“族性”一词在中国的运用

"ethnicity"一词在中国多被译为"族性"、"族群性"或"民族性"等,这几个词条在当前中国的学术论著中出现频率高,使用次数多。但是学者们对于"族性"具体含义的理解却是从者如云,新见迭出。本文对涉及到"族性"一词使用的论著进行了简要梳理,并认为族性的具体含义应是一个族群不同于其他族群的性质与特点。     

“族性”一词在中国的运用

"ethnicity"一词在中国多被译为"族性"、"族群性"或"民族性"等,这几个词条在当前中国的学术论著中出现频率高,使用次数多。但是学者们对于"族性"具体含义的理解却是从者如云,新见迭出。本文对涉及到"族性"一词使用的论著进行了简要梳理,并认为族性的具体含义应是一个族群不同于其他族群的性质与特点。     

“第四世界”论说源流及浅析

20世纪70年代中期产生的"第四世界"这一可归属于人类学、民族学学科的观念,如今已发展为一套渐趋完整的、理论色彩浓厚的论说或思想。它从土著民自身而非"他者"的视角出发,明确地主张土著民是具有与其他群体不同特点和性质的群体;在整个人类世界的视野下,全面考察各地区土著民在经济、政治、文化等方面的处境及其因由,并提出相应对策,对日益壮大的全球土著民运动具有不可忽视的指导意义和深远的影响。追溯该论说之源头,分析其架构和内涵,归纳其显著特征,有助于我国学术界较为深入地理解土著民运动这一当今世界重大的族际关系问题。     

异文化视野下的台湾原住民“统称”

本文梳理在异文化视野下台湾原住民"统称"的演变及存在的问题.历史上,台湾原住民被统称为"夷"、"番(蕃)"及"高砂(山)族"等,是外部世界、尤其是汉文化对于台湾原住民各族群缺乏深刻认知的背景下,附加于内涵复杂、文化多样的台湾原住民上的概括性"符号",没有反映原住民各族群的自身认同、文化记忆,不属于严格意义上的"族称".康、雍以来相继出现的"野"与"化"番、"生"与"熟"番,日据时代的"高砂(山)"与"平埔"蕃等两类称谓,也只是区分了原住民汉化程度的深浅,没有反映不同族群的文化差别,仍无法摆脱模糊认知、笼统概括的误区.     

现代国家话语下的族群认同变迁——以广西龙州县金龙镇板外屯壮族傣人侬人为例

族群认同的变迁与民族国家的现代化进程密不可分。位于广西西南部边境村落的傣人和侬人,从历史上两族群之间界线明晰到今天的"傣侬不分",其族群意识的变迁深深烙上了现代国家话语的痕迹。同时,族群特有的内在文化认知作为一种排异的力量始终在发生作用。本文着力呈现国家语境下傣人和侬人的关系及演变,深入探讨现代民族国家如何通过自身的话语表述将不同文化特质的族群个体纳入到统一的政治和经济体之中,而当地的族群成员又是如何接受或拒绝这些表述的。     

族群及其未来:我们如何面对——读哈罗德·伊罗生《群氓之族——群体认同与政治变迁》

在20世纪的百年中,特别是50年代以后,族群意识、族群认同、族群冲突以及与之相关的政治变迁成为学术界的焦点,一方面,族群(民族)问题成为当代国家政治和社会的最为棘手的难题,另一方面,不同的族群在国际关系、政治、经济、文化领域的竞争日趋激烈,冲突加剧.如何正确处理这些难题,乃至于成为关乎人类生存和发展的关键.族群意识町以建立一个国家,也可以撕裂一个国家.美国学者哈罗德·伊罗生的<群氓之族>对族群问题察幽探微,更令人惊异的是伊罗生30年前预言的族群冲突在世界范围内已经一一爆发,预言成为确凿无疑的事实,至于未来的趋势如何发展,则足以引发世人深沉的担忧.     

