https://www.scmp.com/rss/500086/feed en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com President Xi Jinping has told Inner Mongolian deputies at the country’s annual legislative session that unity is the “lifeline” for all ethnic groups in China, calling on them to “stick together like pomegranate seeds”. Speaking on Saturday, Xi said unity was necessary to build the country, and that the northern autonomous region had a responsibility to maintain the stability of the country’s border, according to official news agency Xinhua. As Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continues to capture... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3169451/xi-jinping-calls-chinas-ethnic-groups-stick-together?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3169451/xi-jinping-calls-chinas-ethnic-groups-stick-together?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 06 Mar 2022 10:31:16 +0000 It is well and good that Twitter recently suspended hundreds of suspected state-sponsored accounts used to spread pro-China propaganda during the Beijing Winter Olympics. They reportedly depicted a rosy vision of the Games that glossed over controversies involving alleged human rights abuses in China. But what about taking action when groups and individuals incite hatred by putting out information already proven to be outright fabrications? Such as one that had suggested the torture of ethnic... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3168248/dont-ban-pro-china-propaganda-allow-anti-asian-hate-fester?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3168248/dont-ban-pro-china-propaganda-allow-anti-asian-hate-fester?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 25 Feb 2022 01:00:12 +0000 Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi firmly rejected international concerns and accusations about Beijing’s repressive treatment of its Uygur minority in comments made to the Munich Security Conference on Saturday. China has come under fire from Western nations for the way it has treated the largely Muslim ethnic group in the province of Xinjiang. Wang said there had “never” been systematic forced labour or re-education camps in Xinjiang. The past, present and future of oil in China’s... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3167698/chinas-foreign-minister-wang-yi-calls-uygur-repression-claims?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3167698/chinas-foreign-minister-wang-yi-calls-uygur-repression-claims?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 19 Feb 2022 17:38:51 +0000 China’s legislature has ruled that local regulations allowing ethnic minority language education are unconstitutional and urged greater dominance of Mandarin. A constitutionality review on ethnic education regulations in autonomous regions requested by an unidentified department of the State Council, China’s cabinet, was revealed in the Legal Affairs Committee’s 2021 report at the National People’s Congress Standing Committee’s latest meeting on Tuesday, Legal Daily reported. The unspecified... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3160945/china-local-laws-allowing-minority-language-teaching?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3160945/china-local-laws-allowing-minority-language-teaching?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 24 Dec 2021 05:20:11 +0000 The Bai people are an ethnic group from Yunnan. Of their many handicraft traditions, they are also well known in China for their tie-dyeing skills, a craft that has been passed down for more than a millennium. This video is part of our new series called Fly on the Wall that’s zero talking for full ASMR satisfaction. https://www.scmp.com/travel/satisfying-process-tie-dye-hand-traditional-method/article/3153953?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/travel/satisfying-process-tie-dye-hand-traditional-method/article/3153953?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 28 Oct 2021 02:51:36 +0000 Western sanctions targeting Xinjiang are no more than “a piece of waste paper” and their real purpose is to hamper Chinese companies internationally, the region’s government said on Friday. “Their real purpose is to conduct an ‘industry genocide’, to sabotage the participation of Xinjiang in the global value chain,” Xu Guixiang, a spokesperson for the Xinjiang regional government told a press conference in Beijing on Friday. Xu acknowledged that the sanctions will have an impact on exports from... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3131841/china-steps-defence-xinjiang-policies-and-says-sanctions-are?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3131841/china-steps-defence-xinjiang-policies-and-says-sanctions-are?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 30 Apr 2021 14:35:06 +0000 International pressure against China over its Xinjiang policies has gained traction in recent months, with China criticised over the treatment of Uygur Muslims in Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. China has denied allegations of forced labour and detention. We look at the issues in this series. China has become increasingly forceful in its defence of what state media calls the “pure, white and flawless” cotton produced in its far western region of Xinjiang amid a growing international storm... