Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, situated in the border area of
northwest China, used to be an important section of the ancient
Silk Road. What of its history? How is it now? A white paper
entitled History and Development of Xinjiang published on May 26 by
the Information Office of the State Council gives detailed
information.
History and Development of Xinjiang
Foreword
I. Xinjiang Has Been a Multi-ethnic Region Since
Ancient Times
II. Diverse Religions Coexist and Spread in
Xinjiang
III. The Administration of Xinjiang by the
Successive Central Governments
IV. Origin of the "East Turkistan"
Issue
V. The Economic Development of Xinjiang After the
Founding of New China
VI. Progress in Education, Science and Technology,
Culture and Health Work
VII. The People's Living Standards and Quality of
Life Have Been Enhanced
VIII. Upholding Equality and Unity Among Ethnic
Groups, and Freedom of Religious Belief
IX. Establishment, Development and Role of the
Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps
X. State Support for the Development of
Xinjiang
Conclusion
Foreword
The Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (also called Xinjiang for
short), situated in the border area of northwest China and the
hinterland of the Eurasian Continent, occupies an area of 1.6649
million sq km, accounting for one sixth of Chinese territory. It
has a land border of 5,600 km bounded by eight countries. It was an
important section of the ancient Silk Road. According to
statistics, in the year 2000 Xinjiang had a population of 19.25
million, including 10.9696 million people of other ethnic groups
than the Han, China's majority ethnic group. There are 47 ethnic
groups in Xinjiang, mainly the Uygur, Han, Kazak, Hui, Mongolian,
Kirgiz, Xibe, Tajik, Ozbek, Manchu, Daur, Tatar and Russian. It is
one of China's five autonomous regions for ethnic minorities.
Since ancient times, Xinjiang has been inhabited by many ethnic
groups believing in a number of religions. Since the Western Han
Dynasty (206 B.C.-24 A.D.), it has been an inseparable part of the
unitary multi-ethnic Chinese nation. In the more than 50 years
since the People's Republic of China was founded, the people of all
ethnic groups in Xinjiang, with concerted and pioneering efforts,
have jointly written brilliant pages in the annals of its
development, construction and frontier defense, causing
earth-shaking changes in the social outlook of the region.
I. Xinjiang Has Been a Multi-ethnic Region
Since Ancient Times
In ancient history, many tribes and ethnic groups lived in
Xinjiang. The ethnic origins of the residents of Xinjiang began to
be clearly recorded in the Han Dynasty (206 B.C.-220 A.D.), the
main ones being the Sai (Sak), Rouzhi (or Yueh-chih), Wusun (Usun),
Qiang, Xiongnu (Hun) and Han.
The Sai as a nomadic tribe used to roam about the area from the Ili
and Chuhe river basins in the east to the Sir (Syrdarya) River
valley in the west. Under pressure from the Rouzhi, they moved
westward some to the north bank of the Sir River, while others
southward to scatter in the areas of the Pamirs.
The Rouzhi roamed the vast region between the Gansu Corridor and
the Tarim Basin during the Warring States Period (475 B.C.-221
B.C.) and flourished during the Qin (221B.C.-206 B.C.) and Han
dynasties. Attacked by the Xiongnu around 176 B.C., they were
forced to move to the Ili River basin, from which they dislodged
the Sai.
The Wusun first lived in the Gansu Corridor. In the late Qin and
early Han period, attacked by the Rouzhi they yielded their
allegiance to the Xiongnu. Supported by the Xiongnu, the Wusun
attacked the Rouzhi, and drove them out of the Ili River basin.
The Qiang originally lived along the middle and upper reaches of
the Yellow River. During the Spring and Autumn (770 B.C.-476 B.C.)
and Warring States periods, some of the Qiang migrated westward
across the Gansu Corridor and the Qilian-Kunlun mountain ranges,
leaving their footprints in Xinjiang.
The Xiongnu entered Xinjiang mainly around 176 B.C. The Han was one
of the earliest peoples to settle in Xinjiang.
In
101 B.C., the Han empire began to station garrison troops to open
up wasteland for cultivation of farm crops in Luntai (B|g|r), Quli
and some other places. Later, it sent troops to all other parts of
Xinjiang for the same purpose. All the garrison reclamation points
became the early settlements of the Han people after they entered
Xinjiang. Since the Western Regions Frontier Command was
established in 60 B.C., the inflow of the Han people to Xinjiang,
including officials, soldiers and merchants, had never stopped.
The period of the Wei, Jin and Southern and Northern Dynasties
(220 A.D.-589 A.D.) was a period of the large-scale merging of
ethnic groups in China, witnessing frequent ethnic migration across
the land of China, and the entry into Xinjiang by many ancient
ethnic groups, such as the Rouran (Jorjan), Gaoche, Yeda and
Tuyuhun.
The Rouran were descendants of the Donghu, an ancient people rising
on the northern grasslands in the early fifth century. After
establishing a powerful regime on the Mongolian grasslands in 402
A.D., they struggled with the Northern Wei (386-534) for domination
of the Western Regions. The nomadic Gaoche, also called the Tolos
or Teli, first appeared around Lake Baikal and the basins of the
Orkhon and Tura rivers. In 487, Avochilo, chief of the Puwurgur
tribe of the Gaoche, and his brother Qunqi led more than 100,000
families to migrate westward, and founded the state of Gaoche to
the northwest of Anterior Cheshi (the ancient city of Jiaohe near
modern Turpan). The Yeda, rising in the region north of the Great
Wall, moved eastward to the Tarim Basin, attacked the Rouzhi in the
south and set up a state in the late fifth century. They crossed
the Pamirs, and once controlled part of southern Xinjiang.
The Tuyuhun, originating from the ancient Xianbei people, moved
westward from Liaodong (the region east of the Liaohe River in
northeast China) in the early fourth century, and set up their own
regime after conquering the ancient Di and Qiang peoples in the
region of southern Gansu, Sichuan and Qinghai.
In the Sui (581-618) and Tang (618-907) dynasties, the ancient
Turk and Tubo peoples exerted important influences on the course of
Xinjiang's history.
The Turks were ancient nomads active on the northwestern and
northern grasslands of China from the sixth to the eighth
centuries. T|maen, a Turki leader, defeated the Rouran in 552, and
set up a state centered in Mobei (the area north of the vast
deserts on the Mongolian Plateau). The Turki realm later split into
the eastern and western sides which fought ceaselessly in their
scramble for the khanate. In the middle of the eighth century, both
the Eastern and Western Turki khanates disappeared, their
descendants being assimilated by other ethnic groups.
The Tubo were the ancestors of the Tibetans, rising to notice on
the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in the late sixth century. After
occupying Qinghai, they began to vie with the Tang Dynasty for
control of the Western Regions. In 755, An Lushan and Shi Siming
raised a rebellion in the Central Plains, and Tang troops stationed
in the Western Regions were withdrawn to battle the rebels,
whereupon the Tubo took the opportunity to occupy southern Xinjiang
and part of northern Xinjiang.
In 840, large numbers of Uighurs (an ancient name for modern
Uygurs) entered Xinjiang. The Uighur, originally called
Ouigour, sprang from the ancient tribe Teli. They were first active
in the Selenga and Orkhon river basins, and later moved to the
north of the Tura River. In 744, the Uighur founded a khanate in
Mobei, and later dispatched troops twice to help the Tang central
authorities to quell the An Lushan-Shi Siming Rebellion. The Uighur
Khanate collapsed in 840 because of natural disasters, internal
strife and attacks by the ancient Jiegasi tribe. Consequently, most
of the Uighur migrated westward.
One of their sub-groups moved to the modern Jimsar and Turpan
regions, where they founded the Gaochang Uighur Kingdom. Another
sub-group moved to the Central Asian grasslands, scattered in areas
from Central Asia to Kashi, and joined the Karluk and Yagma peoples
in founding the Karahan Kingdom. After that, the Tarim Basin and
its surrounding areas were under the rule of the Gaochang Uighur
Kingdom and the Karahan Kingdom. The local residents were merged
with the Uighurs that had moved west, thus laying the foundation
for the subsequent formation of the Uygur ethnic group.
In
1124, Yollig Taxin, a member of the ruling house of the Liao
Dynasty (916-1125), led his people, the Khitan tribe, westward and
conquered Xinjiang, where he established the kingdom of Western
Liao. In the early 13th century, Genghis Khan led an expeditionary
army to Xinjiang, where he granted the territories he had conquered
to his children and grandchildren. The Uighurs further assimilated
a portion of the Khitans and Mongolians.
Oyrat was the general name used for the Mongolians in Moxi (the
area west of the vast deserts on the Mongolian Plateau) in the Ming
Dynasty (1368-1644). The Oyrat first lived in scattered areas along
the upper reaches of the Yenisaey River, gradually spreading to the
middle reaches of the Ertix and Ili river basins. The early 17th
century saw the rise among them of the Junggar, Dorb|t, Huxut and
Turgut tribes. In the 1670s, the Junggar occupied the Ili River
basin, becoming leader of the four tribes, and put southern
Xinjiang under their control.
From the 1760s on, the government of the Qing Dynasty
(1644-1911) sent Manchu, Xibe and Suolun (Daur) troops from
northeast China to Xinjiang in order to strengthen the frontier
defense of the region, and they added to the ethnic mix in
Xinjiang. Afterwards, Russians and Tatars migrated into
Xinjiang. By the end of the 19th century, Xinjiang had 13 ethnic
groups, namely, Uygur, Han, Kazak, Mongolian, Hui, Kirgiz, Manchu,
Xibe, Tajik, Daur, Ozbek, Tatar and Russian. The Uygurs formed the
majority, as they do today.
II. Diverse Religions Coexist and Spread in
Xinjiang
As the main passageway and hub for economic and cultural
exchanges between the East and the West in ancient times, Xinjiang
has always been a region where a number of religions exist side by
side. Before Islam was introduced into Xinjiang, there had
already been believers in Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, Taoism,
Manichaeism and Nestorianism. These religious faiths had spread to
Xinjiang along the Silk Road and thrived together with the local
primitive religions. After the introduction of Islam, the
coexistence of diverse religions continued to be the order of the
day in Xinjiang, to be joined later by Protestantism and
Catholicism.
Before the foreign religions were introduced into Xinjiang, the
ancient residents there believed in native primitive religions and
the Shamanism evolved therefrom. Even today, some minority
peoples in Xinjiang still adhere, to different degrees, to some of
the concepts and customs characteristic of these beliefs.