康区被称作“人区”考——兼对藏文史籍中“黑头人”概念的考察

在藏族卫藏、安多、康区三大传统区域中,康区被称作"人区"。对这一称呼的内涵及缘起,学界尚缺乏系统研究。称康区为"人区"始见于《汉藏史集》,"人区"实为"黑头人区"的简称。文章对藏文文献中3种有关"黑头人"的记载进行梳理和研究后认为,康区被称作"黑头人区"应与藏文文献中的"黑头矮人"概念及"四氏族"、"六氏族"起源传说密切相关,因为传说中的"四氏族"、"六氏族"大多分布于康区。康区被作为"黑头人区"的说法也反映出了13-14世纪藏地三区在文化整合及民族和地域认同上已达到一个新的阶段。     

民族学视野下的“新加坡经验”及其启示——以组屋“族群比例”政策为中心

新加坡独立建国后,围绕构建国家认同的政治主题,甩掉百年被殖民的历史遗产与独立建国的现实困境,立足国情,从政治角度促进族际整合,以组屋为平台,以“族群比例”为手段,利用转换空间位置弱化族群集体差异,强化个体差异,培育公民意识,智慧地将多民族国家治理中棘手的种族矛盾、族际冲突化解,成功地打造了国家认同,柔性地实现了民族国家建构的宏大目标.作为塑造国家认同的一种策略和手段,形成了解决民族问题的“新加坡经验”,它的意义是世界性的,这对于我国建立各民族相互嵌入式的社会结构和社区环境具有重大的借鉴意义.     

民国时期的社会转型、政权建设与族群关系

中华民国时期是中国历史中最复杂和最动荡的时代。贯穿民国38年历史的有三条主线。第一条主线是中国各族人民坚持反对帝国主义侵略的斗争;第二条主线是中华民国下属各民族维护国家统一、与帝国主义支持的国内分裂势力的斗争。这两条主线是晚清"救亡图存"斗争的延续。第三条主线是探索如何实现国家体制的政治转型,实现从"多元型帝国"向现代"民族国家"的体制过渡和国民思想过渡。在整个民国期间,帝国主义别有用心地向中国各族群输入"民族"意识,并扶植代理人。民国历史中,最核心的利益是救国图存,捍卫中华民族的独立和领土完整。在评价民国所有的历史人物时,这是一条最根本的底线。     

藏传佛教在康区传播与发展历史三段论

藏传佛教在康区的传播与发展,可划分为三个历史阶段:教内自发传播发展阶段、世俗王权干预传播发展阶段及国家政治导向自由发展阶段,它们构成康区藏传佛教的发展史。第一阶段,后弘期开始至元初,藏传佛教在康区自发传播发展;第二阶段,元代至清末,康区藏传佛教在世俗政权干预下传播发展,形成政教联盟或政教合一制度;第三阶段,辛亥革命至今,分为国民时期与新中国时期,康区政教合一制度逐渐被废除,最终实现政教分离,藏传佛教自觉与社会主义相适应,国家法律保障其自由发展,藏传佛教在康区的发展集中表现为国家政治导向下的自由发展。     

共生理论视阈下中华民族共同体建构的五维向度

中华民族共同体建构的基本逻辑是一个从"求同存异"到"聚同化异"的过程,旨在构建一个多民族休戚与共、血脉相连的共生关系与共生状态。中华民族共同体的有效建构必须赋予"共生"的理念,以责任、族际、文化、利益、命运为共生单元的建构逻辑,进而推动中华民族政治共同体、文化共同体、价值共同体、利益共同体、命运共同体的全面建构。     

中缅佤人国家意识建构的历史叙事

本研究以中缅佤人为叙事主体。从近现代历史脉络入手,结合笔者田野调查资料,意在观察中缅边界的佤人社会,上溯200多年间经历的若干重大历史事件的跌宕,包括:断断续续的中英划界中所谓"中华帝国"的立场曾摇醒了佤人国家意识的朦胧认知;18世纪汉人在佤山的开矿活动又加强了佤人同中国内地的经济往来和与清帝国中央的联系;抵抗英缅政府对阿佤山的渗透过程,反而使得佤人中国认同的觉悟显著提升;在二战中与国民政府军一起浴血奋战反击日军曾一度强化了佤人对中华民国的国家认同;20世纪50年代在中南半岛的国共纷争又使佤人的国家认同一度陷于困惑;60年代中缅划界的尘埃落定似乎促成了中缅两边佤人各自再造国家认同的意识。但事实上,处在复杂历史场域中的佤人始终在国家意识和族群认同的问题上纠结不止,国家意识的建构和族群内部的撕裂并存,这是当下世界范围内多民族国家之间跨境少数族裔建构国家意识所面临的共同问题,具有一定的典型意义。     

