and written languages, the right to inherit and carry on the traditional culture of their own ethnic groups, etc.

The region has focused on eliminating ethnic misunderstandings carried over from the past; it has firmly opposed any form of ethnic oppression or discrimination, and outlawed any action that might sabotage ethnic unity or incite ethnic separatism. In addition to respecting and protecting the rights and interests of all ethnic peoples within their jurisdiction, governments of ethnic autonomous areas at various levels shoulder at the same time the responsibility of safeguarding national unification, ethnic unity and social stability.

Internal affairs of the ethnic autonomous areas are administered independently. Home to more than a dozen major ethnic groups, the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region is the only autonomous region in China with three levels of autonomous administrative divisions (region, prefecture and county). It boasts five autonomous prefectures, six autonomous counties and 42 ethnic townships. The people of each ethnic autonomous area elect their own deputies to the people's congress and form the self-government organs of power to exercise the right to manage their own internal affairs. In the composition of deputies to the people's congresses and the appointment of officials, the region's self-government organs at each level have always adhered to the principles of equal participation and common management. In 2014, the 550 deputies to the 12th People's Congress of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region came from 14 ethnic groups, with 66 percent being ethnic minorities themselves, three percentage points higher than the proportion of the total population of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang. Of nine chairperson and vice chairpersons of the Standing Committee of the current regional people's congress, six are citizens of ethnic minority origins. In Xinjiang now, the heads of the autonomous region, all the autonomous prefectures and all autonomous counties are citizens from the ethnic group(s) exercising regional autonomy in the areas concerned. Moreover, an overwhelming number of the heads of other prefectures, cities and counties are citizens of ethnic minority origins. Ethnic groups in Xinjiang also enjoy the right of equal participation in the administration of state affairs. Of 60 deputies from Xinjiang who attended the 12th National People's Congress in 2014, 38, or over 63 percent, were ethnic minorities. There are many people of ethnic minority origins from Xinjiang holding leading posts in central and state organs.

According to the Constitution of the People's Republic of China and the Law of the People's Republic of China on Ethnic Regional Autonomy, ethnic autonomous areas have the right to enact autonomous and separate regulations to adapt the provisions of the state law, administrative regulations and local regulations in accordance with their local conditions. These stipulations have played an important role in safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of the ethnic minorities and promoting economic and social development in ethnic autonomous areas. (Mo