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3131010/xinjiang-cotton-why-it-so-hard-find-out-truth-about-forced?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3131010/xinjiang-cotton-why-it-so-hard-find-out-truth-about-forced?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 25 Apr 2021 14:30:08 +0000 International pressure against China over its Xinjiang policies has gained traction in recent months, with China criticised over the treatment of Uygur Muslims in Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. China has denied allegations of forced labour and detention. We look at the issues in this series. When Nurzhan* was a young boy growing up in China’s far-western region of Xinjiang, he remembers heated football matches in which he and his friends would butt heads with fellow ethnic Kazakh children. On... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3129634/xinjiangs-fourteenth-ethnicity-leave-family-language-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3129634/xinjiangs-fourteenth-ethnicity-leave-family-language-and?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 18 Apr 2021 14:00:04 +0000 A court in Xinjiang will hear a defamation case against a German researcher who has accused Beijing of large-scale human rights abuses against Muslims in the far-western region. A court in Kashgar, the biggest city in southern Xinjiang, accepted the civil case filed by Shache Xiongying Textile Limited on April 2, according to a Friday post by ts.cn, a news outlet affiliated with the Xinjiang government. A spokesman said the company had suffered from heavy economic losses due to Zenz’s... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3129260/xinjiang-court-hear-defamation-case-against-german-researcher?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3129260/xinjiang-court-hear-defamation-case-against-german-researcher?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 12 Apr 2021 13:30:18 +0000 Over 15.6 million people in the poorest parts of China, including the areas with the highest concentrations of ethnic minorities, have been lifted out of poverty in the past five years, according to a new government white paper. The report celebrating the country’s achievements in tackling poverty was published as Beijing faces increasing international pressure over its policies in Xinjiang, where it is accused of using forced labour and human rights abuses against the mainly Uygur Muslim... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3128522/china-says-it-lifted-millions-ethnic-minorities-out-poverty?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3128522/china-says-it-lifted-millions-ethnic-minorities-out-poverty?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 06 Apr 2021 23:00:19 +0000 A Xinjiang company is hoping that its sweet desserts will charm US investors and help melt away the controversy surrounding human rights issues and the boycott of cotton grown in the autonomous Chinese region. The patisserie chain operator Chanson International has filed for an initial public offering (IPO) on the Nasdaq market, aiming to raise up to US$22 million to expand its US operations. It has been operating the Patisserie Chanson along New York’s 23rd Street since 2017, and plans to open... https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3128080/xinjiang-patisserie-chain-chanson-plans-raise-us22-million?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3128080/xinjiang-patisserie-chain-chanson-plans-raise-us22-million?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 02 Apr 2021 05:45:13 +0000 In the deep valleys and rugged hills framing the Dadu River in southwestern China, dark slender towers bristle among picturesque hamlets and terraced fields. Tapering skyward over 100 feet, their enigmatic profiles stand sentinel over a dramatic landscape tamed by fields and orchards. These days, the Dadu River is more synonymous with the construction of what’s expected to be the world’s tallest dam and a chain-link footbridge dating back to the Qing Dynasty. Roughly halfway between these two... https://www.scmp.com/travel/himalayan-towers-sichuan/article/3122058?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/travel/himalayan-towers-sichuan/article/3122058?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 18 Feb 2021 07:46:50 +0000 China released a white paper on Thursday claiming that its far-western region of Xinjiang has provided “vocational training” to nearly 1.3 million workers every year on average from 2014 to 2019. It comes as Beijing is facing mounting criticism from Western countries and human rights groups over its policies in the region, where it is believed to have detained at least 1 million Uygurs and other ethnic Muslim minorities in internment camps. China has been accused of subjecting detainees to... https://www.scmp.com/politics/did-china-just-acknowledge-scale-its-xinjiang-camps/article/3102063?