Figures released by the State Nationalities Affairs Commission show that China has a total of 2.915 million ethnic minority cadres, accounting for 7.4% of the total, an increase of 2.6% from 2000.

Ethnic minority professionals and technicians account for 69.5% of ethnic minority cadres, an increase of 5.3%. Of cadres at or above the county level nationwide, 45,000 belong to an ethnic minority, an increase of 12.5%; ethnic minority cadres at a departmental level account for 8.4%, an increase of 16%; ethnic minority cadres at county level account for 90%, up 11%.

A person speaking for the State Ethnic Affairs Commission said that on the Standing Committees of the NPC of the 155 ethnic autonomous regions in China, the position of either director or deputy director is filled by local ethnic minority citizens; all the chairmen of autonomous regions, governors of autonomous prefectures, and autonomous county magistrates are local ethnic minority citizens; the number of ethnic minority cadres working in government departments in autonomous regions has increased, as has the number working and living in heavily and sparsely populated areas.

By People's Daily Online