(Essential questions) Xu Jianying: How can we give consideration to both governing the country and governing borders when we have a strong sense of community of the Chinese nation?

　　China News Service, Beijing, August 27th. Topic: How can we give consideration to both governing the country and governing borders when we have built a strong sense of community of the Chinese nation?

——Interview with Xu Jianying, a researcher at the China Institute of Frontier Studies, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences

　　China News Service reporter Yang Chengchen Liu Shuling

　　"Rovering the country must rule the border" is an important strategic idea put forward by General Secretary Xi Jinping in 2013. This idea is the first time in the history of the CCP to clarify the internal relationship between governing the country and governing borders.

The distinctive Chinese frontier is an important part of China's unified multi-ethnic country. Chinese history has accumulated rich experience in frontier governance and laid the foundation for the consciousness of the Chinese nation’s community.

After the founding of New China, it has innovated the theory and system of border governance, improved the capacity of border governance, consolidated the Chinese nation community and strengthened the consciousness of the Chinese nation community.

　　The China News Agency’s “Questions about East and West” column interviewed Xu Jianying, a researcher at the China Border Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and director of the Xinjiang Research Office, to clarify the important meaning of building a sense of community of the Chinese nation from the perspective of border governance.

Data map: Officers and soldiers of a border defense regiment Zamanash Border Defense Company of the Altay Army Division of Xinjiang and the Jimunai Meeting Station conducted border surveys along the border.

Xu Ming Telephoto

China News Agency reporter: "To govern the country must govern the border" was put forward after the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, but where is the root of this ruling thought in Chinese history?

Xu Jianying:

Today, China's top leader has raised the importance of border governance in national governance to a very high position.

From the perspective of practical significance, border governance and the establishment of a sense of community of the Chinese nation are a set of very important dialectical relationships: on the one hand, both the inland and border areas must be established in the sense of community of the Chinese nation; on the other hand, the establishment of the sense of community of the Chinese nation It has a promoting effect on frontier governance.

　　Historically, there were differences in ethnicity, culture, production, and lifestyle between the frontier regions and the Central Plains regions, which had their distinctive characteristics and formed different political governance systems.

The dynasties of the Central Plains formed rich thoughts on governing the country and accumulated rich experience in border governance.

For example, in the understanding of the relationship between the central dynasty and the border areas, the view of vassal, the distinction between Huayi, the Huayi family, the view of the world, the idea of ​​great unification, and the consciousness of the Chinese nation have gradually formed.

As a result, a series of systems such as the tributary system, the detainment system, the screen guard system, the union system, the military government system, and the provincial system came into being. They played an important role in the governance of frontiers in different periods and promoted the various ethnic groups and frontiers in the interior. The extensive and in-depth exchanges and fusions of various ethnic groups in the region have laid the foundation for the interaction model between the inland and border areas.

For a long time, the people of all ethnic groups in the interior and the frontier have jointly explored and worked hard to make China's unified multi-ethnic territory finally settled.

　　The process of building a modern nation-state in China is completely different from that in Europe. This is determined by China's historical tradition, while the contemporary era is determined by the nature of socialism.

China has been a multi-ethnic unified country since ancient times. In contemporary China, there are 55 ethnic minorities, of which a considerable part of them live in the border areas for a long time. There are 5 provincial-level ethnic autonomous regions in China, 4 of which are located in the border areas, which also highlights the border areas. Forging the importance of the sense of community of the Chinese nation.

Strengthening the sense of community of the Chinese nation is an important way for the Chinese nation to realize the transition from the stage of freedom to the stage of consciousness, and it is a new stage of frontier governance.

Data map: Tibetan people sing and dance to celebrate the "Fairies Festival."

Photo by He Penglei

Reporter from China News Service: Before the founding of New China, China’s border areas had always been "turbulent times and less governance". What do you think is the root cause of this situation?

Xu Jianying: The

historical normal is that when the central government is strong, the border areas will be stable; when the central government is weak, there will be disputes in the border areas.

Therefore, for thousands of years, the border areas "have many troubled times but few governance, and peaceful times are even rarer."

　　Although the vast frontier ethnic regions and inland areas have already formed a de facto community of destiny, they are limited by the limitations of dynasties. The dynasties have insufficient understanding of this and cannot keep up with governance.

For example, the frontier region is regarded as a barrier to guard the inland; emphasis is placed on indirect governance, ignoring direct governance; attention is paid to frontier stability and despised frontier development; attention is paid to maintaining the relationship between local powers in the frontier area and ignoring the establishment of a political integration governance system; frontier defense emphasizes inland border defense , Ignoring the border defense.