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/politics/did-china-just-acknowledge-scale-its-xinjiang-camps/article/3102063?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 18 Sep 2020 10:35:50 +0000 Tucked inside the karst hills of southwestern China, Zhongdong is China’s last cave village. Here, 18 families totaling about 100 people live in a space measuring over 300 feet wide, 160 feet high, and 750 feet deep. The residents, all part of the Miao ethnic minority in China, lead an agrarian lifestyle controlled by the cave’s distinctive light and weather. Despite the barren soil, the lack of road access, and a meager income, the villagers have resisted government efforts to move them... https://www.scmp.com/travel/china-last-cave-village-zhongdong/article/3077132?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/travel/china-last-cave-village-zhongdong/article/3077132?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 27 Mar 2020 00:05:16 +0000 China’s proposed bill on granting permanent residency to foreigners has unleashed a wave of xenophobia on the Chinese internet. Even though China has one of the lowest shares of foreign-born people in the entire world, many people worry that a potential rise in foreign immigrants will make their life harder. In response to the bill, people have posted hostile comments online, especially against black people and Muslims, demanding that the government toughen rules on immigration. We spoke with... https://www.scmp.com/society/immigration-backlash-i-cant-accept-china-having-people-different-skin-colors/article/3074386?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/society/immigration-backlash-i-cant-accept-china-having-people-different-skin-colors/article/3074386?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 10 Mar 2020 14:24:15 +0000 When we read about China, it’s easy to assume the country is made up entirely of one ethnic group. The Han people, after all, comprise 92% of China’s population and dominate politics, culture, and society. What often escapes our attention is the extraordinary diversity of China’s ethnic groups. The Chinese government officially recognizes 55 ethnic minorities. In reality, there are even more tribes with their own distinct customs, traditions, and languages than the number suggests. Perhaps no... https://www.scmp.com/culture/china-ethnic-minority-akha-yunnan/article/3052490?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/culture/china-ethnic-minority-akha-yunnan/article/3052490?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 26 Feb 2020 09:15:39 +0000 You Wenfeng is one of only a few people who know how to create clothing from fish skin, a skill of the ethnic Hezhen people – who were once so skilled plying the waters of the nearby Heilong River that they are said to be “descended from mermaids.” The 68-year-old woman from Tongjiang, a city in China’s northeastern Heilongjiang province near the border with Russia, fears the loss of the ancient tradition. But that may start to change. She has started teaching others her craft. The exotic... https://www.scmp.com/society/traditional-fish-skin-clothing-chinas-mermaid-hezhen-people-may-hook-global-fashion/article/3048003?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/society/traditional-fish-skin-clothing-chinas-mermaid-hezhen-people-may-hook-global-fashion/article/3048003?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 29 Jan 2020 10:02:58 +0000 China will move to “normalize” mass internment facilities in Xinjiang and open what Beijing calls education facilities in the region in the future, amid rising US-China clashes over the treatment of ethnic minorities in the western region. In a press conference on Monday, Shohrat Zakir, chairman of the Xinjiang government, took aim at foreign media and western governments, blaming them for distorting the image of China’s controversial counter-terrorism efforts in the predominately Muslim region,... https://www.scmp.com/politics/china-says-it-will-move-normalize-internment-facilities-xinjiang/article/3041286?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/politics/china-says-it-will-move-normalize-internment-facilities-xinjiang/article/3041286?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 09 Dec 2019 10:41:29 +0000 China is set to scale back its affirmative action policies for ethnic minorities, which could result in curbs on education opportunities as well as the removal of tax benefits and other subsidies for minority groups.  China has 56 officially recognized ethnic groups. The majority Han Chinese make up more than 90% of the population, while the other 55 groups, including ethnic Mongols, Tibetans and Uygurs, have about 110 million people, or four times the population of Australia.  Many minorities... https://www.scmp.com/society/beijing-scale-back-affirmative-action-policies-ethnic-minorities/article/3040750?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/society/beijing-scale-back-affirmative-action-policies-ethnic-minorities/article/3040750?