While the world’s attention is focused on conflicts in Iran, Gaza, and Ukraine, Xi Jinping is consolidating his power in China and expanding his global ambitions, betting on an increasingly aggressive policy both domestically and abroad.
The Chinese leader, always strategic, goes on the offensive, both abroad and at home. It’s bad news for the global order and for minorities in China, argues foreign policy analyst Simon Tisdall in an analysis published by The Guardian.
A hypothetical example can illustrate the extent of the policies promoted by Beijing. If a British prime minister were to tell the Scots that they cannot have their own parliament, their own national football team, or that they are not allowed to fly the Saltire flag, the reaction would probably be significant and could endanger the very existence of the United Kingdom. In the case of the Welsh, a ban on their language and poetry, including in schools, would also provoke a major reaction.
According to Tisdall, however, this is exactly the direction in which Xi Jinping’s policy is heading, the “communist emperor of China”, towards approximately 125 million members of the 55 ethnic and religious minorities, who together represent about 9% of China’s predominantly Han population.
“Ethnic cleansing under a different name”
He asserts that his policy of “sinicization”, enshrined in a new law on “ethnic unity”, will strengthen national identity and integration. The expansion of mandatory use of the Mandarin language would, in his view, improve the prospects of minorities in terms of life and employment.
The Chinese leader asserts that minorities should “embrace tightly like the seeds of a pomegranate” in order to build a strong and united China.
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