Development and Characteristics of China's Ethnic Minority Information and Communication Policy since 1949

Abstract

The media is considered an essential means of conveying the Chinese state’s policy messages to the people, in which using ethnic minority languages is an effective solution. Therefore, right after the country's founding in 1949, the Chinese Government invested in building infrastructure and cadre systems and renewing equipment to develop ethnic minority communications. After the basic system had been completed, it made it easy for the Chinese state to propagate economic, cultural, and social policies. The communications included the ideology of national unity and fostered the fight against ethnic and religious discrimination, preserving and promoting cultural values that reflect the ethnic identity and creating influences on cross-border ethnic groups on the other side of the border.