This chapter describes the position and development of the minorities in China.
In its approach to matters of religion and ethnicity, the PRC did not commence with a blank slate; instead, it drew upon the ideological and tactical influences of the imperial state, its predecessor, the GMD, and their experiences during their time as a rural insurgency. For instance, throughout history, Chinese states had sought to assimilate leaders from ethnic minority groups by conferring official titles and granting them authority over specific territories. In a similar vein, leaders of the Republic of China, much like the PRC, found themselves at odds with groups whose spiritual beliefs they perceived as hindrances to China's progress and enlightenment. Except for Christianity, these beliefs were commonly labelled as "superstitions," encompassing a broad but vaguely defined spectrum that included non-scientific interpretations of the human body, healing practices, as well as faith in local deities, fortune-tellers, and individuals claiming supernatural insights and wisdom.
The CCP also appears to have adopted many of the Republic's legal and bureaucratic strategies in handling matters related to ethnicity and religion. The initial provisional constitution of the Republic of China, declared in March 1912, granted freedom of religious belief but did not provide safeguards against the destruction of temples dedicated to deities.
At the CCP’s Second Congress in 1922, the party declared in its manifesto that the ultimate goal of the CCP was the unification of China under a federal system, with Mongolia, Tibet, and Xinjiang forming autonomous states federated with China proper.
"In the interests of the workers and poor peasants, the goals of struggle
for the CCP in this united front are: 1) Eradicate internal chaos, overthrow
the warlords, and build domestic peace. 2) Overthrow oppression
by the international imperialists and win the complete independence
of the Chinese nation. 3) Unify China proper (including the three
provinces in the northeast) and establish a real democratic republic.
4) Establish autonomous rule in Mongolia, Tibet, and Muslim Xinjiang to turn them into democratic autonomous republics. 5) Use the free
federal system to unify China proper, Mongolia, Tibet, and Muslim
Xinjiang in order to establish a Chinese Federal Republic." The CCP didn't hold on to this opinion, see the next articles.