西南族群模式与中国经验反思——兼评斯蒂文·郝瑞《中国西南的族群之路》

《中国西南的族群之路》是斯蒂文.郝瑞教授族群研究的代表作,在此书中他将凉山彝族地区不同群体的族群性划分为四种模式,并对四种族群性模式的成因进行对比和解释。通过对此的解读和思考,希望能对郝瑞的族群理论有更为全面的理解,同时也对理解西南族群关系以及处理当前民族问题具有重要的参考价值。     

Ethnos(民族)和Ethnic group(族群)的早期含义与应用

英文ethnic是希腊语ethnos拉丁化的形容词形式 ,对应中文的直译可理解为“族”或“族的” ,属于人类社会“族类共同体”应用范畴。该词在英文中没有形成名词形式 ,在与group连用后形成了复合名词ethnicgroup形式。在 2 0世纪 6 0年代中期以后 ,ethnicgroup一词在美国和西欧国家的社会学、人类学和政治学等学科流行开来 ,用以分析这些国家基于种族、民族、语言、宗教、文化、习俗等要素基础上的“认同群体”。 2 0世纪 80年代以后 ,ethnicgroup这一术语在世界范围流行开来 ,在引入中国人类学、民族学界时 ,中文翻译为“民族”、“民族集团”、“种族”、“族裔群体”和“族群”等 ,其中以“族群”最为通行。但是 ,学界在研究和应用这一术语时 ,缺乏对ethnos及其派生的ethnic和ethnicgroup源流的关注。本文就这一术语在西方国家早期 (2 0世纪 70年代以前 )的含义演变和应用情况做一梳理 ,并指出了这一术语的流行属于西方国家“族类政治化”裂变的产物及其表现出的“后现代”话语的特点 ,以期为进一步研究这一术语在西方国家广泛应用的社会背景作一铺垫     

