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The rise of China and those left behind: astudy of the Chinese government’s treatmentof ethnic and religious minorities
Chris Haynes002911503/12/04
 
Introduction
China’s ascent has proven that a formerly communist country can become capitalist andsignificantly increase its prosperity levels. However, the effects of the rise of China havenot benefited all of its 1.4 billion citizens. The multicultural, egalitarian nationalism of Mao Zedong’s creation have faded away, probably for good, and deliberately or not, ithas left many behind. Cultural violence plagued Mao’s time. Disparities of wealth haveincreased dramatically since Mao’s death, and if history is any guide, this problem willgrow worse. But while its peasants and farmers have suffered under Deng Xiaoping’sliberal reforms, its ethnic and religious minorities have suffered since Mao. Those hardesthit by the rise of China, the ethnic and religious minorities, are the focus of this essay. Nationalism has been a key driver of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)’s success inuniting the People’s Republic of China (PRC). However, certain groups have not beenfully integrated into nationalist sentiment. Any threats to this nationalism, this artificialfeeling of oneness that is applied as a blanket to so many people, the CCP will inevitablyconsider “subversive”. And it seems that several ethnic and religious minority groups, both old and new, have faced great hardship in coping with the changes brought by thePRC. But first I consider the general economic problems that have caused social unrest.
Economic disparity—who is losing?
The First National People’s Congress on September 20, 1954 stated the following:
 
The People’s Republic of China is a unitary multinational state.All the nationalities are equal. Discrimination against or oppression of any nationality, and acts which undermine theunity of the nationalities, are prohibited.
(Mackerras, 145)Why, then, has China’s development favoured some groups over others? Li Cheng,Associate Professor at Hamilton College, writes that China has gone from one of theworld’s most egalitarian countries to one of the least. “The period of ‘reform withoutlosers’ has been replaced by ‘reform with many losers.’” (Li, a121) Li also indicates ahigh unemployment rate and no substantial social safety net, and says that these factorsincrease the chance of social unrest. (a123) Another potential threat to state stability is themass of internal migration of farmers and other labourers, (b1123) including peasantsdisplaced and resettled after the Three Gorges Dam project. Many are driven to the citiesand add to China’s mass of urban unemployed. The east coast of China is “blessed withnatural advantages and granted a head start in liberalisation,” (Economist) and the interior of China has lagged behind. The poorest areas consist of non Han minorities such asTibetans, Muslims and Mongolians. “By 1996, Chinese leaders began to perceive a threatto social (read political) stability.” (Economist) They took measures to curb poverty byurging foreign business to invest in remote areas and encouraging local governments tooffer tax and other incentives. But local protectionism, provincial, county and citygovernments’ blocking of goods from elsewhere, continues. (Economist)There are 55 official minority nationalities in China. These minorities cover approximately five eighths of China’s territory, much of which is rich in naturalresources. The Han majority often occupies plains, arable land, towns and cities, while
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