CRF 2006, No.4 - Ethnic Groups in China

News Roundup: August - October 2006

Development for Whom?

• The Iron Dragon has Come
  Woeser reveals the sadness behind the celebrations over the inauguration of the new Qinghai-Tibet Railway.
   
• Railway Focuses the World on Tibet
  Namlo Yak examines public sentiment on the Internet over the new railway.
   
• Reverberation
  A poem by A.E. Clark.
   
• Ecological Migration and Human Rights
  Enghebatu Togochog warns that Mongols are gradually disappearing as a distinctive ethnic group because of Han Chinese migration.
   
• Land and Legitimization in the Inner Mongolian Grasslands
  Temtsel Hao recounts how Communist land reform followed by capitalistic privatization has deprived Mongols of what they had considered their birthright.
   
• Lhasa Nights
  A poem by Woeser.
   
• Dance or Else: China’s “Simplifying Project”
  Sara L.M.Davis observes how the Tai minority in Yunnan Province has managed to preserve key elements of a culture endangered by tourism and official homogenization.
   
• Breaking the Silence
  Stacy Mosher interviews Sara Davis about ethnic cultural preservation.
   

Empowering Communities

• Without a Say: Exclusion from Political Participation
  This excerpt from a joint report by Human Rights in China and Minority Rights Group International stresses the importance of genuine political participation as a means of ameliorating ethnic tensions.
   
• A Voice for the Uyghurs
  Rebiya Kadeer talks to Stacy Mosher about her efforts on behalf of the Uyghur people.
   
• Pride, Prejudice, Protest and Progress
  Alim Seytoff describes how Uyghur activists in exile are making the international community increasingly aware of their concerns.
   
• Song of the Grasslands
  Temtselt Shobshuud talks to New Tang Dynasty Television about the genocidal violence perpetrated against the Mongols during the Cultural Revolution, and why bitter resentment lingers.
   
• The Tibetan People's Princess
  Chinese authorities censored this Southern People Weekly article profile of the increasingly popular Yabshi Pan Rinzin Wangmo, daughter of the 10th Panchen Lama.
   
• Beijing’s Policy toward Tibetan Exiles
  Namlo Yak believes "the future of the Dalai Lama" is not the real issue behind the "Tibet question."
   
• Two poems about September
  By Namlo Yak and Woeser.
   

The Price of Cultural Expression

• The Death of Kelsang Namtso
  The International Campaign for Tibet reports on the shooting of a young Tibetan nun by Chinese border patrols, and the social and political factors that make such tragedies inevitable.
   
• Lies that Cannot be Covered by Glaciers
  Chen Weijian, a Han Chinese journalist, expresses his condemnation of the Nangpa Pass shooting.
   
• Wandering Between Two Blogs
  Tibetan writer Woeser relates her ultimately unsuccessful efforts to evade China's censors.
   
• An Interview with He Zhong
  Excerpt from an interview with an outspoken minority poet.
   
• Tribulations of Youth
  An excerpt from Yuan Hongbing's autobiographical novel of political repression against the Mongols.
   
• An Interview with Yuan Hongbing
  Yuan Talks to Voice of America about his books on ethnic repression in China.
   
• Wild Pigeon
  An excerpt from the short story that led to the imprisonment of Nurmuhemmet Yasin.
   
• In Search of Sufi Musicians in the XUAR
  Ting Ting Cheng overcomes suspicion and fear to observe musical rituals that can only be performed in secret.
   

Regular Features

• Activist Update
  Sun Xiaodi receives international nuclear activism award.
   
• Book Reviews
  • From Autonomy to Assimilation
    Temtsel Hao reviews Kerry Brown’s The Purge of the Inner Mongolian People's Party in the Chinese Cultural Revolution

  • Epiphanies of Loss

  Li Miao Lovett reviews Stick Out Your Tongue, a collection of stories about Tibet by Ma Jian.

  • A View from the Tower
    Roger Garside reviews Mao’s Last Revolution, by Roderick MacFarquhar and Michael Schoenhals.
     
  • A Half Life
    Jonathan Mirsky reviews Christine Loh’s memoir, Being Here: Shaping a Preferred Future.
     
• Resource List
  Web and print materials relating to ethnic minorities in China.
   
• In Custody
  Imprisoned ethnic minorities
   
• Prisoner Profile
  Huseyin Celil
   
• Action: What you can do about the issues discussed
   
• Bulletin: HRIC's activities from August – November 2006
   
• Incorporating Responsibility 2008: Ready, Set ... Preparing for the Beijing Olympics