Around the fourth century B.C., Zoroastrianism, or Fire Worship
as it was popularly called, which was born in ancient Persia, was
introduced into Xinjiang through Central Asia. It became
prevalent throughout Xinjiang during the period of the Southern and
Northern Dynasties and the Sui and Tang dynasties. It was
particularly popular in the Turpan area. The Gaochang state of that
time set up a special organ and appointed special officials to
strengthen its control over the religion. Some ethnic groups in
Xinjiang that followed Islam once also believed in
Zoroastrianism.
Around the first century B.C., Buddhism, born in India, was
introduced into Xinjiang through Kashmir. Soon after, it became
the main religion in the region thanks to efforts made by the local
rulers to promote it. At its peak, Buddhist temples mushroomed in
the oases around the Tarim Basin with large numbers of monks and
nuns. Yutian, Shule, Qiuci and Gaochang were all centers of
Buddhism. In Xinjiang, Buddhist culture reached a very high level,
leaving a precious cultural heritage of statues, paintings, music,
dancing, temples and sacred grottoes, greatly enriching the
cultural and art treasury of China and the whole world.
Around the fifth century, Taoism was introduced into Xinjiang
from inland China by Han migrants. However, Taoism was limited
mainly to the Turpan and Hami areas, where Han people were
concentrated. It was not until the Qing Dynasty that Taoism became
widespread throughout Xinjiang.
Around the sixth century, Manichaeism reached Xinjiang from
Persia through Central Asia. In the middle of the ninth
century, when the Uighur, who were believers in Manichaeism, moved
westward to Xinjiang, they promoted the development of the religion
in the region. They built temples, dug grottoes, translated
scriptures, painted frescoes and spread the Manichaeist creed and
culture in the Turpan area. Around the same time, Nestorianism, an
earlier sect of Christianity, was introduced into Xinjiang, but it
was not widespread in the early years. It flourished only when
large numbers of the Uighur accepted it during the Yuan Dynasty
(1206-1368).
In the late ninth century and the early 10th century, Islam
spread to the south of Xinjiang through Central Asia. In the
middle of the 10th century, the Islamic Karahan Kingdom waged a
religious war against the Buddhist kingdom of Yutian, which lasted
for more than 40 years. It conquered Yutian in the early 11th
century, and introduced Islam to Hotan. In the middle of the 14th
century, under the coercion of the Qagatay Khanate (a vassal state
created by Qagatay, the second son of Genghis Khan, in the Western
Regions), Islam gradually became the main religion for the
Mongolian, Uygur, Kazak, Kirgiz and Tajik peoples in that region.
In the early 16th century, Islam finally became the main religion
in Xinjiang, replacing Buddhism.
After that, Zoroastrianism, Manichaeism and Nestorianism, the main
religions of the Uygur and other ethnic groups, gradually went out
of the picture in Xinjiang, but Buddhism and Taoism continued to
make themselves felt there. Beginning in the Ming Dynasty, Tibetan
Buddhism grew into a major religion on a par with Islam in
Xinjiang.
In
the late 17th century, Apakhoja, chief of the Aktaglik Sect of
Islam, wiped out the forces of his political foe Hoja of the
Karataglik Sect, by dint of Tibetan Buddhist forces, and destroyed
the Yarkant Khanate (a regional regime established by Qagatay's
descendants between 1514 and 1680, with modern Shache as its
center). This shows how powerful Tibetan Buddhism was at that
time.
Around the 18th century, Protestantism and Catholicism spread to
Xinjiang, at a time when Buddhism, Taoism and Shamanism were
flourishing in the region, and temples and churches of these
religious faiths could be found everywhere in Xinjiang. Some
Moslems even changed their faith to Christianity or other
religions.
Historically, the dominance of a particular religion has kept
changing from time to time in Xinjiang, but the coexistence of
multiple religions following the introduction of outside religious
faiths has never changed. The major religions in Xinjiang today
are Islam, Buddhism (including Tibetan Buddhism), Protestantism,
Catholicism and Taoism. Shamanism still has considerable influence
among some ethnic groups.
III. The Administration of Xinjiang by the
Successive Central Governments
The close ties between Xinjiang and the Central Plains have
existed for a long time. In the early years of the Western Han
Dynasty, the Western Regions were under the rule of the Xiongnu. In
138 B.C., the imperial court of the Han Dynasty sent Zhang Qian to
the Western Regions as an envoy in an attempt to forge alliances
which would stop raids by the Xiongnu on the dynasty's borders. In
121 B.C., a Han army inflicted a crushing defeat on the Xiongnu
troops stationed along the Gansu Corridor. After that, the Han
Dynasty set up the four prefectures of Wuwei, Zhangye, Jiuquan and
Dunhuang in the region. In 101 B.C., the Western Han Dynasty
stationed hundreds of garrison troops in Luntai and Quli, south of
the Tianshan Mountains, and appointed a local "envoy commander" to
command them. The title "envoy commander" was later changed to
"envoy for protecting the region west of Shanshan (Qarqan)."
In 60 B.C. (the second year of the Shenjue reign period of
Emperor Xuandi of the Han Dynasty), the Western Regions Frontier
Command was established. At about the same time, an internal
disturbance occurred among the Xiongnu ruling clique, and Xian
Shan, Prince Rizhu of the Xiongnu stationed in the Western Regions,
led a cavalry of several ten thousand strong to pledge allegiance
to the Han imperial court. The Western Han court appointed Zheng Ji
as the Frontier Commander of the Western Regions, with his
headquarters in Urli (in modern Luntai County), to administer over
the whole region. The local chieftains and principal officials in
all parts of the Western Regions all accepted official seals from
the Western Han court. The establishment of the Western Regions
Frontier Command indicated that the Western Han had begun to
exercise state sovereignty over the Western Regions, and that
Xinjiang had become a component part of the unitary multi-ethnic
Chinese nation.
The government of the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220) appointed first
a Frontier Commander, and then a Governor, of the Western Regions
to continue to exercise military and political administration over
all parts of the western territory both north and south of the
Tianshan Mountains. In 221, the kingdom of Wei (220-265) of the
Three Kingdoms Period (220-265, the other two kingdoms being Shu
and Wu) inherited the Han practice, stationing a garrison commander
at Gaochang (Turpan) to rule the Western Regions. Later, it also
appointed a governor to administer affairs concerning the ethnic
groups in the Western Regions. In the last years of the Western Jin
Dynasty (265-316), Zhang Jun, founder of the Former Liang Regime
(301-376), sent an expedition to the Western Regions, occupied the
Gaochang area and established Gaochang Prefecture. The Northern Wei
Dynasty (386-534) set up Shanshan and Yanqi garrison commands to
strengthen its administration of the Western Regions.
During the Sui and Tang dynasties, the central government
strengthened its rule over Xinjiang. In the last years of the
sixth century, the Sui Dynasty (581-618) unified the Central
Plains. When Emperor Yangdi (r. 604-618) ascended the throne, one
of his first acts was to send Pei Ju, Vice-Minister of Personnel,
to Zhangye and Wuwei to supervise trade with the Western Regions
and investigate local conditions. In 608, troops of the Sui Dynasty
occupied Yiwu (Arat|r|k), built a city wall there, and established
the three prefectures of Shanshan (modern Ruoqiang, or Qarkilik),
Qiemo (southwest of modern Qiemo) and Yiwu (within the territory of
modern Hami).
In
the early seventh century, the Tang Dynasty replaced the Sui. In
630, Yiwu, together with the seven cities under its jurisdiction,
changed its allegiance from the Western Turks to the Tang Dynasty,
which established Western Yizhou Prefecture (later Yizhou
Prefecture). In 640, Tang troops crushed a rebellion staged by the
Qu ruling house (501-640) of the Gaochang Kingdom in collusion with
the Turks, and established a Xizhou Prefecture in Gaochang and a
Tingzhou (Bexibalik) Prefecture in Kaganbu (modern Jimsar). In the
same year, the Tang court set up the Anxi Frontier Command in
Gaochang. This was the first high-ranking military and
administrative organ established by the Tang Dynasty in the Western
Regions. Later, it was moved to Kuche, and its name was changed to
the Grand Anxi Frontier Command.
After defeating the Western Turks, the Tang Dynasty unified all
parts of the Western Regions, and in 702 established the Beiting
Frontier Command in Tingzhou (later upgraded to Grand Beiting
Frontier Command) to take charge of military and administrative
affairs in the north of the Tianshan Mountains and the east of
Xinjiang, while the Grand Anxi Frontier Command supervised military
and administrative affairs in the vast areas south of the Tianshan
Mountains and west of the Congling Mountain Range. Emperor Xuanzong
(r. 712-756) of the Tang Dynasty established a Qixi Military
Governorship to supervise both frontier commands. Qixi was one of
the eight major military governorships at that time in the
country.
The Tang central government instituted a system of separate
administrations for the Han and the people of the other ethnic
groups in the Western Regions. That is, it adopted the same
administrative system of prefecture, sub-prefecture, county,
township and li (neighborhood or village) as in the inland
areas in Yizhou, Xizhou and Tingzhou, where most Han were
concentrated. In addition, the equal-field system (the farmland
system of the Tang Dynasty) and taxation system of payment in kind
and labor were adopted, as well as the system of prefectural
military commands. In the areas inhabited by other ethnic groups,
the Tang rulers governed through the traditional chiefs and
headmen, who were granted civil and military titles but allowed to
manage local affairs according to their own customs. At the same
time, the central government stationed garrisons in Qiuci, Yutian,
Shule and Suiye (or Suyab, formerly Yanqi), which were known as the
"four garrison commands of Anxi."
Internal strife in the Central Plains during the Five Dynasties
period, and the Song, Liao and Jin dynasties distracted the
attention of rulers of the Central Plains from the Western Regions,
resulting in several local regimes existing side by side in the
Western Regions. The local governments of Gaochang, Karahan and
Yutian exercised a great degree of autonomy, but they all
maintained close ties with the ruling dynasties in the Central
Plains.
The Gaochang and Karahan were local regimes established by the
Uighurs, who had moved west to the Western Regions together with
other Turki-speaking tribes after the Mobei Uighur Khanate
collapsed in 840. The Gaochang had the Turpan area as its center
while the Karahan controlled the vast areas south of the Tianshan
Mountains and Hezhong (Samarkand) in Central Asia.
The Uighur local regimes had very close relations with the ruling
dynasties in the Central Plains. The ruler of the Karahan Kingdom
called himself the "Peach Stone Khan," meaning "Chinese Khan," to
indicate that he was a Chinese subject. In 1009, after occupying
Yutian, Karahan sent envoys with tribute to the emperor of the
Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127). In 1063, the Northern Song
conferred upon the ruler of Karahan the title of "King of Sworn
Allegiance." In the third year after the founding of the Northern
Song Dynasty, the Gaochang Uighurs sent 42 envoys bearing tribute
to the Northern Song court.