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 05 Dec 2019 10:39:54 +0000 Newly published documents purported to be leaked directives have detailed inner workings of China’s mass detention of the Muslim minorities in the nation’s far western region of Xinjiang. A Sunday report by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) says the documents offer a granular window into the day-to-day operations of the camps, where an estimated 1.5 million people have been detained.  Analysts told the group these classified documents confirm many previous... https://www.scmp.com/politics/five-takeaways-icijs-xinjiang-leaks/article/3039233?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/politics/five-takeaways-icijs-xinjiang-leaks/article/3039233?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 25 Nov 2019 11:53:18 +0000 Chinese feminists are voicing support for an ethnic Kazakh actress who’s trying to fight against cyberbullying by sharing the malicious comments she has received on social media with her five million fans.  Cyberbullying of female celebrities has become more widely discussed in China since 25-year-old South Korean star Sulli, who was unusually outspoken and struggled with online abuse, was found dead in her home last month.  Actress Rayza, an ethnic Kazakh born and raised in Beijing, is best... https://www.scmp.com/society/ethnic-kazakh-actress-rayza-wins-support-standing-cyberbullying/article/3036380?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/society/ethnic-kazakh-actress-rayza-wins-support-standing-cyberbullying/article/3036380?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 05 Nov 2019 10:39:14 +0000 The Yellow River has long been seen as the sole cradle of Chinese civilization, but a new study shows Han Chinese can also trace its origins to two other river valleys. Research published in the online journal Molecular Biology and Evolution on Wednesday said the Yangtze and Pearl rivers – as well as the Yellow River – gave rise to genetically separate groups about 10,000 years ago. Those ancestors then mingled to become Han Chinese, the largest ethnic group in the world today, a group that... https://www.scmp.com/society/beyond-yellow-river-dna-records-tell-new-story-han-chinese-origins/article/3011457?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/society/beyond-yellow-river-dna-records-tell-new-story-han-chinese-origins/article/3011457?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 23 May 2019 07:44:18 +0000 Now hiring: workers at the world’s biggest iPhone factories. Tibetans and Uyghurs need not apply. The exclusion of ethnic minority job seekers was openly stated by a recruiting agency for Foxconn, Apple’s largest supplier, in the central Chinese city of Zhengzhou. In response to an inquiry from Inkstone, Foxconn said on Friday that it had begun an investigation into the agency and vowed to help end discriminatory hiring. “It has come to our attention that an unauthorized recruitment agency may... https://www.scmp.com/tech/foxconn-distances-itself-discriminatory-recruitment-agency/article/3001119?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/foxconn-distances-itself-discriminatory-recruitment-agency/article/3001119?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 08 Mar 2019 09:22:25 +0000 Lauren Teixeira Lauren Teixeira The southwestern Chinese city of Chengdu is home to a substantial Tibetan population, 60,000 according to government estimates. Many of them live in a neighborhood called Little Lhasa, where Tibetans in traditional robes, or chuba, peddle Buddhist paraphernalia to a mix of monks, nuns, and tourists. But across town, about 3 miles north, a small boutique in Chengdu’s glitzy Chunxi Road shopping district offers a different vision of Tibetan culture. The shop, called Hima Ālaya Studio, offers an... https://www.scmp.com/culture/making-tibetan-clothes-hip-millennial-generation/article/3000901?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/culture/making-tibetan-clothes-hip-millennial-generation/article/3000901?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 21 Feb 2019 11:59:16 +0000 When 16-year-old Ahjie first encountered Laohan, the charismatic leader of Yunnan-based reggae band Kawa, in elementary school, he thought he was meeting Bob Marley. Ahjie is part of the Wa people, an ethnic minority in southwestern China. His idol, Laohan, is also Wa. On a rainy Saturday night in Kunming, Yunnan, last December, Ahjie and over 500 other fans, all of whom looked no more than 18 years old, packed into a windowless concert venue tucked inside a mall to watch Kawa perform. The... https://www.scmp.com/identity/finding-bob-marley-china/article/3000832?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/identity/finding-bob-marley-china/article/3000832?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 15 Feb 2019 08:40:00 +0000 In China’s Qinghai province, Tibetan farmers and nomads are still relying on a traditional source of nutrition and protein for survival: yak milk. Zeji, a Tibetan farmer, takes us through her daily routine of milking and herding yaks, and producing Tibetan cheese in an old-school way that’s quickly becoming a dying art. https://www.scmp.com/videos/dying-art-making-tibetan-yak-cheese/article/3000788?