Below is an article published by the South China Morning Post:
 
Beijing last month issued a white paper on ethnic policy. The timing
was interesting, coming after the riots in Tibet last year and the
recent violence in Urumqi . However, the paper gives no indication
that the government thinks there is anything wrong with its ethnic
policy. Instead, it sets out to explain to uninformed foreigners what
China's policy is and insists that it is working perfectly well.

At a press conference to mark its release, a Chinese official asserted
that, through the white paper - which "summed up our ethnic policy and
practice" - the government hoped that "international society could
have a better understanding about the reality [on which] our policy is
based".

The white paper explains that "China practises the system of regional
ethnic autonomy" and this means that "under the unified leadership of
the state, regional autonomy is exercised and organs of
self-government are established in areas where various ethnic
minorities live in compact communities".

However, it is silent on the Dalai Lama's proposals last year for
greater autonomy for Tibet within China as well as demands by more
radical Tibetan groups in exile for full independence. The proposals
were made during the eighth round of dialogue in November between the
Dalai Lama's envoys and Chinese officials, and were rejected by them
as "independence in disguise".

In fact, what the white paper leaves out is much more interesting than
what it focuses on. It insists that the government's ethnic policy is
"correct and in line with China's actual situation" and had "fostered
the unity and harmonious coexistence of all ethnic groups". Yet it
says nothing of the riots in Tibet last year just before the Beijing
Olympics; nor does it talk about the July violence in Xinjiang , for
which a number of people, mostly Uygurs, have been sentenced to death.

Indeed, the white paper seems much more interested in asserting
Chinese sovereignty over territory inhabited largely by ethnic
minorities. It asserts that the minorities have given "their
allegiance to the central government and their identification with
Chinese culture". "Today," it says, "the Chinese nation has become a
name with which all ethnic groups in China identify themselves and to
which they give their allegiance."

The white paper emphasises that equality among ethnic groups is "a
cornerstone of China's ethnic policy". It adds that "all ethnic groups
have the freedom to preserve or change their own folkways and customs"
and "ethnic minority workers can enjoy paid holidays when
participating in their own major festivals and celebrations".

But it does not mention what is perhaps the biggest threat to ethnic
minorities' efforts to preserve their lifestyle and culture: the
inundation of traditional ethnic minority areas by Han Chinese
immigrants so that the ethnic minorities are now threatened with being
a minority in their own homelands. It does not address the issue of
Han migration and is silent on measures to control such immigration,
so as to preserve the culture of minority areas.

This issue must be addressed if Beijing is serious about respecting
ethnic minorities and treating them on a basis of equality. Even
though the total population of ethnic minorities has increased over
the past 60 years, the whole idea of autonomy is undermined when
Beijing allows Han Chinese to gradually outnumber ethnic minorities in
areas like Tibet and Xinjiang.

If the state really "guarantees the legitimate rights and interests of
all ethnic minorities", then it must guarantee that they are not
marginalised in their own regions. Already, Han Chinese residents are
the largest ethnic group in Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang, and
Tibetans are a minority in Lhasa as a result of the influx of migrants
from other parts of China.

As long as ethnic minorities feel they are losing their identity amid
a continuing inflow of immigrants, no amount of talk of equality,
financial investment, economic development or even privileged
treatment for admission to universities is going to help. Minorities
need assurance they do not face ultimate extinction.