China Ethnic News:

The Ethnic Unity and Progress Promotion Law is about to be implemented, and its provisions on "building a shared cultural home," "promoting interaction, exchange and integration" and "promoting common prosperity and development" are closely related to the work and life of people of all ethnic groups. During recent interviews in ethnic minority areas, we learned that people hope to see tangible results in these areas once the law takes effect. What specific measures will the NEAC take? Thank you.

Chen Ruifeng:

Let me answer this question. First, thank you very much for asking. The three aspects you just mentioned are specifically addressed in dedicated chapters of the Ethnic Unity and Progress Promotion Law. Currently, the NEAC is working with relevant departments to study and formulate the 15th Five-Year Plan for promoting ethnic unity and progress. A notable feature of this plan is its comprehensive implementation of the Ethnic Unity and Progress Promotion Law, ensuring that all legal provisions are put into practice.

Strengthening the great unity of the Chinese nation depends, fundamentally and in the long run, on deepening cultural identity and building a cultural home shared by all ethnic groups. Chapter 2 of the Ethnic Unity and Progress Promotion Law makes 11 specific provisions for building a cultural home shared by all ethnic groups. The NEAC will earnestly implement these legal provisions, adhere to the guidance of the core socialist values, vigorously promote the great national spirit of the Chinese nation, continuously deepen education on patriotism, collectivism and socialism, and guide people of all ethnic groups to develop a firm and sound understanding of country, history, ethnicity, culture and religion. We will strengthen historical and cultural education for young people and further promote general and proficient use of standard spoken and written Chinese. We will also establish and highlight shared Chinese cultural symbols and the collective images of the Chinese nation, so that the sense of community for the Chinese nation can take roots in children's minds from a young age.

The Chinese nation was forged through exchanges, interactions and integration among its ethnic groups. Promoting exchanges, interactions and integration among different ethnic groups means uniting people of all ethnic groups to the greatest extent possible and fostering close bonds among them, so that they stick together like pomegranate seeds. The Ethnic Unity and Progress Promotion Law makes specific provisions on the social conditions and requirements for promoting exchanges, interactions and integration among all ethnic groups. Focusing on promoting all ethnic groups to strive in unity for common prosperity and development, the NEAC will further advance initiatives to promote ethnic unity and progress in the new era, strengthen the integration of culture and tourism to promote exchanges, interactions and integration among all ethnic groups, and advance the comprehensive integration of all ethnic groups in spatial, cultural, economic, social and psychological dimensions. The NEAC will make solid progress in building an integrated community environment, further carry out "new citizen" empowerment initiatives in ethnic minority areas, and actively create the social conditions for people of all ethnic groups to live, learn, build, share, work and enjoy life together. This will allow people of all ethnic groups to make close friends, become friendly neighbors, and enter into fulfilling marriages.

In pursuing Chinese modernization and achieving common prosperity, no ethnic group should be left behind. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, under the strong leadership of the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, ethnic minority areas in China have joined the rest of the country in winning the battle against poverty, completing the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects, and embarking on a new journey toward building China into a modern socialist country in all respects. The Ethnic Unity and Progress Promotion Law clearly defines the state's guiding policies and key tasks for supporting high-quality development in ethnic minority areas and promoting common prosperity among all ethnic groups. Focusing on achieving common prosperity for all ethnic groups, the NEAC will improve differentiated regional support policies, advance the action plan for developing border areas and improving people's lives in the new era, and vigorously develop industries with distinctive local strength and "small but beautiful" livelihood projects. It will develop new quality productive forces suited to local conditions and imbue all reform and development in ethnic minority areas with the significance of forging a strong sense of community for the Chinese nation, safeguarding national unity and opposing separatism, and improving people's livelihoods to strengthen social cohesion, in a bid to keep fulfilling the aspirations of people all ethnic groups for a better life.

Let me share an update with you. After five years of sustained efforts, we have completed the compilation of "A history of interactions, exchanges and integration among the Chinese nation," which will be published and distributed soon. This monograph is a major cultural project designated under the national 14th Five-Year Plan. It is the first comprehensive history to offer a panoramic view of the historical development of interactions, exchanges and integration among the Chinese nation. This book, spanning 11 volumes and over 4.2 million words, is a major work tracing the Chinese nation's evolution from diversity toward unity. It will provide an important foundation for developing independent systems of historical materials, discourse and theory concerning the Chinese national community.

Thank you.