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/videos/dying-art-making-tibetan-yak-cheese/article/3000788?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 13 Feb 2019 03:29:30 +0000 The world’s largest traditional Tibetan printing press is located in Sichuan province. Nearly destroyed during the Cultural Revolution, it was allowed to resume operations in 1979 and now produces more than 2,500 prints a day using paper and ink made from plants. https://www.scmp.com/culture/inside-worlds-largest-traditional-tibetan-printing-press/article/3000287?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/culture/inside-worlds-largest-traditional-tibetan-printing-press/article/3000287?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 04 Dec 2018 02:25:54 +0000 In 2016, I spent 10 months backpacking through mainland China and almost immediately tired of the big cities that—to be honest—all looked the same to me. I thought northwestern China would be a good place to explore. An online search for “trekking” and “Gansu province” brought me down a rabbit hole of options. At the other end was a website for horse trekking in Langmusi. With resolve and a little bit of luck, a friend and I made it to the base of Langmusi, 9,800 feet above sea level. Langmusi... https://www.scmp.com/travel/time-i-saw-dead-body-tibetan-town/article/3000205?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/travel/time-i-saw-dead-body-tibetan-town/article/3000205?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 26 Oct 2018 02:51:46 +0000 This annual Tibetan horse race is a longstanding tradition that brings together a community to celebrate culture. The riders compete in both speed and agility. The festival was banned during the Cultural Revolution and is still subject to sudden cancellation by the government today. https://www.scmp.com/videos/rare-look-inside-tibetan-horse-racing-festival/article/3000146?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/videos/rare-look-inside-tibetan-horse-racing-festival/article/3000146?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 27 Sep 2018 08:54:02 +0000 Where Yunnan meets Myanmar = real Southeast Asian fusion food. Chef Aiwai is from the Wa ethnic group in Yunnan and he showed us how to make one of his favorite comfort foods, chicken fennel porridge, a rich dish that combines lime, chilis, and his magical ingredient: fennel. Written by: Clarissa Wei Produced by: Clarissa Wei and Nicholas Ko Featuring: Aiwai Shot and Edited by: Nicholas Ko Mastered by: Victor Peña Music kindly provided by Chef Aiwai himself, who kindly let us use his track,... https://www.scmp.com/food/chicken-fennel-porridge-chefs-plate-ep-2/article/2162686?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/food/chicken-fennel-porridge-chefs-plate-ep-2/article/2162686?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 04 Sep 2018 08:00:45 +0000 Leah Li is Yi and a tea merchant in Pu’er, Yunnan Province. This is her family’s traditional tea ceremony, which is performed during cold nights and gatherings. The Yi people are an ethnic group dispersed across southwest China, usually in steep mountainous regions among wild tea trees. Written by: Clarissa Wei Voiceover: Clarissa Wei Featuring: Leah Li Produced by: Clarissa Wei Shot by: Lui Chen Edited by: Mario Chui Mastered by: Victor Peña https://www.scmp.com/culture/tea-ceremony-yi-tradition/article/2154375?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/culture/tea-ceremony-yi-tradition/article/2154375?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 09 Jul 2018 04:25:37 +0000 They come to the big, bustling, modern city chasing dreams. From towns and villages in Kham and Amdo—vast swathes of historical Tibet that now overlap the Chinese provinces of Sichuan, Gansu, Qinghai and Yunnan—they pour into Chengdu, often with little more than the name of a nightclub where they might seek an audition, or of a cousin, a distant relative or a friend of a friend. Many come from nomadic families for whom borders have traditionally meant little. Speaking different dialects and with... https://www.scmp.com/culture/tibetan-singers-city-dream-grasslands-home/article/2152576?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/culture/tibetan-singers-city-dream-grasslands-home/article/2152576?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 27 Jun 2018 07:45:30 +0000 We wake to the news that, in the night, two deer have been shot. It is 6am on our second day in camp and the sun has been up for hours. 'There's deer meat!' people yell. 'How can you still sleep?' The idea of deer for breakfast makes it hard to get up. That the animals were shot illegally, poached with the aid of a rifle, jeep and spotlight, makes it worse. Eyes half open, we straggle to the hunter's home. Two deer lie on his doorstep. The poachers wait eagerly but deferentially for Ge Qingfu to... https://www.scmp.com/article/462769/deer-hunters?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/462769/deer-hunters?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 10 Jul 2004 16:00:00 +0000