ABSTRACT
Ethnic conflict and unrest are among the myriad social problems confronting China in the era of reform and opening. In recent years, Chinese leaders have warned of ethno-nationalist insurgencies in Tibet, Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia, and in the wake of 9-11 have branded dissident movements in these autonomous regions as terrorist. While launching ambitious affirmative action programmes, the Chinese state has not hesitated to deploy military and security forces to suppress minority resistance and unrest. The high international profile of the exiled Dalai Lama and the tension and military crackdown in Xinjiang have propelled ethnic issues, including questions of national self-determination, on to the world stage. Whereas questions of ethno-nationalism and human rights now occupy a central place in China’s relations with neighbouring countries, as well as Europe and America, fluctuating Western discourse on ethnicity and nationalism, and particularly on terror, does not augur well for minorities in China and other regions of ethnic conflict.
