(TibetanReview.net, Aug30’24) – Giving a fillip to President Xi Jinping’s Sinicization of ethnic minority regions drive, China’s top official on ethnic affairs has on Aug 27 called for the promotion of exchanges and “integration among all ethnic groups” and the strengthening of the “sense of identity with the motherland” while addressing a conference in Tibet’s capital Lhasa.
It is in this context that Wang Huning, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, has urged efforts to deliver solid paired-up assistance for Xizang Autonomous Region toward the goal of building a modern socialist new Xizang, using the Chinese name for Tibet.
“Efforts should be made to promote exchanges and integration among all ethnic groups, improve people’s livelihoods, rally people’s support, and strengthen the sense of identity with the motherland, the Chinese nation, the Chinese culture, the CPC, and socialism with Chinese characteristics among officials and people of all ethnic groups,” China’s official Xinhua news agency Aug 29 quoted Wang as saying.
Addressing the fourth work conference on paired-up assistance for Xizang, and marking the programme’s 30th anniversary, Wang has hailed “the notable achievements in the paired-up assistance work for Xizang over the past three decades,” and “urged efforts to promote targeted, systematic and long-term assistance for the region, and elevate the comprehensive benefits yielded by the assistance work.”
“Targeted, systematic and long-term assistance” obviously refers to reinforcing Beijing current renewed campaign and goal for the Sinicization of Tibet with regard to its ethnic, linguistic, and cultural identity.
For this purpose, Wang has emphasized, “It is imperative to improve the work regarding officials and talent dispatched to assist Xizang and strengthen the organization and leadership of the paired-up assistance work.”
The conference was also stated to have awarded honorary titles to exemplary individuals who had participated in the paired-up assistance for Xizang, which totalled nearly 12,000 over the period of 1994 and 2022, dispatched in 10 batches at three-yearly intervals.
The programme was stated to have involved the participation of 17 provinces and municipalities as well as dozens of ministries and state-owned enterprises of China, “bringing substantial investment, practical technology and essential talent to Xizang,” said another Xinhua report Aug 28.