民国时期天山北麓东路城市多民族居民生活的变化

Although the Republican era of China did not last very long, it was a significant period in which China transformed from an agricul-tural to an industrial era, and from a traditional so-ciety to a modern one. During this period, not only did the politics and economics change dramatical-ly, but also the lives of urban residents. Although Xinjiang is located in the western frontier area of inland China, since the Qing dynasty, its politi-cal, economic and cultural connections with inland China gradually increased. Xinjiang is not an iso-lated region, it actually is located in the central ar-ea of Asia. So, its openness is very pronounced. Even though during the Republican era, inland China was gripped in the chaos of war, Xinjiang’s political, economic and cultural connections with the inland were never broken. Although sometimes the central government’s control in Xinjiang was not so strong, the central government’s policies had always impacted strongly on Xinjiang. In addition, due to the continuous migration of the inland popu-lation ( especially intellectuals, and political and military people) into urban areas, such as Dihua in Xinjiang during the Republic era of China, the politics, economics and culture of inland China had a big impact on the lives of Xinjiang urban res-idents. Moreover, Xijiang is neighbors with Rus-sia. Since the middle of the 19th century, Russia, whose industrialization and modernization occurred earlier and faster than China’s, often made political and military invasions, as well as cultural infiltra-tion, into Xinjiang. After the founding of the Sovi-et Union, its influence on the cities of Xijiang gradually increased. Especially during the period when Sheng Shicai managed Xinjiang, the influ-ence of the Soviet Union on Xinjiang was the stron-gest. In addition to political influence, economic and cultural influences became more pronounced, and numerous industrial and cultural products made in the Soviet Union were imported into Xin-jiang. This had a dramatic impact on the urban residents of Xinjiang. As a political, economic and cultural center of Xinjiang, Dihua was alive with many Russians who engaged in political, economic and cultural activities. Hence, their direct or indi-rect influence on the lives of Dihua residents was stronger than in other cities. At present, the research on Xinjiang during the Republican era of China mainly focuses on the political and economic domains , and less attention is paid to its urban life. However, the changes of modernization are not only reflected in the aspects of politics and economics, but also in the field of social life. Hence, to strengthen the research on the changes in social life in urban areas of Xinjiang during the Republican era of China is significant. The Republican era of China was an important pe-riod for Xinjiang society. Although if we compare it with the urban areas along the eastern coastal ar-ea of China, the impact of western culture on the lives of urban residents in Xinjiang during this pe-riod was not so strong, and the changes in social life also reflected multi - ethnic characteristics. The changes in urban life in Xinjiang were also an important part of the changes following China’s modernization. It reflected a both generalization and a diversity of the urban changes created by China’s modernization. In addition, one should note the impact of the changes in Xinjiang’s urban life during the Republican era on that of Xinjiang during the latter half of the 20th century. Thus, it is very necessary to conduct a research on the lives of Xinjiang’s urban residents during the Republican era of China. Xinjiang has been a multi-ethnic area since ancient times, a fact which contributes the ethnic diversity that characterizes the social life of Xin-jiang cities. During the Republican era, the mate-rial life of the various ethnic groups living in Xinjiang’s cities changed successively due to the impact of external cultures, and the wave of mod-ernization. However the changes to the material lives of the various ethnic groups were different. The content of material life is very broad. General-ly speaking, it comprises people’s daily life, inclu-ding clothing, food, shelter and transportation, all of which are regarded as basic essentials for peo-ple. In a period of scarcity of goods and materials, material life became the most important thing for most of the public. Hence, changes with regard to material life, to a large extent, is reflected in the changes in the social lives of urban residents. Generally speaking, compared with the situa-tion in the Qing dynasty, the clothing in Xinjiang cities such as Dihua exhibited a big change. How-ever , this change displayed multi-ethnic and diver-sified characteristics. Concerning the food culture of Dihua urban residents during the Republican era of China, it reflected more open, inclusive and mutually influential features. In other words, the existence of a diversified food culture and diverse development was an important characteristic of the time. Concerning shelter during this period, a big change in Dihua’s urban style was that some mod-ern buildings co-appeared alongside traditional style buildings, no matter whether it was in the pri-vate space or public space. Moreover, the trans-portation mechanisms also changed during this pe-riod. Roads for cars appeared in Dihua, which opened the gate for Xinjiang’s automobile age. During the Republican era of China, most ur-ban residents in Xijiang’s cities, such as Dihua, kept their traditional customs. However, there were also some changes due to the influence of ex-ternal cultures—these changes were presented as the characteristics of pluralism, diversity and a mixture of the old and new. Multiple ethnic groups concentrated in an area in the eastern zone line of the northern foot of Mount Tianshan. During the process of history, the different ethnic groups formed their own cultures and religious beliefs. In the Republican era of China, the various