　　By the end of the Qing Dynasty, the consciousness of the Chinese nation was strengthened by the influence of the modern western nation-state thoughts and the struggle against imperialist aggression.

During the period of the Republic of China, in response to the encroachment and invasion of the great powers, national salvation campaigns were launched, especially the War of Resistance Against Japan, which awakened the consciousness of the Chinese nation in an unprecedented way.

Tian Han's "The March of Volunteers" proclaimed "The Chinese nation has reached the most dangerous time", inspiring the people of all ethnic groups across the country to unite in the fight against Japan.

The academic circles are also calling for the consciousness of the Chinese nation. For example, the historian Gu Jiegang emphasizes the unity of the people of all ethnic groups in the border areas, "implements the consciousness of the Chinese nation", and emphasizes that "there is only one Chinese nation". This is the right way to unite and build a nation.

　　Although the invasion of imperialism has impacted our border governance, the cohesion of the Chinese nation embodied in the border areas is unprecedentedly strong.

During the Anti-Japanese War, the frontier areas were used as the frontiers of battle or major international passages, and they were able to fully communicate and integrate with the interior, and the Chinese nation was reborn from the ashes.

　　In the history of China, frontier governance and national construction are not synchronized, and the consciousness of the Chinese nation's community is the inevitable development of history.

The construction of the Chinese nation community is a requirement for the construction of a modern country. Strengthening border governance is not only a trend in China's historical development, but also a requirement for the construction of modern China.

Territories and borders are based on the state, and nothing can be discussed without the state.

Data map: Aerial photography of Tibet's "Three Roads" in the same frame, from left to right are the Qinghai-Tibet Highway, the Lhasa-Yangbajing High-grade Highway, and the Qinghai-Tibet Railway.

Photo by Jiang Feibo

Reporter from China News Service: Since when did the consciousness of the Chinese nation's community in the frontier regions be significantly strengthened?

What are the innovative practices?

Xu Jianying:

At the end of the Qing Dynasty, the Han-Man-

Mongol-

Hui-Tibet "five-ethnic republic" was proposed. This was an early exploration of establishing the consciousness of the Chinese nation's community. However, at that time, China did not identify the number of ethnic groups in its territory. The basic theory of ethnology The understanding is not deep enough.

"Five ethnic republic" became the political slogan of the early Republic of China.

Putting forward the "five ethnic groups" is to meet the needs of the exploratory stage of China's establishment of a nation-state at that time, and it is also a preliminary summary of the concept of the Chinese nation.

　　After the founding of New China, the border areas have carried out a series of innovative work to forge the consciousness of the Chinese nation community. There are three main entities:

　　One is to carry out ethnic identification.

In the 1950s, China comprehensively carried out ethnic identification and finally identified 56 ethnic groups; thoroughly understood the basic ethnic composition of the country, realized the equality of all ethnic groups regardless of size, and thus truly constructed the basic structure of the Chinese nation community.

　　The second is to innovate the frontier governance model.

New China gradually established a complete system of ethnic regional autonomy, which became an innovation in the frontier governance system and further deepened the construction of the Chinese nation community.

In 1984, the state formulated the "Law of the People's Republic of China on Regional Ethnic Autonomy" to legally guarantee regional ethnic autonomy.

　　The third is to formulate assistance policies.

In order to eliminate the economic development gap, the central government has formulated a long-term assistance policy. In addition to central fiscal transfer payments and support from relevant ministries and commissions, the central government has also gradually implemented counterpart assistance to border areas in the interior.

Data map: The armed police officers and soldiers stationed in Tibet assist the local road construction.

Tian Xingshe

China News Agency reporter: What impact has the solidarity of the Chinese national community brought to China's border governance?

Xu Jianying:

Forging the consciousness of the Chinese nation community is not only a theoretical summary of the historical development of the Chinese nation, but also indicates the direction of contemporary Chinese governance, and is of great guiding significance to the governance of China's borders.

On the one hand, from the ideological level, it promotes a better understanding of the relationship between the border and the interior of the border areas and all ethnic groups in the country; on the other hand, the theory guides the practice of border governance.

　　For example, in 1999, the central government decided to implement the strategy of large-scale development of the western region, encouraging the eastern coastal areas to step up efforts to support the development of the western region.

