The Construction of 60 Important Projects Begun under the Strategy for the Development of Western China During the five years since the launching of the strategy for the development of western China, the construction of 60 important projects has begun, with a total investment of 850 billion yuan. They are playing an important role in promoting the economic and social development of the ethnic autonomous areas.
    The Chinese government launched its grand Development Strategy for the development of Western China in 2000, which covers five autonomous regions, 2730 autonomous prefectures and 838 of the 120 autonomous counties. In addition, three other autonomous prefectures are allowed to enjoy the preferential policies the state has adopted for the western regions.
    The Enrollment of 2,500 Students for Master’s and PhD Programs from Ethnic Minority Areas The Chinese government has decided, on an experimental basis, to enroll 2,500 students for Master’s and PhD programs from ethnic minority areas in 2005, and the goal of 2007 is to enroll 5,000 people, thus making the total number of such students reach 15,000.
    The central government helps ethnic autonomous areas to universalize the nine-year compulsory education and develop diverse forms of education. And the “Compulsory Education Project for Impoverished Areas” is also geared to the ethnic minority areas in western China.
    The central government also establishes institutes of higher learning, opens classes and preparatory courses for ethnic minority students. Institutes of higher learning and polytechnic schools have lowered admission standards for ethnic minority students, and give special preference to applicants from ethnic minorities with a very small population. So far, there are 13 institutes of higher learning for ethnic minorities in China. In more developed areas there are middle schools for ethnic minorities and ethnic minority classes in ordinary middle schools enrolling ethnic minority students.
    Each of the 55 Ethnic Minorities Having Its Own Brief Written History
    From the 1950s to the 1980s, the central authorities organized over 3,000 experts and scholars to compile and publish five series of books on ethnic minorities, totaling 403 volumes titles and over 90 million Chinese characters. The series are: The Ethnic Minorities in China, A Series of Books on the Brief History of the Ethnic Minorities in China, A Series of Books on the Survey of Autonomous Areas of Ethnic Minorities in China, and A Collection of Research Materials on the Societies and Histories of the Ethnic Minorities in China. Over 500,000 copies have been distributed. Today, each of the 55 ethnic minorities in China has its own brief written history.
   The Mongolian, Tibetan, Uygur, Korean and Yi languages have coded character sets and national standards for fonts and keyboard. Software in the Mongolian, Tibetan, Uygur and Korean languages can be run in the Windows system, and laser photo-typesetting in these languages has been realized. The central government has set up special institutions to collect, assort, translate and study in an organized and programmed manner the three major heroic epics of China’s ethnic minorities, i.e., Gesar (an oral Tibetan epic), Jangar (a Mongolian epic) and Manas (an epic of the Kirgiz people). In the past decade, the central government has appropriated over 30 million yuan for the collation and publishing of 160 volumes of the Buddhist Tripitaka in the Tibetan language. It has also earmarked a large amount of funds for the renovation of the Drepung, Sera and Ganden monasteries in Tibet, the Kumbum Monastery in Qinghai, and the Kizil Thousand-Buddha Caves in Xinjiang, and many other key national cultural relics.
    By 2003, 4,787 titles of books in ethnic minority languages had been published, totaling 50.34 million copies. There were also 205 magazines and 88 newspapers in such languages, totaling 7.81 million copies and 131.30 million copies, respectively. The ethnic autonomous areas had set up 513 art performance troupes, 566 libraries and 163 museums.
    The Per-capita Net Income of Rural Residents in Tibet is Growing Constantly
    In 2003, the per-capita net income of rural residents in ethnic autonomous areas was 1,895 yuan, 2.31 times that in 1994. The per-capita net income of rural residents in Xinjiang and Tibet were 2,106.19 yuan and 1,690.76 yuan, respectively, equivalent to 80.32 percent and 64.48 percent of that of rural residents nationwide.
    At the end of 2003, the balance of various kinds of savings in ethnic autonomous areas was 1,175 billion yuan, of which those of the residents both urban and rural areas at the end of the year was 735.3 billion yuan, four times that in 1994.
    Every Ethnic Group Having its Own NPC Deputy or Deputies
    Every ethnic group has its own NPC deputy or deputies. Ethnic groups with a population of more than one million have members in the NPC Standing Committee.
    In the Tenth National People’s Congress there are 415 deputies of ethnic minorities, accounting for 13.91 percent of the total number of deputies, 5.5 percentage points higher than the proportion of their populations in the nation’s total population. From the First National People’s congress to the present day, the proportion of deputies of ethnic minorities among the total number of deputies in every NPC has been higher than the proportion of their populations in the nation’s total population in the corresponding periods.
     Among the chairmen or vice-chairmen of the standing committees of the people’s congresses of all 155 autonomous areas in China there are citizens of the ethnic groups exercising regional autonomy in the area concerned. The heads of all autonomous regions, autonomous prefectures and autonomous counties are all citizens of the ethnic groups exercising regional autonomy in the area concerned. By the end of 2003, ethnic autonomous areas had formulated 133 self-government regulations and 384 separate regulations. In light of the particular situation in each area, ethnic autonomous areas have made flexible alterations or provide supplementary regulations to 68 provisions in such laws as the Marriage Law, Inheritance Law, Land Law and Grassland Law.
    Strengthening Specific Forms of Implementation of the System of Regional Ethnic Autonomy
    Regional ethnic autonomy is a correct solution to the issue of ethnic groups in China, and is in keeping with China’s actual conditions and the common interests of all ethnic groups.
    In the process of reform, opening-up and national modernization, the central government and the ethnic autonomous areas have adopted various measures to promote the economic and social development in the latter, but limited and influenced by historical, geographical and other conditions, the economic and social development level of western China, where the populations of ethnic minorities are more concentrated, is still low compared with the more developed eastern areas. Some remote areas, in particular, are still pretty backward.
    Acting in line with the actual conditions of China, the Chinese government will adhere to the scientific concept of human-oriented, all-round, coordinated, sustainable development, further explore and strengthen specific forms of implementation of the system of regional ethnic autonomy, improve the supporting laws and regulations for the Law on Regional Ethnic Autonomy, continuously strengthen the material basis for implementation of the system of regional ethnic autonomy, and promote the all-round economic and social development of ethnic minorities and their areas.