ethnic groups lived in harmony most of time, and the plu-ralism and inclusiveness of cultures gradually in-creased. Generally speaking, the lives and cus-toms of the Han in Xinjiang cities, such as Dihua during the Republican era of China, were almost same as those of the Han in inland China. On one hand, they kept many of their traditional customs;yet, on the other hand, they also gradually accept-ed some new ones from external cultures. The eth-nic minorities, such as the Uygur and Hui, were deeply influenced by Islamic religious culture. Their religious cultural life exhibited almost no change during the Republican era of China, and they, for the most part, maintained their tradi-tions. During this period, in keeping with the gradual consciousness of ethnic equality, although various ethnic groups kept their own traditions, and they did not reject each others’ traditions, and instead, there was some mutual exchanges among them. This made the urban culture more diversi-fied . Not only were the festivals of the Uyghur pop-ular among themselves, the Han were also invited to participate in them. Moreover, the Han’s festi-vals, especially the Spring Festival, Lantern Festi-val and others, were also gradually accepted by other ethnic groups, and, for example, the Uy-ghur, Hui, Mongolian and Kazakhs, and others all participated in these festivals. In the middle and latter period of the Republican era, the urban cul-ture of Xinjiang exhibited a sense of openness. Within the basis of maintaining their own ethnic cultural traditions, each ethnic group showed an opened attitude to new cultures, and, hence, ur-ban culture became more diversified and rich. During the time when agriculture was more dominant , traditional cities lacked of public cultur-al spaces. Hence, Buddhist monasteries, Taoist temples and mosques became the sites for organi-zing public cultural activities in the urban areas. Since modern times, the public cultural spaces in urban areas have experienced a great change. Parks, as a new mode of public space, began to appear successively in some important cities. At the end of the Republican era of China, the public cultural space of Dihua had been further expand-ed. In 1948, there were four such kind of public cultural sites in Dihua, such as Zhongshan Park, Hongyan Lake, Shuimo River, and Wulabai. In addition to these, the cinema also played a very important role in the new entertainment life of the urban residents of Dihua. In 1944, Dihua had three movie theaters which were run respectively by the government, a businessman and a Russian. Movies had a very direct impact on the residents’ vision and mind, especially on the youth. A new movie sometimes would change some people’s view of life or the rules of their behavior. In short, the Republican era was a dramatic period of change during which China transformed from a traditional agricultural society to a modern industrial one. Following the changes in politics, economics and culture, people’s material life and cultural life were also changed. Due to the vast territory, and uneven political and economic devel-opment of China, the changes differed in various regions. Xinjiang is a frontier area in western Chi-na. Its communication with the outside world was not so convenient. Hence, compared with the east-ern coastal region, the degree of change in Xin-jiang was lower, and the speed of change was also relatively slower. However, this kind of change ac-cumulated over several decades, so, with time, the changes also became very noticeable. Howev-er , due to the uneven regional development in Xin-jiang, the changes in some cities were slow while in some they were fast. Compared with other places of Xinjiang, the changes along the eastern line of the northern foot of Mount Tianshan, and taking Dihua as the center, were faster and more obvious in the Republican era. On one hand, Di-hua was more strongly influenced by the politics, economics and culture of inland China; and, on the other hand, Dihua was also influenced more di-rectly by the politics, economics and culture of the Soviet Union With the combined role played by the both sources, the material life of the urban resi-dents of Dihua, including clothing, food, shelter and transportation, as well as the customs, and cultural entertainments, changed dramatically. This change was not only similar to that of inland cities, but it also reflected regional characteristics of Xinjiang—the characteristics of ethnicity and di-versity wee more pronounced. In addition, com-pared with Tibet which is also in the western fron-tier of China, the changes brought by the urban modernization in Xinjiang was more dramatic. This was directly connected with Xinjiang’s geographical location, natural climatic conditions, as well as its political, economic and cultural development. Al-though Xinjiang lies in the western frontier of Chi-na, its transportation connections with inland Chi-na and the outside world were more convenient than those in Tibet. During the Republican era, the railways, highways and aviation routes devel-oped relatively well, the Xinjiang’s economic, and cultural connections with both inland China and the Soviet Union were also relatively close. In addi-tion, an important natural condition which also created good conditions for the opening up of Xin-jiang is that the elevation of most areas of Xinjiang is not high—the average elevation is around 1000 meters. Hence, the natural geographical conditions promoted a population flow between Xinjiang and inland China, as well as between Xinjiang and the Soviet Union. Moreover, after the settling of Xin-jiang province at the end of the Qing dynasty, the feeldings and unity with inland China were ensured from an institutional aspect. It was just under such kind of background that the lives of the urban resi-dents living in the eastern zone of the northern foot of Mount Tianshan experienced a dramatic change, and presented a characteristic of ethnic diversity, pluralism and mixture of old and new.     

