Centripetal and Centrifugal Tendencies in the Chinese World : Research on Ethnic Identities in China's Peripheral Regions

我们团队的12名成员根据每个专业领域研究了“中国世界的向心和离心倾向”。共召开学习会19次，并与其他团队进行跨学科合作研究（政治、历史、亚太），我们在上届大会主持了“当代中国与民族”专题，为加深全体会员对中国国家建设的理解做出了贡献，通过三年的合作研究，达成了共识; 1）当代中国50年来，民族政策没有发生结构性变化，只给予文化地方自治权。但近年来新疆穆斯林和藏族的民族运动趋势正在促使这一基本结构发生变化。2)从20世纪50年代到90年代，我们可以看到少数民族问题发生了质的变化。50年代少数民族对区域经济一体化的抵制和60 - 70年代少数民族对政治一体化的抵制。但是，80年代后期以后，少数民族问题开始向国际问题和民主问题转移。3)一个族群并没有先天的身份认同。他们的身份是相对的、可变的和多元的。例如，西藏认同是在中央政权实施政治经济一体化后形成的。4)中国与台湾的关系原本是一个合法性的问题，但80年代后期，它发生了结构性的转变，成为台湾人民的自决问题和两岸的共存问题。

12 members of our team studied about "centripetal and centrifugal tendencies in the China world " according to each specialized field. We held 19 times study meetings and made the interdisciplinary study collaborating with other teams ( politics, history ,asia-pacific region), We had charge of the session "Contemporary China and Ethnic Groups" in the last assembly and contributed to deepening the understanding of all members on the China's nation building.We reached the common recognition through 3 years collaborative studies ; 1) In 50 years contemporary China, there is no structural change in minority policy which gives only cultural- local autonomy. But the recent trend of ethno-national movement of muslims in Xinjiang and Tibetans is urging the transformation of that basic structure. 2) We can see the qualitative change in the national-minority problem from 1950's to 90's. There were resistances of national minorities against the area-economic integration in 50's and against political integration in 60〜70's. But, after later 80's national minority problems are shifting to the international and democratic problems. 3) An ethnic group doesn't have its identity a priori. Their identity is relative, variable and multiplex. For example, Tibetan identity was formed after the enforcement of political and economic integration by the central power. 4) China-Taiwan relation used to be the problem of legitimacy, but after later 80's it changed structurally into the problem of the selfdetermination of the people who lives in Taiwan and the coexistence of both sides.