Yutian was the habitat of the Sai people. In recognition of its
maintaining close ties with the Central Plains, the Tang Dynasty
conferred an official title on the ruling clan of Yutian, which
then changed its surname from Yuchi to Li, the surname of the Tang
ruling house. In 938, Emperor Gaozu of the Later Jin Dynasty sent
Zhang Kuangye and Gao Juhui to Yutian as envoys to confer on Li
Shengtian, Yutian's ruler, the title of "King of the Great Treasure
Yutian State." In the early years of the Northern Song Dynasty,
envoys and monks from Yutian brought tribute to the Song Dynasty
court from time to time.
The founder of the Yuan Dynasty, Genghis Khan, completed the
political unification of the regions north and south of the
Tianshan Mountains. He first set up military and administrative
organs like "Dargaq" (a Mongolian official title, meaning "garrison
officer") and "Bexibalik Secretariat" to take charge of the
military and administrative affairs of the Western Regions.
After the Yuan Dynasty was proclaimed, while giving attention to
socio-economic development in the Western Regions, it appointed a
judicial commissioner in the Turpan region. Later, a treasury and
printing house for banknotes were established there, together with
a Bexibalik Command to administer the Turpan area, which was
garrisoned by soldiers of the vanquished Southern Song Dynasty
army, who were also there to open up wasteland. At the same time,
the Yuan court sent soldiers to Hotan and Qiemo for garrison and
reclamation duties, set up a foundry in Bexibalik to make farm
tools, and instituted a land tax system in the Uighur areas.
In
1406, the Ming Dynasty set up a Hami Garrison Command, and
appointed the heads of the leading families in Hami as officials to
manage local military and administrative affairs, so as to keep the
trade routes to the West open and bring the other areas of the
Western Regions under its control.
The Qing government consolidated unified jurisdiction over the
Western Regions. In 1757, the Qing imperial court crushed the
long-standing Junggar separatist regime in the Northwest. Two years
later, it quelled a rebellion launched by the Islamic Aktaglik Sect
leaders Burhanidin and Hojajahan, thus consolidating its military
and administrative jurisdiction over all parts of the Western
Regions.
The post of Ili General was established in 1762 to exercise unified
military and administrative jurisdiction over the regions both
south and north of the Tianshan Mountains, with the headquarters in
Huiyuan (in modern Huocheng County) and staffed with officials like
supervisors, consultants, superintendents and commissioners.
In
accordance with the principle of "doing what is appropriate in the
light of local conditions" and "exercising administration according
to local customs," the Qing government adopted the system of
prefectures and counties in the region north of the Tianshan
Mountains inhabited by people of the Han and Hui ethnic groups, and
maintained the local "Baeg system" (a Turki term for local
officials) for the Uygurs in the Ili region and the region south of
the Tianshan Mountains.
Even in the latter region, however, the central government reserved
the power to make official appointments and removals with the
strict separation of religion from politics. It adopted the system
of "Jasak" (a Mongolian term for governor) by conferring the
hereditary titles of princes and dukes on Mongolians and the Uygurs
in the Hami and Turpan regions. It also recruited officials from
other ethnic groups besides the Manchus.
In
economic affairs, the Qing promoted the simultaneous development of
farming and livestock breeding, with the emphasis on farming. It
also reduced taxes and fixed quotas for financial subsidies.
Xinjiang witnessed steady social and economic development under the
Qing Dynasty.
Following the Opium War of 1840, Xinjiang was subject to
aggression from Tsarist Russia and other powers. In 1875, Zuo
Zongtang, governor-general of Shaanxi and Gansu provinces, was
appointed imperial commissioner to supervise the affairs of
Xinjiang.
By
the end of 1877, Qing troops had recovered the areas north and
south of the Tianshan Mountains which had been occupied by Yakubbae
of Central Asia's Kokand Khanate (Fergana). In February 1881, the
Qing government recovered Ili, which had been forcibly occupied by
Tsarist Russia for 11 years.
In
1884, it formally established a province in the Western Regions and
renamed the area as Xinjiang (meaning "old territory returned to
the motherland"). The establishment of Xinjiang as a province was a
significant reform, on the part of the Qing government, of the
administration of Xinjiang by the previous dynasties.
From then on, the provincial governor oversaw all military and
administrative affairs in Xinjiang, and the military and
administrative center of Xinjiang was moved from Ili to Dihua
(modern Urumqi). By 1909, under the jurisdiction of Xinjiang
Province were 4 dao (circuit), under which were 6
prefectures, 10 ting (sub-circuits), 3 sub-prefectures and
21 counties or sub-counties. The administrative organization in
Xinjiang was exactly the same as in the inland areas.
In the year following the Revolution of 1911, insurrectionary
revolutionaries in Xinjiang set up the New Ili Grand Military
Government, marking the end of the political rule of the Qing
Dynasty in the Ili region. After the Republic of China was
founded, it constantly strengthened the defense of Xinjiang.
Xinjiang was peacefully liberated on September 25, 1949. As
the liberation struggle gained momentum across the country and the
revolutionary struggle of the people of all ethnic groups surged
forward in Xinjiang, Tao Zhiyue, Garrison Commander of Xinjiang,
and Burhan, Chairman of the Xinjiang Provincial Government,
renounced their allegiance to the Kuomintang and welcomed in the
First Army Group of the First Field Army of the Chinese People's
Liberation Army (PLA), led by General Wang Zhen. The people of all
ethnic groups in Xinjiang greeted the founding of the People's
Republic of China together with the rest of the Chinese people on
October 1, 1949.
To sum up, since the Han Dynasty established the Western Regions
Frontier Command in Xinjiang in 60 B.C., the Chinese central
governments of all historical periods exercised military and
administrative jurisdiction over Xinjiang. The jurisdiction of the
central governments over the Xinjiang region was at times strong
and at other times weak, depending on the stability of the
period. The people of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang actively
safeguarded their relations with the central governments, thus
making their own contributions to the formation and consolidation
of the great family of the Chinese nation.
IV. Origin of the "East Turkistan"
Issue
The term "Turkistan" appeared in Arabic geographical works in the
Middle Ages. It meant "the region of the Turks" and referred to the
areas north of the Sir River in Central Asia and the adjoining
areas to the east of the river. With the evolution of history, the
modern ethnic groups in Central Asia were established one after
another. By the 18th century, the geographical concept of
"Turkistan" was already very vague, and almost nobody used it again
in the historical records of the time.
In
the early 19th century, with the growing colonial expansion of the
imperialist powers into Central Asia, the geographical term
"Turkistan" was revived. In 1805, Timkovsky, a Russian, used the
term "Turkistan" again in a diplomatic mission's report to describe
the geographical position of Central Asia and the Tarim Basin in
China's southern Xinjiang. In view of the different histories,
languages, customs and political affiliations of the two areas, he
called the Tarim Basin in China's Xinjiang situated to the east of
"Turkistan" as "East Turkistan" or "Chinese Turkistan." In the
middle of the 19th century, Russia annexed the three Central Asian
khanates of Khiva, Bukhara and Kokand one after another, and set up
the "Turkistan Governorship" in the Hezhong (Samarkand) area of
Central Asia. Therefore, some people in the West called the Hezhong
area "West Turkistan" or "Russian Turkistan," and China's Xinjiang
region "East Turkistan."
In
the early 20th century and later, a small number of separatists and
religious extremists in Xinjiang, influenced by the international
trend of religious extremism and national chauvinism, politicized
the unstandardized geographical term "East Turkistan," and
fabricated an "ideological and theoretical system" on the so-called
"independence of East Turkistan" on the basis of the allegation
cooked up by the old colonialists. They claimed that "East
Turkistan" had been an independent state since ancient times, its
people with its history of almost 10,000 years being "the finest
nation in human history." They incited all ethnic groups speaking
Turki and believing in Islam to join hands to create a theocratic
state. They denied the history of the great motherland jointly
built by all the ethnic groups of China. They clamored for
"opposition to all ethnic groups other than Turks" and for the
"annihilation of pagans," asserting that China had been "the enemy
of the East Turkistan' nation for 3,000 years." After the "East
Turkistan" theory came into being, separatists of all shades raised
the banner of "East Turkistan" to carry out activities aimed at
materializing their vain wish of establishing an "East Turkistan
state."
From the early 20th century to the late 1940s, the "East
Turkistan" forces created many disturbances with the connivance and
support of hostile foreign forces. In November 1933, Sabit
Damolla and others founded the so-called "East Turkistan Islamic
Republic" in Kashi, but it collapsed in less than three months
thanks to the opposition of the people of all ethnic groups in
Xinjiang. In 1944, the "Revolution of the Three Regions," which was
part of Chinese people's democratic revolutionary movement, broke
out against the Kuomintang rule (the three regions referred to Ili,
Tacheng and Altay), but separatist Elihan Torae (an Uzbek from the
former Soviet Union) usurped the leadership of the revolution in
its early days, and founded the so-called "Republic of East
Turkistan" in Yining, with himself as its "chairman." In June 1946,
Ahmatjan Kasimi and Abdukerim Abbasov, leaders of the revolution,
dismissed him from that post, and reorganized the "Republic of East
Turkistan" as the Advisory Council of the Ili Subprovincial
Administrative Region, dealing a fatal blow at the separatist
forces.
Since the peaceful liberation of Xinjiang, the "East Turkistan"
forces have never resigned themselves to their defeat. The tiny
group of separatists who had fled abroad from Xinjiang collaborated
with those at home, and looked for opportunities to carry out
splittist and sabotage activities with the support of international
anti-China forces. Especially in the 1990s, influenced by religious
extremism, separatism and international terrorism, part of the
"East Turkistan" forces both inside and outside China turned to
splittist and sabotage activities with terrorist violence as their
chief means. Some "East Turkistan" organizations openly stated that
they would use terrorist and violent means to achieve their purpose
of separation. The "East Turkistan" forces in China's Xinjiang and
relevant countries plotted and organized a number of bloody
incidents of terror and violence, including explosions,
assassinations, arsons, poisonings and assaults, seriously
jeopardizing the lives, property and security of the Chinese people
of various ethnic groups, and social stability in Xinjiang, and
posing a threat to the security and stability of the countries and
regions concerned.
After the September 11 incident, the voices calling for an
international anti-terrorist struggle and cooperation have become
louder and louder. In order to get out of their predicament, the
"East Turkistan" forces once again have raised the banner of "human
rights," "freedom of religion" and "interests of ethnic
minorities," and fabricated claims that "the Chinese government is
using every opportunity to oppress ethnic minorities," to mislead
the public and deceive world opinion in order to escape blows dealt
by the international struggle against terrorism.