The same is true for the inland aid to Xinjiang. By 2010, the number of counterpart aids to Xinjiang reached 19 provinces and cities, which can be described as a nationwide aid to Xinjiang.

As an important system for the state to govern Xinjiang, long-term counterpart assistance to Xinjiang is of great significance for accelerating local economic and social development and promoting exchanges between Xinjiang and other provinces and cities.

　　Doing everything possible to promote the economic and social development of border areas is an important content of New China's border governance, and it is also a major difference from the historical frontier governance. It reflects that New China "will gradually eliminate the de facto economic and cultural inequality of various ethnic groups. The firm determination to “fall out”.

China News Agency reporter: What do you think of the relationship between reform and opening up, economic construction, and the establishment of the Chinese nation’s community consciousness?

Xu Jianying:

Since the reform and opening up, there have been many unprecedented new problems and new challenges in frontier governance. Especially since entering the new era, the world’s unprecedented major changes and drastic changes in international politics have also brought about the governance of China’s frontier regions. New shock.

For example, with the establishment of the socialist market economy, the planned economic model in the border areas was broken, and how to manage the border under the conditions of a market economy is a new issue. Since the 1980s, non-traditional security issues have intensified infiltration of China, and the vast border has been the first to bear the brunt. In particular, the United States is doing everything possible to cause trouble in China's border areas in an attempt to disrupt the governance process of China's border areas.

In the past four years or so, the United States has introduced laws involving Xinjiang, Tibet, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, which are blatant for separatist forces. Under the guise of "freedom of navigation," its fleet has been cruising in the South China Sea.

　　In the era of planned economy and a relatively closed environment, it is relatively easy to forge a sense of community of the Chinese nation.

In the context of continuous opening up to the outside world, whether the sense of community of the Chinese nation can be firmly established is an opportunity to test and a new test.

This is not a pure academic discussion. It is related to the issue of exchanges within a region and between different regions. It is necessary to explore theories and policies that adapt to the new situation.

Data map: Xinjiang cotton farmers are picking cotton in cotton fields.

Photo by China News Agency reporter Liu Xin

Reporter from China News Service: What solutions do you have for the current difficulties and complex problems facing the border areas?

Xu Jianying:

Economic development and social progress are consistent with satisfying the ever-increasing desire for a better life of the people of all ethnic groups in the border areas.

To completely change the "center-periphery" difference pattern left over from thousands of years of dynasty Chinese history, not only must it be completely eliminated politically and conceptually, but it must also be resolved from the perspective of economic and social development, so as to realize the full development of the border and the inland. Integration and synchronization.

　　Over the past 70 years since the founding of New China, it has been steadily advancing in this direction, and the economic and social development of the border areas has undergone earth-shaking changes.

With the “One Belt, One Road” initiative, the “six major economic corridors” are all based on border areas. Structural changes have taken place in China’s opening-up pattern, and border areas have become frontier areas.

It can be said that China's border governance strategy in the new era has formed, the border has become the core of the Chinese nation's community, and China's new border outlook is being established.

The economic and social development of China's border areas will undergo profound and historic changes. The Chinese nation community will be strengthened as never before, and it will become a reality to forge the consciousness of the Chinese nation community.

　　In areas where frontier culture meets and ideological competition is fierce, it is necessary to strengthen the political guarantee, legal system and education construction of frontier governance, promote the rapid economic and social development of frontier areas, strengthen ethnic unity, national exchanges and integration in frontier areas, and resolutely contain and combat separatism .

The need for state governance in the new era and the historical trend of deep openness of the country have brought the vast frontier regions into people’s vision. The frontier regions are destined to become the focus of national development and governance. This is the history and reality of the policy of stabilizing borders and prospering borders. The concrete manifestation of the logic of national governance and development demonstrates its significance in the new era.

(over)

About the Author:

　　Xu Jianying, Director, Researcher, and Doctoral Supervisor of Xinjiang Research Office, China Institute of Frontier Research, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences; Deputy Director, Xinjiang Think Tank Office, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

　　Mainly study the modern history of Xinjiang, the history of relations between Xinjiang and neighboring countries, the history of Xinjiang's anti-separatism struggle, and the security of the "Belt and Road".

The main works include "Modern Britain and China's Xinjiang (1840-1911)", "The Republic of China and China's Xinjiang (1912-1949)", "The Governance of Tibet in China", "The Disillusionment of the "East Turkistan" Dream" (jointly Book), "Gandhara Buddhist Art" (translated), "Central Asian Buddhist Art" (translated), etc. 17 kinds.