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Paper short abstract:

This paper tries to understand the ambit of autonomy with a specific case study of Uyghur community, who are major minority nationality in Xinjiang province and examines the Chinese government’s verity in implementation of Regional Ethnic Autonomy (REA).

Paper long abstract:

This paper tries to understand the ambit of autonomy with a specific case study of Uyghur community, who are major minority nationality in Xinjiang province. With regard to China, the right to self-determination is still ambiguous, cited by two reasons. Firstly considering the transition of Chinese empire into modern nation- state and secondly, in the context of policies towards ethnic minorities (Which is hugely inspired by the Soviet nationality Policy). This paper tries to contend the claims of official narratives regarding minority rights. This paper tries to examine the Chinese government’s verity in implementation of Regional Ethnic Autonomy (REA). In contrast to the Chinese narratives, this is seen as a ploy to evade the question of right to succession and self-determination. According to the official narratives, the formation of autonomous regions in the minority nationality densely populated areas along the frontiers are designed to guarantee their participatory right on the basis of ethnic equality. This paper argues that the formation of autonomous regions is to effectively implement its majoritarian policies and to assimilate the minority nationalities. The comprehensive legal system of china, as argued by the Chinese government, has effectively protected and promoted the rights of minorities and therefore it can be viewed as an appropriate mechanism through which the minorities can exercise the right to self-determination within the state. Official narratives are continuously questioned by the outburst of ethnic unrest and the sustainability of regional ethnic autonomy. So, the question is how far the right to self- determination is internalized in China and whether minority nationalities are contended with this power allocation.

This paper uses qualitative research methods like narratives and case study. Various sources like Chinese government white papers, Gardner Bovingdon’s “Autonomy in Xinjiang: Han Nationalist Imperatives and Uyghur Discontent”, few chapters from S. Frederick Starr edited book Xinjiang: China’s Muslim Borderland, and other online articles.