V. The Economic Development of Xinjiang After
the Founding of New China
Before the founding of the People's Republic of China, the economy
of Xinjiang was a natural economy, with farming and livestock
breeding as the mainstay. Industry was underdeveloped, and there
were no railways or up-to-the-mark factories or mines. Famines were
frequent in some areas, and the people were impoverished. Xinjiang
was peacefully liberated on September 25, 1949. On October 1, 1955,
the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region was established, opening a new
page for historic development in Xinjiang. In the past half
century, Xinjiang's economy and social undertakings have advanced
by leaps and bounds.
Fast growth of the economy. The GDP of Xinjiang was 148.548
billion yuan in 2001. Taking price rises into account, this was
42.9 times that of 1952, and an annual growth rate of 8.0%. The
per-capita GDP rose from 166 yuan in 1952 to 7,913 yuan in 2001.
The autonomous region's revenues amounted to 17.807 billion yuan in
2001, or 102.9 times the 1955 figure of 173 million yuan.
Xinjiang's industrial structure has been constantly adjusted and
optimized. Primary, secondary and tertiary industries accounted for
19.4%, 42.4% and 38.2% of the GDP in 2001, respectively. Compared
with 1955, the proportion of primary industry dropped by 35
percentage points, that of secondary industry rose by 16.3
percentage points, and that of tertiary industry rose by 18.7
percentage points.
The overall production capacity of agriculture has risen
notably. After 50-plus years of development and construction,
and especially since the reform and opening policies were
introduced, a complete farmland irrigation network in Xinjiang has
been preliminarily formed, and the level of modern farm equipment
has risen. By 2001, the total power output of farm machinery came
to 8,808,500 kw, the net quantity of chemical fertilizers used for
farming was 832,900 tons, and rural power consumption totaled 2.545
billion kwh. Meanwhile, the total sown area was 3,404,120 ha,
double the 1955 figure. The total output of food grains, cotton and
sugar beet was 7.96 million tons, 1.57 million tons and 4.55
million tons, respectively, or 5.4 times, 62.5 times and 4,551.2
times the figures for 1955, respectively. Turpan grapes, Korla
pears and Hami melons, which have long been famous Xinjiang
products, sell well on both foreign and domestic markets.
Specialty horticulture and crop planting have leapfrogged in the
past few years. Livestock breeding is being promoted with the use
of the latest findings in agricultural science and technology. At
the end of 2001, the region had 46.0378 million head of livestock,
2.8 times the number in 1955. In addition, Xinjiang has become the
largest producer of commodity cotton, hops and tomato sauce, and
one of the major livestock breeding and beet-sugar producing
centers in China.
Industrial strength rising rapidly. There were only 363
industrial enterprises in Xinjiang, with an annual output value of
98 million yuan, when New China was founded. In 2001, there were
6,287 industrial enterprises at and above the township level, with
an added value of 45 billion yuan, and the output of major
industrial products has all increased by large margins. In 2001,
Xinjiang produced 19.4695 million tons of crude oil, 28.1961
million tons of raw coal, 302,700 tons of cotton yarn and 19.762
billion kwh of electricity 591.78 times, 43.68 times, 81.8 times
and 359.3 times the 1955 figures, respectively. It also produced
419,800 tons of refined sugar, 1.3183 million tons of steel, 9.8129
million tons of cement and 729,000 tons of chemical fertilizer.
The region's industrial strength has greatly increased and the
technological level has notably risen. A modern industrial system
of considerable size complete with all necessary departments has
taken shape, with the intensive processing of farm and sideline
products as its leading industrial sector, backed up by the oil,
petrochemicals, steel, coal, electric power, textile, building
materials, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, food processing and light
industries.
Notable achievements made in water conservancy. On the basis
of "oasis ecology and irrigated farmland," Xinjiang has carried out
large-scale farm water conservancy construction. The multi-purpose
project to harness the Tarim River has, on four occasions, diverted
1.05 billion cu m of water from Bosten Lake to the lower reaches of
the river. A number of modern, large-scale water conservancy
projects represented by Kizil Reservoir and the Ulug Ata key water
control project in Hotan and large numbers of trunk and branch
canals, as well as seepage control projects have been built, thus
rapidly increasing the amount of water diverted, the capacity of
the reservoirs and the well-irrigated area in the whole region. By
2000, there were 485 reservoirs with a total holding capacity of
well over 6.716 billion cu m 162 times and 200 times the 1949
figures, respectively. The total area of irrigated fields has been
expanded to 3.388 million ha. The flood control dykes and dams
built in the period totaled 5,129 km 17.7 times the 1949 figure of
289 km.
Swift expansion of communications and transportation.
Draught animals were the chief means of transport in Xinjiang prior
to the founding of New China. There was almost no modern transport.
In the more than 50 years since then, Xinjiang has witnessed a
drastic change in the communications and transport industry. The
Lanzhou-Xinjiang Railway reached Urumqi at the end of 1962,
bringing railway transport to the region for the first time. The
476-km-long western section of the Southern Xinjiang Railway, from
Turpan to Korla, was opened to traffic in 1984. A stretch of 460 km
was added to the western section of the Lanzhou-Xinjiang Railway in
1990, reaching the Alatav Pass from Urumqi, thus completing the
second Eurasian continental bridge. In 1994, the Lanzhou-Xinjiang
Railway was double-tracked and opened to traffic. In 1999, the
975-km section of the Southern Xinjiang Railway was completed,
extending from Korla to Kashi, and opened to traffic. By 2001,
operating railway lines totaled 3,010.4 km.
In
1949, Xinjiang had only several crudely built highways, with a
total length of a mere 3,361 km, but by 2001, the region's highways
had been extended to 80,900 km, including 428 km of expressways,
230 km of Grade 1 highways and 5,558 km of Grade 2 highways. The
highway running through the Taklimakan Desert is a long-distance
graded highway, the first one in the world built on shifting sands.
Now, a highway network covers the whole region, with Urumqi as the
center and seven national highways as the backbone linking the
region with Gansu and Qinghai provinces to the east, the adjoining
countries in Central and West Asia to the west and Tibet to the
south. The network is also connected with the region's 68
provincial highways. Buses now run to all cities, prefectures,
counties and townships in the region.
Xinjiang has 11 airports, both newly built and enlarged, with
international air routes connecting Urumqi with Alma-Ata, Tashkent,
Moscow and Islamabad, as well as chartered flights to Hong Kong. In
all, there are 92 air lines radiating from Urumqi to 65 cities in
other parts of the country and abroad and to 12 prefectures and
cities within the autonomous region. The total length of the air
routes is 161,800 km.
The development of telecommunications facilities in Xinjiang has
kept pace with the national network. Xinjiang has built digital
microwave trunk circuits linking Urumqi with Ili through Kuytun and
Bole, linking Kuytun with Altay through Karamay, and from Turpan to
Hotan through Korla, Aksu and Kashi. Digital microwave
communications link the southern and northern parts of the region,
and optical cable trunk lines link Urumqi with Xi'an, Lanzhou,
Yining, Korgas checkpoint, Turpan, Korla, Ruoqiang and Mangya. A
DDD telephone network now links all the cities and counties in
Xinjiang with all other parts of China, and the region's telephone
subscribers have reached the grand total of 2.626 million. The
local data communications network and multi-media communications
network have developed rapidly, and an ATM wide-band network covers
all prefectures and cities. The construction of an IP-based
citywide LAN has been started. A mobile phone network with a
capacity of 2.924 million users is now in place to cover the whole
region.
Rapid growth of foreign trade. Xinjiang's foreign trade is
conducted in multiple flexible ways, including spot trade, border
trade, processing with materials supplied by customers,
compensation trade, and tourism. By 2001, Xinjiang had trade
relations with 119 countries and regions. Nearly 1,000 commodity
items in 22 categories were on the export list. Among them, 10
export commodities earned more than US$10 million each. The total
value of Xinjiang's exports and imports amounted to US$1.77 billion
in that year. The export product mix has been constantly improved,
from primary bulk products with low added value to
electromechanical and precision instruments with high added value.
Now, manufactured goods account for 67% of Xinjiang's exports.
As
one of the important autonomous regions (provinces) carrying out
the government strategy of opening China's border areas to the
outside world, Xinjiang has gradually formed an omnidirectional,
multi-level and wide-range opening pattern by expanding the links
with foreign countries and China's various provinces along the
borders, bridges (Eurasian continental bridges) and trunk
communication lines to become China's frontline in opening to the
West.
Boom in tourism. With wonderful and rare natural scenery and
colorful ethnic customs, Xinjiang has greatly expanded its tourism
sector. In 2001, the region hosted 273,000 international tourists,
and earned US$98.56 million in foreign exchange. It also hosted
8.393 million domestic tourists, and earned 7.18 billion yuan. The
region's capacity for accommodating tourists has greatly expanded
in recent years. In 2001, there were 250 hotels for foreign
tourists, including 173 star-rated hotels. The tourist trade has
become a new economic growth point for economic development in
Xinjiang.
VI. Progress in Education, Science and
Technology, Culture and Health Work
During the half century or more since the founding of New China,
all social undertakings in Xinjiang have undergone historic
changes.
Education developing steadily. Compared with that of 1949,
in the year of 2001, the number of primary schools in the region
increased from 1,335 to 6,221, middle schools from 9 to 1,929,
polytechnic schools from 11 to 99, and regular institutions of
higher learning from 1 to 21. The number of students currently
registered at local institutions of higher learning has increased
from 400 to 110,000, and 185,000 students have graduated from
regular institutions of higher learning. The number of students
currently registered at polytechnic schools has increased from
2,000 to 97,300. Elementary education has been continuously
improved, and nine-year compulsory education has been realized in
65 counties (cities, districts). Adult education of various types
has made steady progress. A multi-level, multi-form occupational
training system has by and large been in place. The ratio of the
educated population of the region has grown remarkably. The
proportion of illiteracy among the young and middle-aged has
dropped to less than 2%.
Progress in science and technology. The overall strength of
science and technology has increased tremendously. The region has
established a research and development system, a technology
popularization system, and a sci-tech administration and service
system with relatively complete and supplementary disciplines,
relatively rational distribution and distinctive local
characteristics; trained a crop of sci-tech specialists with high
academic achievements; created a sci-tech contingent made up of
people of various ethnic groups and highly capable of research,
development, experimentation, popularization and management; and
built a number of laboratory centers and experimental bases
characteristic of the sci-tech advantages of Xinjiang. The
accelerated industrialization and commercialization of sci-tech
research findings have changed Xinjiang's traditional ways of
agricultural production and operation, and notable achievements
have been made in protective plant cultivation, irrigation
technology and strain improvement. The technological transformation
of industrial enterprises has enhanced both their economic
efficiency and market competitiveness. Science and technology are
playing an important role in the development of the regional
economy and social progress.
