ABSTRACT
Ethnic separatism is a major concern of Chinese leaders in the 1990s. This chapter reviews the political opinions and reactions of different ethnic groups in China from the inception of the People's Republic of China. It discusses the public opinion of the minorities, a brief analysis of the major conditions of ethnicity in China is in order. The three ethnic communities of China—Tibetans, Xinjiang Uighurs, and the Mongols of Inner Mongolia—displayed varied manifestations of separatism especially the varying degrees of state formation. Tibetan separatism is the archtype of a nationalistic secessionist movement. According to Ronald Schwartz, from 1987 to 1992, there were 140 demonstrations against Chinese rule and for Tibetan independence. The allowed proportions of Chinese cadres would increase to 40 or even 70 percent of all cadres in the Tibetan administration. This internal Chinese Communist Party document stated that what is worrisome is not separatism but the fence-sitting attitude of the cadres.