铸牢中华民族共同体意识：理论逻辑、现实基础和实践路径

科学研判我国民族关系发展的客观现状,将铸牢中华民族共同体意识作为民族工作的主线,是以习近平同志为核心的党中央为我国民族关系长远发展所制定的战略规划。铸牢中华民族共同体意识具有凝心聚力之效,意蕴是丰富而多维的:其理论逻辑在于,对历史的继承和发展是历史意蕴,"五个认同"是核心内容,服务"两个大局"以实现中华民族的伟大复兴是价值导向;其现实基础在于,中华民族从"站起来""富起来"到"强起来"提供了物质基础,从"自在""自觉"到"自强"是其精神基础,中国特色社会主义民主政治提供了政治保障,多元一体的中华民族结构是其社会基础;最后,坚持和完善民族区域自治制度、建立共享繁荣发展的经济体、构筑各民族共有精神家园,加强各民族交往交流交融,是其实践路径。     

南京国民政府时期全国性议政机构中少数民族代表考察

China is a multi-ethnic country. From the wuzu gonghe ( Five nationalities under one union ) in the early Republic of China to the current union of 56 ethnic groups, the participation of ethnic minorities in political affairs has always been a vital and important factor for the develop-ment of China’s democratic politics. On one hand, the Nanjing National Government was dedicated to the model of a“civil identification” and weakening ethnic characteristics. On the other hand, due to the immense pressure from the resistance of the Japanese invasion and the increase of minority representatives’ appeals, they had to gradually al-low some ethnic elites, as ethnic minority repre-sentatives, to participate in the national affairs so that they could acquire more political identity. Al-though the government of the Republic of China claimed “Five nationalities under one union” as well as declaring many times to guarantee extensive and orderly ethnic minority participation in national affairs, by analyzing cases of elections in the state council agencies during the period of Nanjing na-tional government, not all the promises were imple-mented. I. The general situation of the elections for ethnic minority representatives in the state council agencies. In the National Conference in 1931 , only Mongolia and Tibet were allowed to organize their own elections and send their own ethnic representa-tives. Among the total of 520 national conference representatives, Mongolian representatives accoun-ted for 12 , and Tibetans accounted for 10 . The National Political Council, which also known as“the Congress during war”, was founded on July 6 , 1938 , and was abolished on March 28 , 1948 . It lasted for 9 years and held conferences a total of 4 times. In all the 4 conferences, 10 people were elected as participants to represent Tibet to discuss political affairs, and 18 people were elected as participants representing Mongolia. However, al-though other minorities were not regarded as elec-ted units, yet still some outstanding personages from these ethnic minorities were recommended by their provinces or other political organs as partici-pants to discuss national political affairs. In the National Assembly held on November 15 , 1946 , each of the following provinces, including Yun-nan, Guizhou, Xikang, Sichuan, Guangxi and Hunan, were allowed to send ten people who re-presented their local ethnic minorities to discuss political affairs. In the National Assembly held in March of 1948 , not only the numbers of ethnic mi-norities increased, but also the way of electing them was improved. II. An analysis of the election conditions of the ethnic minority representatives in the national state agencies. 1 . Although the numbers of ethnic minority representatives increased, nevertheless, the pro-portion of them did not. During 18 years ( 1931-1948 ) , the number of the ethnic minority repre-sentatives increased from the initial 22 to 147 . However, the proportion of them only increased by 0. 7%, which was not so remarkable. 2 . The structure of the ethnic minority repre-sentatives was complicated, but most came from the “upper classes”. In the year of 1931 , there were only 6 representatives for the state conference from both Mongolia and Tibet. By the year 1948, there were 148 ethnic minority representatives coming from Mongolian, Tibetan, Hui, Manchu, Miao, Yi, and, so on, ethnic groups. As a result, the structure of ethnic representation was more complex as the numbers increased during the peri-od of Nanjing National Government. Many repre-sentatives were elected by the selection method, and most of them came from the upper classes. Therefore, structurally, representatives from the bottom rung of society who deeply understood the sufferings of ethnic people, were lacking. 3 . The regional characteristics of the ethnic minorities were weakened and the ethnic character-istics were strengthened. With regard to the elec-tion of representatives for the National Conference held in 1931, in consideration of regional politics, only Tibet and Mongolia were chosen as election u-nits which could hold their own elections. When the National Political Council was held in 1938 , the situation had not changed. Many provinces, for example, Xinjiang, and Ningxia, and many south-western provinces, which were home to many eth-nic minority people, could only select their repre-sentatives through elections held either by organiza-tionsor elections on the provincial or municipal lev-el. It was not until the victory of the war against Japan, that the National government acknowledged the particular characteristics of the southwestern ethnic minorities. It was only at the time of the e-lection for the representatives for the National As-sembly, that the Manchu and Hui achieved the right to hold their own election separately. III. “Five nationalities under one union” or“Single nation state”? Although the Nanjing National Government claimed “Five nationalities under one union” and asserted to the public that all the nationalities were equal, Sun Yat-sen and Chiang Kai-shek were hopeful of building a country which promoted the situation of a “single nation state”. Their ethnic policies embraced the hope of the national govern-ment, i. e. to replace“ethnic identity” with“state identity”. In fact, with the awakening of ethnic consciousness in modern times, it was obvious that the idea that 400 million of people came from the same nationalities was only the government’s view. During that time, although the political status of a few ethnic minorities was acknowledged by the gov-ernment and the number of the ethnic minority rep-resentatives increased, the change was not promo-ted by the national government on its own accord. First of all, because of the pressure from the resist-ance to the Japanese invasion, all the social clas-ses needed to unify. In addition, many ethnic elites tried their best to gain the opportunity to par-ticipate in national affairs. What’s more, the eth-nic policies in those regions governed by the Com-munist Party were also one of the influential fac-tors. From the National Conference to the National Assembly, the criteria for holding elections were still only acquired by the Mongols, Tibetans, Hui, Manchus and the ethnic minorities in the southeast-ern border areas. All in all, it was an unequal way for ethnic minority representatives to participate in national affairs. Objectively, the ideal of a “Single Nation state” which was pursued by the nationalists was not suitable for China’s situation. Instead, it might be the cause of ethnic conflicts. China has a vast territory with uneven economic development. The transportation, economy and education in the re-gions where ethnic minorities live were mostly un-developed. As a result, it was difficult for the eth-nic minorities to win when they campaigned with the inner regions which held many resources. Fur-thermore, although a few of the ethnic minorities were gradually granted the status of political sub-ject by the Nanjing National Government, this process lacked efficiency. A large group of the ci-vilians belonging to ethnic minorities had trouble approaching state identification while, moreover, their own ethnic identification was not acknowl-edged by the government. Therefore, the ethnic minority region naturally found it difficult to identi-fy with the rule of the national government.     