By
the end of 2001, the number of professional and technical personnel
in the enterprises and institutions of the whole region reached
385,100. During the 50-odd years since the founding of New China,
Xinjiang has achieved 7,102 significant sci-tech findings, of which
201 have won national awards. The technical popularization of
Xinjiang's merino sheep has attained the advanced level in China,
while the region's technology of desert highway construction is in
the forefront of the world.
Culture and art prospering. Before the founding of New
China, there was not a single professional theatrical troupe,
artistic research organization or art school in Xinjiang. By 2001,
there were altogether 89 theatrical troupes, 107 art research and
creation units and an abundance of art schools. The Uygur, Kazak,
Hui, Kirgiz, Mongolian, Tajik and Xibe ethnic minorities now all
have their own professional theatrical troupes and have produced a
galaxy of outstanding artists. Before the founding of New China,
Xinjiang had no public library or museum to speak of. Today, it
boasts 81 public libraries and 23 museums. In recent years, radio
and television have advanced in seven-league boots. Currently,
there are 41 radio transmission and relay stations, and 826
television transmission and relay stations. Radio reaches 91.3% of
Xinjiang's population, and 90.93% have access to television.
Literary and artistic creation is flourishing. The Rainbow of
the Tianshan Mountains, Pioneers of Muqam and a spate of
other outstanding artworks have won national awards. The
full-length song-and-dance ensemble Bravo Xinjiang has
caused a great stir throughout the country. A number of literary
and artistic works with strong ethnic characteristics have been
well received nationwide and even abroad. The genres and number of
titles of books, newspapers and magazines have doubled or
redoubled. The number of newspapers increased from 4 in 1952 to 98
in 2001, of which 43 were published in local ethnic-minority
languages.
Health work improving rapidly. In 1949, Xinjiang had only 54
medical centers, with 696 hospital beds in total. For every ten
thousand people there were on average only 1.6 hospital beds and
0.19 doctor. Besides, health organizations were all concentrated in
a few cities or towns.
But in 2001, there were 7,309 health organizations of various
types, of which 1,357 were hospitals of various types. There were
11 hospitals at the level of Grade III or above, and a total of
71,000 hospital beds. On average, for every ten thousand people
there were 35.1 hospital beds.
In
addition, there were 97,500 professional medical workers, of whom
33,600 were of ethnic-minority origin. The average number of
doctors per thousand people, the average number of beds in town and
township clinics per thousand rural people, and the number of
medical workers in towns and townships were all above the national
average levels.
A
three-tier medi-care and disease-prevention network at the levels
of county, township and village has been preliminarily formed in
the agricultural and pastoral areas. Today, all the 85 counties
(cities) of the region have hospitals, sanitation and anti-epidemic
stations, and health centers for women and children. Each township
has a hospital, and each village a clinic. No longer is there a
shortage of doctors and medicine, or neglected patients in the
agricultural and pastoral areas.
The medical treatment level has been greatly enhanced. Major
hospitals at the regional or prefectural level are equipped with
modern medical instruments, and the medical branches they can offer
for disease treatment have grown more complete. Many difficult and
complicated illnesses can be treated within the region, which has
207 sanitation and anti-epidemic stations, and 17 prevention and
control centers (stations) specializing in the treatment of endemic
diseases.
Endemic and contagious diseases that afflicted people of all ethnic
groups in the past have been basically wiped out. The immunization
ratio, based on regional, county (city) and township (town) plans,
has reached 85%, and the incidence of infectious diseases has been
markedly lowered.
Under the care of the central government, the region has carried
out programs to improve water quality and prevent diseases on a
large scale, and made great achievements in these fields. The
population benefited by the improvement of water quality has topped
8.5 million, of whom the population enjoying piped water has
reached 8.1 million.
Special attention has also been paid to the work concerning the
health of women and children. In the rural areas, the ratio of
adoption of modern midwifery has reached 70% or more. The ratio of
women giving birth in hospitals has reached around 50%. The
coverage rate of pregnant and lying-in women under systematic
health protection has reached 90% in urban areas and 50% in rural
areas, and that of children under systematic health protection 70%
in urban areas and 30% in rural areas.
VII. The People's Living Standards and
Quality of Life Have Been Enhanced
As
the economy and various social undertakings improve, the living
standard of the people of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang is
improving year by year.
The income of both urban and rural residents is continuously
growing. In 2001, the average net income per capita in the
rural areas of Xinjiang was 1,710.44 yuan, which was more than what
was needed for food and clothing. The average annual salary of an
urban employee was 10,278 yuan. Urban residents, as a whole, led
comfortable lives.
The consumption structure of local residents is improving
steadily. In Xinjiang, the Engel's coefficient (the food
consumption ratio) is dropping year by year. Among rural residents,
the Engel's coefficient was as high as 60.8% in 1978, but dropped
to 50.4% in 2001. With regard to urban residents, the Engel's
coefficient was 57.3% in 1978, but dropped to 35.5% in 2001.
The number of durable consumer goods owned by local residents is
increasing rapidly. In 2001, every hundred rural households
owned, on average, 122.3 bicycles, 93.3 television sets, 22.13
washing machines and 53.1 tape-recorders, which, compared with the
figures for 1985, represented increases of 78.4%, 830%, 950% and
610%, respectively. In 2001, every hundred urban households owned,
on average, 107.39 color television sets, 84.47 refrigerators,
94.69 washing machines and 41 cameras, which, compared with the
figures for 1985, showed increases of 190%, 700%, 76.7% and 330%,
respectively. Besides, they also owned 42.96 video CD players,
18.59 video cassette-recorders, 17.33 hi-fi sets and 15.89 mobile
phones. With regard to housing, the living space per capita in
rural areas was 18.04 sq m in 2001, which was a 2.3-fold increase
over that of 1981. The living space per capita in urban areas was
15.54 sq m in 2001, which was an increase of 2.6 times compared to
1981.
The quality of life of local residents has been noticeably
improved. The popularization rate of education and the
educational level have been raised. The coverage of radio and
television is wide. Cultural and sports activities with mass
participation are varied and colorful. Much improvement has been
made in medi-care and health work. People of all ethnic groups in
both urban and rural areas are leading well-off and stable lives.
Life expectancy in Xinjiang has been extended to 71.12 years. The
demography of Xinjiang shows the features of low rate of birth, low
rate of death and low rate of increase. Xinjiang was cited as one
of the four longevity areas in the world by the International
Society of Natural Medication in 1985. The number of centenarians
per million of Xinjiang's population ranks first in the
country.
VIII. Upholding Equality and Unity Among
Ethnic Groups, and Freedom of Religious Belief
Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, the Chinese
government, to ensure equality and unity among ethnic groups and
achieve their common development, has formulated a series of ethnic
and religious policies on the basis of the actual situations of the
various ethnic groups and religions, and these policies have been
continuously enriched and improved in practice. Xinjiang, as one of
the areas practicing regional autonomy for ethnic minorities in
China, has fully implemented the ethnic and religious policies laid
down by the central government, safeguarded the fundamental
interests of the people of all ethnic groups, and formed, developed
and consolidated a new type of relationship of equality, unity and
mutual assistance among ethnic groups.
Safeguarding equality among ethnic groups and promoting their
unity. It is stipulated in the Constitution of the People's
Republic of China as follows: "All ethnic groups in the People's
Republic of China are equal. The state protects the lawful rights
and interests of the ethnic minorities and upholds and develops a
relationship of equality, unity and mutual assistance among all of
China's ethnic groups. Discrimination against and oppression of any
ethnic group are prohibited; any act which undermines the unity of
the ethnic groups or instigates division is prohibited."
The Constitution ensures that citizens of all ethnic groups enjoy
all the rights of equality prescribed by the Constitution and the
law. Citizens who have reached the age of 18 have the right to vote
and stand for election, regardless of ethnic status, race, sex or
religious belief; freedom of the person and the personal dignity of
citizens of all ethnic groups are inviolable; all ethnic groups
have the right to enjoy freedom of religious belief; citizens of
all ethnic groups have the right to receive education; and all
ethnic groups have the freedom to use and develop their own spoken
and written languages. The government has adopted various special
policies and measures to ensure that all the rights of equality for
all ethnic groups as prescribed by the Constitution and the law are
effectively implemented and protected in social life and government
behavior.
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the local
government of Xinjiang promulgated an administrative order to
abolish appellations and names of places containing meanings
insulting to ethnic minorities. For instance, the place name of
"Dihua" was changed to "Urumqi," and that of "Zhenxi" to "Barkol."
Some appellations, though not implying insults, were also changed
at the wish of the given ethnic minority. For instance, the name
"Dahur" was changed to "Daur" in 1958, in accordance with the wish
of the Daur people.
In
order to further consolidate and develop the great unity among
ethnic groups, since 1983, the government of the region has
launched an "educational month of unity among ethnic groups"
throughout the whole region every year. In a lively and up-to-date
form, the publicity and educational event is carried out in a
concentrated, extensive and profound manner, to promote the
concepts of equality, unity and progress as the primary principles
in the relationships between ethnic groups, and make mutual trust,
mutual respect, mutual learning, mutual support and mutual
understanding social norms to be routinely followed by people of
all ethnic groups.
Ethnic minorities' right to autonomy is protected by laws and
regulations. According to the Constitution, regional autonomy
is practiced in areas where people of ethnic minorities live in
compact communities. This is one of the basic political systems of
China. The Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region is an ethnic autonomous
area with the Uygur people as its principal body. Within the
territory of the autonomous region, there also exist other areas
where other ethnic minorities live in compact communities. There,
corresponding ethnic autonomous areas have also been established.
Currently, the whole region has 5 autonomous prefectures for 4
ethnic groups Kazak, Hui, Kirgiz and Mongolian; 6 autonomous
counties for 5 ethnic groups Kazak, Hui, Mongolian, Tajik and Xibe;
and 43 ethnic townships.
According to the provisions of China's Constitution and the "Law on
Regional Ethnic Autonomy," ethnic autonomous areas enjoy extensive
autonomy. While exercising the functions and powers of local state
organs, they shall have the power of legislation; the power to
flexibly carry out or decide not to carry out decisions from
higher-level state organs that are not suited to the actual
conditions of the ethnic autonomous areas; the power to develop
their own economy; the power to manage their own financial affairs;
the power to train and use ethnic-minority cadres; and the power to
develop education and ethnic cultures. The People's Congress of the
Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and its standing committee have
adopted various regulations and resolutions which fit the
characteristics and meet the requirements of Xinjiang based on the
power accorded to it by the "Law on Regional Ethnic Autonomy" and
Xinjiang's actual conditions, thus protecting the right to autonomy
granted to ethnic autonomous areas by the law. By the end of 2000,
the people's congress of the autonomous region and its standing
committee had altogether enacted 119 local laws and 71 statutory
resolutions and decisions, approved 31 local laws, 3 separate
regulations formulated by local people's congresses and 173
administrative rules and regulations formulated by the government
of the autonomous region.
