ABSTRACT
This chapter turns to problematize the term overseas Chinese ethnic minorities, which in recent years become common in Chinese scholarly works and state pronouncements in relation to diaspora politics. By focusing on the official overseas Chinese ethnic minorities policies, the chapter aims to provide an understanding of why, how and with what implications the official stress on ethnic unity has permeated the Chinese official discourse and policy-making agenda related to overseas Chinese work. It is based on a critical reading of official pronouncements and policy documents dealing with overseas Chinese ethnic minorities, and online official and public texts, supplemented by interviews with Chinese scholars and government officials conducted during research trips to Beijing, Kunming in Yunnan province and Nanning in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. This chapter reflects on how the multiethnic national model celebrated by the Chinese state at the domestic level translates at a transnational level.
