ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a general account of the politics of ethnicity in contemporary People’s Republic of China (PRC). It deals with a general overview of the diverse ethnic groups in China. Like many other large countries, China is a multicultural and ethnically diverse country with tremendous cultural and linguistic heterogeneity among a population dispersed over a vast territory. Some groups, such as the Chinese Koreans, have sought emigration to South Korea; the Mongols have developed ambivalent and ambiguous identity relations with the Chinese nation state; and many other groups have been actively pursuing assimilation into Han Chinese society, if they have not already been assimilated. International support from various sources during the past century has also provided resources and opportunities for the Uyghurs to sustain their identity contestation. The PRC’s overall policies towards ethnic minorities went through several ups and downs, which correspond with the general political tide of different historical periods.