Chief leaders of ethnic autonomous areas are citizens of the
ethnic group or groups exercising regional autonomy in the area
concerned. As stipulated by the Constitution, the head of an
autonomous region, autonomous prefecture or autonomous county shall
be a citizen of the ethnic group exercising regional autonomy in
the area concerned; and the other members of the people's
governments of these regions, prefectures and counties shall
include members of the ethnic group exercising regional autonomy as
well as members of other ethnic minorities.
In
order to thoroughly safeguard regional ethnic autonomy and the
various rights of the ethnic minorities, Xinjiang places great
importance on creating study and training opportunities for
ethnic-minority cadres, sending large numbers of ethnic-minority
cadres to study in colleges and universities in inland provinces,
running schools and training classes for ethnic-minority cadres at
various levels in Xinjiang, and thus training and fostering a large
body of administrative and professional ethnic-minority cadres for
work in political, economic, cultural and other spheres.
In
1950, there were only 3,000 ethnic-minority cadres in Xinjiang. In
1955, when the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region was established,
there were 46,000 ethnic-minority cadres. Today, there are as many
as 348,000, accounting for 51.8% of the total number of cadres in
the autonomous region. Meanwhile, the number of women
ethnic-minority cadres has exceeded 46% of the total number of
women cadres in the whole region.
Ethnic minorities enjoy full representation rights in people's
congresses at all levels. In order to thoroughly protect the
rights of the ethnic minorities, the proportions of the
ethnic-minority deputies to people's congresses at all levels are
all approximately four percentage points higher than the
proportions of the ethnic-minority populations in the total
populations of the relevant areas in Xinjiang in the corresponding
periods. The proportions of ethnic-minority deputies in the total
number of Xinjiang's deputies to the National People's Congress of
all previous terms have all exceeded 63% all higher than the
proportions of such ethnic populations in the region's total
population in the corresponding periods.
Ethnic minorities' freedom and right to use and develop their
own spoken and written languages are fully respected and
protected. The government of the autonomous region promulgated,
respectively in 1988 and 1993, the "Provisional Regulations of
Administration for the Use of Ethnic Languages in the Xinjiang
Uygur Autonomous Region" and the "Regulations for Work Concerning
Spoken and Written Languages in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous
Region," which further enshrine in legal form the freedom and right
of ethnic minorities to use and develop their own spoken and
written languages. Whether in the fields of judicature,
administration, education, etc., or in political and social life,
the spoken and written languages of ethnic minorities are broadly
used.
Government organs of the autonomous region simultaneously use two
or more spoken and written languages in handling public affairs.
Government organs of autonomous prefectures and counties also
simultaneously use the spoken and written languages of the ethnic
group exercising regional autonomy in handling public affairs.
Ethnic minorities have the right to use their own spoken and
written languages in election and litigation. Spoken and written
languages of ethnic minorities are widely used in journalism,
publications, radio, film and television. The Xinjiang People's
Broadcasting Station uses five languages, namely, Uygur, Han,
Kazak, Mongolian and Kirgiz, while the Xinjiang Television Station
uses the Uygur, Han and Kazak languages. The Uygur, Han, Kazak,
Kirgiz, Mongolian and Xibe have newspapers, books and magazines
available to them in their own languages.
Ethnic minorities' folkways and customs are fully respected.
Ethnic minorities' folkways and customs are closely related to
people's production and life, as well as religious beliefs. To
respect ethnic minorities' folkways and customs, the central and
regional people's governments have promulgated a number of
regulations. To guarantee the supply of special food needed by
ethnic minorities, Muslims in particular, the people's government
has promulgated regulations and taken a sequence of specific
measures, for instance by requiring large and medium-sized cities
and small towns with sizable Muslim populations to have a definite
number of Muslim restaurants.
At
the communication hubs and in units with Muslim employees, Muslim
canteens or Muslim catering must be provided. Beef and mutton
supplied to Muslims must be slaughtered and processed according to
Islamic customs, and must be separately stored, transported and
sold. On their respective traditional festivals, such as the Kurban
Festival and Fast-breaking Festival, all ethnic minorities may
enjoy statutory holidays and be supplied with special festive food.
Ethnic minorities which traditionally practice inhumation are
exempt from the government requirement of cremation, and are
allotted special land for cemeteries. There are no restrictions
whatever on folkways and customs of a religious nature, such as
wedding or funeral ceremonies, circumcision and giving religious
names.
Ethnic minorities' educational level is continuously rising.
Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, to change the
extremely backward situation in education among the ethnic
minorities, a whole array of measures have been adopted.
The development of education among ethnic minorities has been
regarded as one of the priorities of educational work. Focus and
priority of arrangement and support have been given to the
education of ethnic minorities in terms of development program,
fund input, and teacher training.
To
change the backward educational situation of the ethnic minorities
in pastoral areas, huge amounts of funds have been spent on
establishing boarding schools; grants are available for
particularly poor students in boarding schools, middle schools,
polytechnic schools, colleges and universities. In 2002, for
instance, free textbooks with a value of 12 million yuan and grants
totaling 30 million yuan were given to such boarding schools.
Secondary and primary school students covered by the compulsory
education period in the three prefectures of Hotan, Kashi and Aksu
and the Kirgiz Autonomous Prefecture of Kizilsu in southern
Xinjiang, where ethnic minorities live in compact communities,
enjoy free education.
The compulsory education period is extended so as to enable
ethnic-minority students to receive 9 to 12 years of compulsory
education. Tuition and fees and expenditures for textbooks are
waived for primary and middle school students of ethnic-minority
origins in some border and poor counties.
A
total of 5,882 primary and middle schools serve ethnic minorities
in Xinjiang, accounting for 69% of the total number of primary and
middle schools in the region. At the same time, many schools
practice a mixed enrolment of students of ethnic-minority and Han
origins.
Today, the whole region has formed an educational system for ethnic
minorities which is rational in structure, multi-level and
developing in a coordinated way. By the end of 2001, the enrolment
rate of school-age children had reached 97.41% for primary schools
and 82.02% for junior middle schools. At the college entrance
examination, a preferential policy is implemented, whereby the
entrance mark has been specially lowered for ethnic-minority
students according to the actual circumstances of the students'
sources.
Ethnic minorities' traditional culture is protected and
flourishing. The people of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang have
created a long-standing, varied and colorful traditional culture,
making a unique contribution to the cultural development of the
Chinese nation.
The government of the autonomous region has, in a planned way,
organized specialists for work involving the collecting, editing,
translating and publishing of the cultural heritage of ethnic
minorities and the protection of their famous historical monuments,
scenic spots, rare cultural relics and other important items of
historical and cultural heritage.
Since 1984, the regional office in charge of the collection and
publishing of ethnic minorities' ancient books has collected more
than 5,000 titles of such works, edited and published more than 100
titles. Two colossal works, Kutadgu Bilig (Wisdom of Fortune
and Joy) and A Comprehensive Turki Dictionary, of the
Karahan Kingdom period in the 11th century, which had been on the
verge of being lost, were translated into Uygur language and
published, and then translated into the Han language and published
in the 1980s with the support of the government and the long-term
concerted efforts of specialists of various ethnic groups.
Tremendous achievements have been made in collecting, editing,
translating and researching the Janger of the Mongolians and
the Manas of the Kirgiz, two of China's three important
epics of ethnic minorities. The Twelve Muqams opera, a
classical musical treasure of the Uygur people, which was also on
the way out before the founding of New China, has long been an
artistic form on the top of the list for rescue by the local
government of Xinjiang, which has mobilized efforts for collecting
and editing works of this genre.
Half a century ago, only two or three elderly musicians could sing
it completely. But now it is widely sung, following the
establishment of the Muqam Art Troupe and Muqam Research Office in
Xinjiang. Traditional local sports with a long history are
flourishing. Items like "picking up a sheep while riding a
galloping horse," horse racing, wrestling and archery are again
becoming popular among the local people. The Darwaz (Uygur
tightrope walking at high altitude) is now widely known both at
home and abroad.
Implementing a more liberal childbirth policy for ethnic
minorities than for the Han people. Based on the state family
planning policy, the People's Congress of the Xinjiang Uygur
Autonomous Region has, according to the region's actual
circumstances, formulated the "Provisional Regulations for Family
Planning of Ethnic Minorities in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous
Region" to implement a more liberal childbirth policy for ethnic
minorities than for the Han people and promote the growth of the
population of ethnic minorities, which enables the natural
population growth of ethnic minorities in Xinjiang to increase at a
higher rate than that of the local Han people. In 2001, the natural
population growth of ethnic minorities was 13.04 , whereas that of
the Han was 8.25 . The first national census, conducted in 1953,
showed that the combined population of ethnic minorities in
Xinjiang was 4.54 million. When the fifth national census was
conducted, in 2000, the figure had risen to 10.9696 million.
Freedom of religious belief is respected and protected. Most
people belonging to ethnic minorities in Xinjiang hold one
religious belief or another. In the case of certain ethnic
minorities, religions are followed on a mass scale. For instance
the Uygur, Kazak and Hui believe in Islam, and the Mongolian, Xibe
and Daur believe in Buddhism. The right to freedom of religious
belief for various ethnic groups is fully respected, and all normal
religious activities are protected by law. Now, there are more than
24,000 venues for religious activities in Xinjiang, of which 23,753
are Islamic mosques. There are 26,800 clerical persons, of whom
26,500 are of the Islamic faith. Every year, the government
allocates specialized funds for the maintenance and repair of the
key mosques, monasteries and churches. In 1999 alone, 7.6 million
yuan was allocated by the central government for the reconstruction
of the Yanghang Mosque in Urumqi, the Baytulla Mosque in Yining and
the Jamae Mosque in Hotan.
Religious personages enjoy full rights to participate in the
deliberation and administration of state affairs. Currently,
more than 1,800 religious personages in Xinjiang have been elected
to posts in people's congresses and committees of the Chinese
People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) at all levels,
of whom 1 is in the National People's Congress, 4 in the National
Committee of the CPPCC, 21 in the people's congress of the
autonomous region, and 27 in the Regional Committee of the CPPCC.