Taiwan and ROC: A critical analysis of President Chen Shui-bien's construction of Taiwan identity in national speeches

Names used to address Taiwan – such as taiwan and zhonghuamingguo (Republic of China [ROC]) – are symbols defining Taiwan's political realities, each with their own unique historical significance. Since his election in 2000, Taiwan's president Chen Shui-bien has had to alternate between taiwan and ROC to strike a balance among conflicting ideas about Taiwan's national identity. The act is grounded in complex political discourse dictating that Taiwan must not be seen as separate from the sinic world and simultaneously to respond to steadily rising Taiwanese consciousness. Facing intercessions by the United States and China, as well as ever-present domestic clashes, rhetorical exigency requires the president to fashion unique political discourse concerning what Taiwan is and ought to be. This study explores how these names and related expressions are used in Chen's public addresses to the nation during his two-term tenure from 2000 to 2008, and how their development reflects the struggle over Taiwan's national identity.     

The transnational phase of Chinese organisational development in Australia

This article aims to contextualise the new phase of Chinese organisational development in Australia in the academic tradition of transnationalism, explore the concrete forms of transnational activities undertaken by overseas-oriented Chinese organisations in economic, socio-cultural and political domains and analyse their policy relevance for both China and Australia. It argues that while these transnational activities could be seen as deliberative attempts to cater to the policy imperatives of the People's Republic of China, they also have the potential of furthering the national interest of Australia, which looks to enhance its economic and political standing in Asia. Underlying the triadic interactions of the Chinese transmigrants is the situational representation of ‘Chineseness’ and ‘Westernness’, which allows them to achieve a strategic balance in addressing the policy objectives of Australia and China and accumulate the greatest amount of ethnic capital in the process. Though primarily driven by self-interest and surely not free from controversies and tensions, these new forms of Chinese organisational activism are gradually taken into account by policy-makers of both countries to develop policy responses in multiple areas.