Ethnic policy rests on equality

THE NEW GUIDELINES ON ETHNIC AFFAIRS, issued jointly by the Party and State Council and made public on Monday, may sound insipid to many.

And even without the news about the ultimate fall of Ling Jihua, a vice-chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference National Committee and head of the United Front Work Department of the Party Central Committee, there would have been plenty of more sensational topics vying for people's attention.

But the seemingly dull text promises profound changes to the country's approach to ethnic affairs and may help make true the long-standing promise to deliver good governance in areas inhabited by ethnic minorities.