They take the initiative in participating in deliberation and
administration of state affairs on behalf of religious believers,
and in exercising supervision over the government in respect to the
implementation of the policy of freedom of religious belief. To
ensure the normal handling of religious affairs by religious
personages, the government grants stipends to those who are in
financial difficulties.
Protecting the legal rights and interests of religious
organizations in accordance with the law. Since 1982, a total
of 88 religious organizations have been reinstated or established
in the autonomous region, of which 1 Islamic association and 1
Buddhist association are at the regional level; 13 Islamic
associations, 3 Buddhist associations and 1 Three-Self Patriotic
Movement Committee of the Protestant Churches are at the
prefectural (prefectural-class city) level; 65 Islamic
associations, 2 Buddhist associations and 2 Three-Self Patriotic
Movement Committees of the Protestant Churches are at the county
(county-class city) level. All religious bodies independently carry
out religious activities within the scope prescribed by law. All
religious bodies play an important role in training, fostering,
educating and administering their clergy and establishing and
running religious schools, as well as in international religious
exchanges.
In
order to ensure the normal operation of religious activities,
Xinjiang has established an Islamic college specializing in
training senior clergymen. Islamic bodies in prefectures and
prefectural-level cities have opened Islamic classes to train
clergymen in accordance with actual needs. To enhance religious
personages' level of learning, train a contingent of high-caliber
religious personages, and establish a three-tiered (regional,
prefectural and county) training system, the government has
allocated funds to train in-service clerical persons in rotation,
and organized investigative tours for religious personages so as to
broaden their vistas and enrich their knowledge.
Religious personages are guaranteed access to scriptures and
other religious publications. A number of Islamic classics and
religious books and magazines, including the Koran, Selected
Works of Waez and A New Collection of Waez's Speeches,
as well as the religious classics of Buddhism, Christianity and
other religions in various editions and in the Uygur, Kazak and Han
languages have been translated, published and distributed in
Xinjiang. China's Muslims, a journal in the Uygur and Han
languages, is widely read. For religious believers' convenience,
stores specializing in selling religious publications have been set
up in various parts of Xinjiang with government endorsement.
Normal religious activities are protected by law. The
government of the autonomous region has formulated and promulgated
the "Provisional Regulations for the Administration of Religious
Activity Venues in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region" and other
regulations in accordance with the Constitution and the law.
Religious believers carry out normal religious activities in line
with the canons and rituals of their respective faiths, under the
protection of the law. In recent years, the reincarnation of Living
Buddhas has been successfully completed; tens of thousands of
Muslims have made pilgrimages to Mecca as their living standards
have improved; and students of Muslim colleges have taken part with
great success in competitions for recitation of the Koran held both
at home and abroad.
IX. Establishment, Development and Role of
the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps
The Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC), established
in 1954, assumes the duties of cultivating and guarding the
frontier areas entrusted to it by the state. It is a special social
organization, which handles its own administrative and judicial
affairs within the reclamation areas under its administration, in
accordance with the laws and regulations of the state and the
Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and with economic planning
directly supervised by the state. It is subordinated to the dual
leadership of the central government and the People's Government of
the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Also known as the China
Xinjian Group, the XPCC has 14 divisions (reclamation areas), 174
regimental agricultural and stockbreeding farms, 4,391 industrial,
construction, transport and commercial enterprises, and well-run
social undertakings covering scientific research, education,
culture, health, sports, finance and insurance, as well as
judiciary organs. The total population of the XPCC is 2,453,600,
including 933,000 workers.
The XPCC was established against a special historical
background. In 1949, Xinjiang was peacefully liberated. To
consolidate border defense, accelerate Xinjiang's development, and
reduce the economic burden on local governments and the local
people of all ethnic groups, the People's Liberation Army units
stationed in Xinjiang focused their efforts on production and
construction, starting large-scale production and construction
projects. By 1954, after making arduous pioneering and enterprising
efforts, 34 farms and eight pastures had been constructed, with a
total cultivated area of 77,200 ha. The farming and stockbreeding
products gathered not only provided for the logistic needs of the
troops stationed in Xinjiang, but the PLA units had also set up a
number of modern industrial, mining and commercial enterprises, as
well as schools, hospitals and other institutions.
In
October 1954, the Central People's Government ordered most of the
PLA units in Xinjiang to be transferred to local civilian work by
the unit, and be separated from the setups of national defense
forces to form a production and construction corps, whose missions
were to carry out both production and militia duties, and cultivate
and guard border areas. Starting from May 1956, the XPCC was
subordinated to the dual leadership of the Ministry of State Farms
and Land Reclamation and the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.
China has a centuries-old tradition of developing and protecting
its border areas by stationing troops to cultivate and guard the
frontier areas. According to historical records, all the
dynasties in Chinese history adopted the practice of stationing
troops to cultivate and guard frontier areas as an important state
policy for developing border areas and consolidating frontier
defense. The beginning of this practice by the central authorities
on a massive scale in Xinjiang can be traced back to the Western
Han Dynasty, to be subsequently carried on from generation to
generation. This policy had played an important historical role in
uniting the nation, consolidating frontier defense and promoting
social and economic development in Xinjiang. The decision of the
Central People's Government of the People's Republic of China in
1954 to establish the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps
represented a continuation and development of this historical
experience in the new historical conditions.
The XPCC grew in strength through arduous pioneering
efforts. Since its founding, the XPCC has taken it upon itself
to reclaim land, guard the border areas and work for the well-being
of the people of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang. It has followed the
line of combining the efforts of workers, farmers, merchants,
students and soldiers; overall development of agriculture,
forestry, animal husbandry, sideline production and fisheries; and
comprehensive operation of industry, communications, commerce,
construction and services.
In
the 1950s and early 1960s, following the principle of "not
competing for benefits with the local people," the XPCC built water
conservancy works and reclaimed wasteland along the edges of the
Taklimakan and Gurbant|ngg|t deserts to the north and south of the
Tianshan Mountains, respectively, and along the borders where the
natural environment was adverse. Now they have built up
ecologically sound economic networks of oases, with contiguous
fields, crisscrossing canals, ubiquitous forest belts and radiating
roads. Starting by processing agricultural and sideline products,
the XPCC developed modern industry and gradually formed a
multi-sector industrial system with light and textile industries as
the main part and supplemented by iron and steel, coal, building
materials, electricity, chemicals and machinery industries. With
these projects in full swing, the XPCC saw its education, science
and technology, culture and other undertakings follow suit. By the
end of 1966, all the XPCC's undertakings had developed to a rather
high level.
The XPCC was dissolved in 1975, but in December 1981 the central
government decided to revive it. Then the XPCC started its
pioneering work once again, entering a new era of construction and
development. By 2001, the XPCC had built a maze of irrigation
works, sandbreaks and forest belts, rigged up a green barrier
totaling several thousand km in length, created new oases with a
total area of 1.064 million ha, brought into existence a number of
new towns such as Shihezi and Wujiaqu, and reaped a GDP that
accounted for 13.2% of the autonomous region's total.
The XPCC has played an important role in maintaining the
development of Xinjiang. In the past several decades, while
paying taxes to local governments as required by the law, the
XPCC's regimental agricultural and stockbreeding farms and
industrial, transportation, construction and commercial enterprises
have adhered to their aim of serving the people of all ethnic
groups in Xinjiang, and actively aided the construction of local
areas. Each year, they send batches of technicians to adjacent
counties, townships and villages to give training courses in
growing crops and operating and repairing farm machinery, and to
spread advanced technologies. Since 1964, they have pooled funds
each year to aid the local areas in planning and construction, and
offered medical aid to people of all ethnic groups, as well as help
in many other aspects. To support industrial development in
Xinjiang, the XPCC has transferred gratis a batch of large,
well-developed industrial, transportation, construction and
commercial enterprises to the local areas, making great
contributions to the modernization efforts of Xinjiang.
As
an important force for stability in Xinjiang and for consolidating
frontier defense, the XPCC adheres to the principle of attaching
equal importance to production and militia duties. It has set up in
frontier areas a "four-in-one" system of joint defense that links
the PLA, the Armed Police, the XPCC and the ordinary people,
playing an irreplaceable special role in the past five decades in
smashing and resisting internal and external separatists' attempts
at sabotage and infiltration, and in maintaining the stability and
safety of the borders of the motherland.
During the process of cultivating and guarding the border areas,
the XPCC has established a close relationship with local
governments. The XPCC conscientiously accepts the leadership of
the People's Government of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region,
abides by the laws and regulations of the government, respects the
customs and religious beliefs of ethnic minorities, strives to do
practical things in the interest of the people of all ethnic groups
in Xinjiang, and endeavors to develop a blending type of economy.
In this way, the XPCC has forged flesh-and-blood ties with people
of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang, and attained the aim of joint
frontier defense, sharing of resources, mutual complementarity and
common prosperity.
The development of the XPCC in turn has continuously received aid
and support from governments at all levels in the autonomous
region, and from people of all ethnic groups. In its initial period
of land reclamation, people of all ethnic groups provided the XPCC
with guides, production tools and other forms of aid, while local
governments allocated large plots of state-owned wasteland and
pastureland, mines and natural forests, which laid the foundation
for the development of the XPCC. Many of the policies formulated by
the autonomous regional people's government since the reform and
opening-up have been expressly suitable for the XPCC and have thus
gone a long way toward promoting the harmonious development between
the XPCC and local economies.
During its long years of development, the XPCC has become a mosaic
of people from 37 ethnic groups, including the Han, Uygur, Kazak,
Hui and Mongolian. In the reclamation areas live Muslims,
Buddhists, Protestants and Catholics. The population of Muslims is
over 250,000. Carrying out the central government's policies toward
ethnic groups and religions in an all-round way, the XPCC handles
religious affairs in accordance with the law, and has become a
large, united, multi-ethnic family.
The development of the XPCC in the past five decades has played a
very important role in accelerating the economic development of
Xinjiang, promoting unity among ethnic groups, maintaining social
stability, consolidating border defense, and shoring up the
unification of the motherland.
X. State Support for the Development of
Xinjiang
Since the founding of New China in 1949, according to the
Constitution of the People's Republic of China, the central
government has made it a basic state policy to help ethnic
minorities-inhabited border areas with their political, economic
and cultural development, and to lead all the ethnic groups of
China onto the road to common prosperity.
Increased investment in fixed assets in Xinjiang. In the 10
five-year plans of the central government, infrastructure
construction projects, projects involving basic agricultural
development and modern industrial construction projects in Xinjiang
have always been listed as key state projects. A whole slue of
preferential and special policies have been adopted to ensure the
smooth implementation of these plans. During the half century or
more since the founding of New China, with energetic state support,
investment and construction have been proceeding in a big way in
Xinjiang.
