NPC deputy promotes ethnic unity education in Xinjiang school

As a deputy to the National People's Congress, Min Xiaoqing, general Party branch secretary of ?Tacheng No 6 Middle School in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, has been fulfilling her promise to promote ethnic unity in education.

Min grew up in a family of mixed Han and Russian ethnicities, a multicultural background that continues to inform her work. If ethnic unity is possible in her home, it is possible in her school and in Xinjiang more generally, she said.

Min began her educational career in 2001 and transferred to the ?Tacheng school in 2022. After years of work in ethnic unity education, she was named a national role model for ethnic unity and progress in 2024.

With more than 1,800 students and teachers, the school comprises 14 ethnic groups. To carry out ethnic unity education, Min said it uses national-standard textbooks for ethics, language and history to promote the common national language and characters. The school integrates content about Chinese national awareness as a community and bring the content of ethnic unity education into play to cultivate a growing sense of identity with the motherland, the Chinese nation, and Chinese culture.

The school also regularly organizes themed educational activities, such as ethnic unity promotion month, class meetings and national flag-raising ceremonies to share stories of ethnic unity. It also encourages participation in cultural and sports events, such as school sports competitions, art festivals and community service activities to deepen the emotional bonds of students from different ethnic groups.

In addition, the school makes the universal use of the national language and written characters a priority. It seeks to ensure that all students, regardless of ethnicity, master them. Teachers receive training to improve their proficiency in these areas, fostering greater understanding and connection.

"With these measures, the school promotes exchanges, interactions and integration of all ethnic groups," Min said. "This enhances the identification and centripetal force of Chinese culture, and consolidates the consciousness of the Chinese nation as a community more effectively."

Ethnic unity education at the school is a vivid practice. With its 25 ethnic groups, Tacheng has long been a city symbolizing ethnic coexistence and mutual assistance. Intermarriage and mutual support are common, with more than 20 percent of families consisting of two or more ethnic groups.

In 2014, the city was recognized by the National Ethnic Affairs Commission in the second group of national model counties and cities aiding national unity and progress.

"Residents in the city live, study and work together, setting a vibrant example of ethnic unity," Min said.

This year, she called for increased policy support, funding and talent acquisition for the high-quality development of education in Xinjiang.

Looking ahead, the school will advance the construction of smart campuses and leverage artificial intelligence to address talent shortages and improve quality. It will also strengthen political, physical and aesthetic education, increase mental health support for students' well-rounded development and nurture their capability to contribute to the nation's rejuvenation, she said.