China to more tightly control ethnic minority discussion online and in print to temper ideological ‘risks’
- Communist Party’s theoretical journal article calls for greater oversight of public opinion to ‘resolutely fend off the infiltration of the three forces’
- The remarks come as Beijing stresses the need to realise Xi Jinping’s vision of ‘forging a sense of community of the Chinese nation’
In an article published on Thursday in the Communist Party’s theoretical journal Qiushi, the National Ethnic Affairs Commission called for greater oversight of public opinion and discussion around ethnic minority groups and related issues online.
The article referred to “risks” arising from ethnic minority communities and called for “the responsibility mechanism of ideology work” to be implemented.
The commission called for greater supervision, for officials to “promptly and appropriately” address grievances involving issues related to ethnic minority groups and to “absolutely uphold the bottom line of preventing regional and systemic risks in the ethnic regions”.
However, in addition to a call for greater control, the article endorsed more resources being put into art – such as in publications, on stage and visual arts – that the commission said could help ethnic minority groups identify more deeply with Chinese culture.
“[We] should aim to make the internet the biggest contributor to strengthening the awareness of the community of the Chinese nation,” it said.
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