From 1950 to 2001, investment in fixed assets there added up to
501.515 billion yuan. That included 266.223 billion yuan from the
central government, accounting for 53.1% of such investment in the
corresponding period. Over 90,000 projects have been completed and
put into operation, including 178 large and medium-sized projects,
and a batch of projects having a vital bearing on the economic
development of Xinjiang. All these have laid a firm foundation for
the autonomous region's sustained economic growth.
Sizable financial support for Xinjiang. Preliminary
statistics show that from 1955, when the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous
Region was founded, till 2000, the financial subsidies Xinjiang
received from the central government totaled 87.741 billion yuan.
Especially since 1996, with the increase of the central
government's financial strength and the implementation of the great
western development strategy, the regular financial subsidies
Xinjiang receives from the central government have increased year
by year: 5.907 billion yuan in 1996, 6.838 billion yuan in 1997,
8.012 billion yuan in 1998, 9.4 billion yuan in 1999, 11.902
billion yuan in 2000, and 18.382 billion yuan in 2001. The central
government has also increased its fund input and support of other
forms through all kinds of special financial transfer payment as
well as financial transfer payment under the preferential policy
for ethnic minorities.
Support for the government of the autonomous region in actively
using loans from international financial organizations and foreign
governments. By the end of 2001, with support from and
arrangement by the central government, Xinjiang had completed or
was in the process of undertaking 22 projects with loans from the
World Bank, and the total investment had reached US$ 1.79895
billion, or 14.93128 billion yuan RMB according to the current
exchange rate. Three Sino-foreign joint ventures have obtained
approval to use US$ 5.524 million in loans from the Asian
Development Bank. Loans totaling US$ 410.67 million from Canada and
several other countries and their governmental financial
organizations have been used in 68 projects in Xinjiang, some of
which have been completed. Loans from international organizations
and foreign governments, which have been made full use of, have
played an important and positive role in Xinjiang's economic
development.
Benefiting Xinjiang by exploiting petroleum and natural gas.
Xinjiang is rich in petroleum and natural gas resources. Since the
founding of New China, to promote Xinjiang's economic development,
the central government has adhered to the policy of large-scale
prospecting for, exploitation of and investment in petroleum and
natural gas resources in Xinjiang, so as to bring benefits to
people of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang. To realize the strategic
plan of building Xinjiang into China's largest petrochemical
industry base, the central government had increased investment in
prospecting for and exploiting petroleum and natural gas in
Xinjiang year by year, in spite of the fact that the domestic and
international prices of petroleum and natural gas had dropped, and
the cost of prospecting for and exploiting petroleum and natural
gas was high. The investment in this respect was 18.196 billion
yuan in 1995, and 29.223 billion yuan in 2000. An investment to the
tune of well over 120 billion yuan is planned for the project of
"transporting western natural gas eastward," which, with Xinjiang
as the main source, is already well on the way.
The rapid development of the petroleum, natural gas and
petrochemical industry has met the demand of Xinjiang's economic
development for energy and petrochemicals. It has also given strong
impetus to the development of the machine-building, transportation,
telecommunications, construction, electricity, water conservancy,
food, textiles, chemicals, plastics, rubber and pharmaceuticals
industries, as well as agriculture; stimulated the growth of
service trades; and produced a great impact on the formation and
improvement of Xinjiang's regional economic structure. As a result,
there has been a great increase in the numbers of people
employed.
Since 1994, with the operation of the Tarim Oilfield, the annual
increase of employment in the Mongolian Autonomous Prefecture of
Bayingolin alone has exceeded 18%. Meanwhile, the process of
urbanization has revved up. New oil-producing cities have
mushroomed on the barren sands of the Gobi Desert, such as Karamay,
Dushanzi (Maytag), Fudong and Zepu (Poskam). The modernization
drive is going ahead apace in such cities as Urumqi, Korla, Fukang
and Luntai. Local economic development has been effectively
supported. The large oilfields in Xinjiang, such as Karamay, Tuha
and Tarim, and major petrochemical enterprises in Zepu, Dushanzi,
Urumqi and Karamay, fully using their human resources and financial
and technological advantages, have aided local enterprises and
invested in local construction. The Desert Petroleum Highway, which
runs from north to south across the Taklimakan Desert, was built
with an investment of 785 million yuan from the Tarim Oilfield.
The development of the petroleum, natural gas and petrochemical
industries in Xinjiang has boosted Xinjiang's revenues
considerably. The project of "transporting western natural gas
eastward" alone will increase Xinjiang's yearly revenue by over one
billion yuan, making a great contribution to promoting the
development of various undertakings in the autonomous region.
Making preferential policies to promote Xinjiang's
development. Since the founding of New China, and especially
since the reform and opening-up started some 20 years ago, the
central government has drawn up economic development and other
policies tilted in favor of Xinjiang. Relevant regulations on the
strategy of opening up the border areas have been promulgated,
providing eight preferential policies for enlarging the opening-up
of the western areas, including Xinjiang.
The central government also encourages the construction of grain
and cotton production bases in Xinjiang, the building of
shelter-forests in northern, northeastern and northwestern China,
and the construction of desertification control projects. The
central government requires that preferential policies for aiding
economic development in the impoverished areas be carried out;
border highways be built and supportive highway facilities at
border checkpoints improved; comprehensive control of the ecosystem
and water resources of the Tarim River be accelerated, with
priority given to Xinjiang when arranging projects for exploiting
resources and infrastructure construction; standard transfer
payment system be adopted for the central budget, to gradually
strengthen financial support and increase the proportion of state
policy-based loans, loans from international financial
organizations and those from foreign governments.
In
2001, the central government promulgated the "Notice of Opinions on
the Implementation of Some Policies and Measures for the Great
Development of China's West," which provided 68 concrete
preferential policies in 18 aspects. According to these provisions,
the government of the autonomous region formulated and promulgated
the "Suggestions of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region on Issues
Concerning the Preferential Tax Policy in the Great Development of
China's West," providing 10 concrete preferential tax policies to
attract domestic and international enterprises, as well as farmers
and herdsmen to participate in investing in and operating projects
concerning Xinjiang's social infrastructure, eco-environmental
protection, high-tech industry and industries with special
potentials and local characteristics.
Dispatching and training first-class professional and technical
personnel for Xinjiang. Since the founding of New China,
considering Xinjiang's remoteness, backwardness and shortage of
high-caliber personnel, the state has assigned, transferred or
encouraged over 800,000 intellectuals and professional and
technical personnel from inland regions to work in Xinjiang. Large
numbers of university graduates, scientists, technicians and
highly-trained professionals have been assigned to Xinjiang.
Working in such fields as industry, agriculture, education,
culture, scientific research, medical care and health, such people
have made outstanding contributions to the modernization of
Xinjiang.
Since 1989, with arrangements made by the central government, more
than 80 institutions of higher learning in the hinterland have
extended their support to Xinjiang by enrolling from among
Xinjiang's ethnic minorities 10,000 university and junior college
students, 640 post-graduate students for specific posts or work
units, 860 teachers and education administration personnel, and
1,400 business administration personnel, as well as sending a
number of ethnic-minority visiting scholars abroad for further
studies. Since 2000, the 12 better-developed cities of Beijing,
Shanghai, Tianjin, Nanjing, Hangzhou, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Dalian,
Qingdao, Ningbo, Suzhou and Wuxi have run special Xinjiang classes
in their key provincial-level senior high schools, with an annual
enrolment of 1,540 ethnic-minority students who enjoy local
government subsidies.
Xinjiang has received strong support from other provinces,
autonomous regions and centrally administered municipalities around
China. During the past few decades, other provinces, autonomous
regions and municipalities have provided immense amounts of aid for
Xinjiang in terms of technology and skilled people. Considering the
backwardness of the industrial enterprises in Xinjiang, the central
government has moved some enterprises and factories from more
developed areas along the southeast coast to Xinjiang, transferred
engineers and technicians from the inland areas to newly
established key enterprises in Xinjiang, and sent large numbers of
specially picked ethnic-minority workers from Xinjiang to study and
practice in advanced enterprises in the inland areas, resulting in
the growth of a big contingent of leading engineers and technicians
for Xinjiang in a very short period of time.
Since the introduction of the policies of reform and opening-up and
with the gradual establishment of a socialist market economic
system, economic and technological cooperation and exchanges, and
the interflow of highly qualified personnel between Xinjiang and
other provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities have kept
expanding. A new market-oriented pattern of aiding Xinjiang's
economic and social development has shaped up, with capital
investment as the bond, "material and human resources interflow" as
the characteristic, and mutual complementarity as the
principle.
In
recent years, in particular, in conformity with the requirements of
the central government, over 20 better-developed provinces and
municipalities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangdong, Shandong
and Zhejiang, have paired up with and provided aid for various
prefectures and cities in Xinjiang in relevant fields, with
fruitful results.
Conclusion
With leadership and support by the central government, and through
over 50 years of arduous efforts by the people of all ethnic groups
in Xinjiang, the autonomous region has made historic and
outstanding achievements in its economic and social development.
However, as Xinjiang is located in China's northwest border, with
rough natural conditions and a weak economic foundation, it is
still faced with many difficulties in developing its public
undertakings, such as education, culture and medical care and
health. And there is still the onerous task of raising the living
standard of the people of all ethnic groups. It is the common wish
of the people of all the ethnic groups in Xinjiang, as well as the
strategic plan of the central government, to speed up Xinjiang's
development.
In
1999, the central government made an important decision to
implement the great western development strategy, which provides a
rare historical opportunity for Xinjiang's development. The
autonomous region has drawn up its 10th Five-Year Plan and a
development plan for the period up to 2010, in accordance with the
state's general plan on implementing this strategy. According to
this plan, by 2005 the GDP of the entire region should reach 210
billion yuan (calculated on the prices in 2000), with an annual
growth rate of 9% and the GDP per capita of over 10,000 yuan; the
investment in fixed assets should reach 420 billion yuan; the
annual growth of urban residents' disposable income per capita
should reach around 7% and farmers' net income per capita should
increase by 150 yuan each year; the average housing floorage per
capita of urban residents should reach 23 sq m, and the living
environment, housing quality and hygienic conditions of rural
residents should be greatly improved. It is planned that, by 2010,
the autonomous region's GDP should be at least double that of 2000,
and the people should be much better off.
The prospects for Xinjiang's economic and social development are
bright. With the support of the central government and other
provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities, the people of all
ethnic groups in Xinjiang, through arduous efforts, will build
their autonomous region into an even more beautiful and prosperous
place.
(China.org.cn May 26, 2003)