Majority-Islamic Minority Relations in China

Abstract

This article is concemed with the problem of nationalities in China; i.e. big (Han)-Chauvinism vs. little (minority)-chauvinism. The Communist policies on nationality from the late 1950’s up to the present are reviewed, and the roles religious, language and cultural barriers play in separating groups in the PRC. It also compares and analyzes the failure of Mao’s ethnic assimilation policies with Deng’s more successful cooperation policies in recent years.