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The Social Integration of Floating Ethnic Minorities: A Comparative Study of Tibetans in Beijing and Chengdu, China

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Abstract

This study investigates the social integration of Tibetan floating populations (from Heishui County, Sichuan Province) in Beijing and Chengdu using relevant theories. The research involved a questionnaire survey and extensive qualitative interviews over a 2-year period. A theoretical framework was developed to assess the four possible modes of engagement of floating ethnic minorities in urban cities—integration, segregation, marginalization, and assimilation—which we applied to the Chinese context. By combining group-level socioeconomic indicators and individual-level cultural–psychological indicators, we find that Tibetan communities in Chengdu exhibit a pattern of integration, although in an initial state, as they have maintained their ethnic identity while also being well accepted by the local society. In contrast, the Tibetan communities in Beijing exhibit a segregation mode of engagement, living in ethnic enclaves with limited participation in the broader local society.

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Data availability

The data that support the findings of this study are available upon reasonable request. While we do not currently make the data publicly available due to concerns of confidentiality, we welcome inquiries and are open to collaboration. Researchers interested or exploring potential collaborations are encouraged to directly contact the authors.

Notes

  1. People’s Daily. “Highlights of President Xi Jinping’s remarks on consolidating a sense of community for the Chinese nation.” http://en.people.cn/n3/2021/0902/c90000-9891137.html.

  2. We have decided, like many other social scientists (e.g., Li et al. 2022; Yao 2022), to use “floating population” rather than other terms such as “migrants” or “temporary migrants” to translate “liudong renkou.” This choice is made to emphasize the uniqueness of this immigrant population within the context of Chinese cities: their “floating” identity is defined by the official specific household registration (hukou) system, rather than by seasonal, duration-related, or other migration and residency characteristics. Of course, we acknowledge that they are a form of migrants, so in the article, we also occasionally use the more common term “migrant” to refer to this group.

  3. In the 1950s, the Chinese government introduced the hukou system as a means of controlling and monitoring population movement, particularly to limit rural–urban migration; since the relaxation of related policies in the 1980s, a massive influx of internal migration has taken place within China.

  4. The figure for the floating Tibetans in Chengdu, with the relatively more authoritative figure being the estimate published by the China Tibet Network in 2012, was around 150,000–200,000, see: https://news.sina.com.cn/o/2012-03-16/193624127414.shtml.

  5. The term “Tibetan” referred to in the following article, unless otherwise specified, refers to Tibetans from Heishui County, Sichuan Province of China.

  6. Historically, the proportion of ethnic minorities in China’s total population has been around 8% after 1990, but prior to 2010, their representation in the national floating population did not surpass 6.2%.

  7. “The Central National Work Conference and the Sixth National Commendation Conference on National Unity and Progress in the State Council were held in Beijing.” http://cpc.people.com.cn/n/2014/0929/c64094-25762843.html.

  8. Interviewee CW09, male, over 30 years old. Sept. 19, 2016.

  9. Interviewee CW23, male, in his 20 s. Sept. 24, 2016.

  10. Interviewee BL15, female in her 40 s. Beijing, Oct. 27, 2017.

  11. Interviewee BL23, male in his 30 s. Beijing, Nov. 7, 2017.

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Acknowledgements

This work is supported by [Program of the United Front Work High-end Think Tank of the Central Institute of Socialism #1] “Chinese Identity and Unity Consciousness of Ancient Nomads” (ZK20200107); [Ethnic Research Program of National Ethnic Affairs Commission #2] “Study on the Urban Integration and Washback Effect of Migrant Population of Ethnic Minority Originated from the ‘Three Regions and Three Prefectures’” (2018-GMC-032); [Key Program of National Social Science Fund of China #3] “Study on the Urban Integration of Ethnic Minority Population” (15AMZ004). The authors would like to extend our sincere gratitude to the anonymous reviewers for their valuable feedback and constructive comments, whose expertise and insights have been instrumental in shaping our work. Any errors or omissions that may still exist are entirely our responsibility.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Research Center for International Chinese Language Education, Beijing Language and Culture University, Beijing, China

    Lei Shao

  2. Department of Sociology, Peking University, Beijing, China

    Zhe Zhang

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  1. Lei Shao
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Correspondence to Zhe Zhang.

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The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest regarding the publication of this article. We have no financial or personal relationships with any individuals or organizations that could potentially bias our findings or interpretations. We affirm our commitment to upholding the standards of integrity and transparency in the reporting of our research.

Appendices

Appendix 1

See Table 4.

Table 4 Group-level socioeconomic indicators for integration of floating Tibetans
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Appendix 2

See Table 5.

Table 5 Individual-level cultural-psychological indicators for integration of floating Tibetans
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Shao, L., Zhang, Z. The Social Integration of Floating Ethnic Minorities: A Comparative Study of Tibetans in Beijing and Chengdu, China. Chin. Polit. Sci. Rev. (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41111-023-00246-8

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