The System of Regional Ethnic Autonomy

The System of Regional Ethnic Autonomy——民族区域自治制度

Regional ethnic autonomy means that under the unified leadership of the state, regional autonomy is exercised in areas where ethnic minorities live in compact communities and organs of self-government are established to exercise the power of autonomy. It is a basic element of China's socialist, political system, and a fundamental mechanism to resolve ethnic issues.

China has been a unitary multi-ethnic country since ancient times, Some ethnic groups live together in a region, others in compact communities. Since its founding, the CPC has attached great importance to ethnic issues. After long-term analysis and reflection, the Party decided to adopt a basic policy of ethnic autonomy under a unitary state to settle ethnic issues in China. In May 1947 the Party led the establishment of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, the first provincial autonomous region in China.

The Common Program of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, adopted in 1949 to serve as the interim constitution, stipulated: “All ethnic groups in the People's Republic of China are equal. Ethnic solidarity and mutual assistance is pursued among all ethnic groups. Ethnic autonomy is practiced in areas where ethnic minorities live in concentrated communities, and various organs of self-government are set up based on the size of the respective populations and the extent of the settlement area.” The Implementation Program of the People's Republic of China on Regional Ethnic Autonomy issued in 1952 provided regulations on the establishment of an autonomous area and its administrative status so as to allow full implementation of the system of regional ethnic autonomy. The first Constitution of the People's Republic, adopted in 1954, confirmed the legal status of regional ethnic autonomy in the form of the supreme law of the state.

Since then, regulations on the system of regional ethnic autonomy have remained unchanged though the Constitution has been amended more than once. By 1965, China had established five autonomous regions and a number of autonomous prefectures and autonomous counties (banners). In 1984, the Second Session of the Sixth NPC deliberated and passed the Law on Regional Ethnic Autonomy, the first law regarding regional ethnic autonomy in China, which incorporated the issues into a legal system.

The system of regional ethnic autonomy is dedicated to combining unity and autonomy, and integrating ethnic factors with regional factors. This is a significant institutional arrangement designed to maintain national unification and ethnic unity. It is also an essential element of China's approach to ethnic issues. Overall, the implementation of the system has played a significant role in safeguarding national unity and territorial integrity, enhancing ethnic equality and solidarity, promoting the development of the minority areas, and strengthening national cohesion.