Opinion: Young Americans helping sinicize Inner Mongolia - unknowingly

CBS News-one of major US TV broadcasters recently made a story about how a Non-Profit run by idealistic young American woman Casey Wilson is helping impoverished rural Chinese. The story can be found here.Storyline is the Non-Profit gave loan to poor Chinese farmer to switch from crop farming to livestock herding.
It is good that Casey Wilson helped Ha Si Gao Wa, poor Han Chinese farmer in Inner Mongolia. However, herding or livestock is traditionally engaged by Mongolian nomads and not by "settled people" like Han Chinese. For centuries, Mongolians and Chinese pursued their traditional trades without stepping on each other's toes. Growing something on land was something Chinese farmers did.
Now, after 100 years of Sinicization of Inner Mongolia, it is hard to distinguish who is true Mongolian there. There are millions of Han Chinese farmer-turned-herders in in Inner-Mongolia. It has become an irreversible process.

80% of 24 million people living in Inner Mongolia region are Han-Chinese. Millions of Han-Chinese poured to Inner Mongolia beginning 1900s. Today, Inner Mongolia remains Mongolia in name only and it is fully sinicized. Now Tibet and East Turkestan are waiting their turn. Sad but true.Probably Casey is not aware of these. Today, Chinese government is still not releasing Hada, Inner Mongolian freedom fighter  and his family amidst international pressure. Chinese saying "Soft wins hard" realized in Inner Mongolia. Last few-remaining ethnic Mongolians have become like museum species in their own land.

By Shagai, contributor of Mongolianviews


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