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University of Texas at Austin

Publication Date

Fall 2011

Program Name

China: Language, Cultures, and Ethnic Minorities

Abstract

Recent unrest in China by migrant laborers’ increasing labor militancy, as well as unrest caused by Islamic groups in China ranging from separatist movements to backlash from discrimination have been the focus of the Chinese government’ attempts to main stability within the PRC. In the largest country in the world, rapid changes as the result of economic liberalization and the introduction of global capitalism have had drastic impacts on society, from increasing inequality to the introduction of Western media and ideas. Unrest has been accompanied by developments in civil society as Islamic institutions chafing under Chinese regulations become places of political discourse and migrant labors voice louder and louder demands independent and democratically elected trade unions. The Hui, the third largest ethnic minority in China and the largest Muslims minority have been involved in these recent civil society developments as both migrant workers and as an economically disadvantaged group. Their experience as a Muslim minority frequently subject to discrimination, an ethnic group with well-established Islamic institutions and community centers and their migrant worker identity all contribute to them having a unique role in the development of civil society in China

Disciplines

Family, Life Course, and Society | Growth and Development | Inequality and Stratification | Labor Economics | Politics and Social Change

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