Cardiovascular diseases in European ethnic minorities: Beyond the traditional cardiovascular risk factors

This editorial is intended to be a reflection on cardiovascular disease(CVD)burden in European ethnic minorities.In some European countries,ethnic minority realities,due to their recent appearance,are still to be studied in depth.The experience of several European countries,where the migration processes started earlier,even more than a century ago,can help by being an example.Many studies have shown that major differences in CVD burden exist not only between countries,but also within the same country when considering different social strata and ethnic groups.The CV risk factors underlying heart disease have been well established.Important epidemiological studies have helped us understand that the underlying causes of heart disease as well as the behaviors that can help prevent them are the same.We are now well aware that CVD should be treated by considering a holistic approach.This is why the social determinants(SDs)of health that may worsen the disease burden or that,vice versa,may improve the treatment,and even more significantly,the prognosis of a patient’s illness should be taken into consideration.For ethnic minority patients,this holistic,hermeneutic approach is of importance.Several SDs of health that influence CVDs have been identified but their relevance for the health of ethnic minorities has not yet been clearly defined.In some European countries,most ethnic minorities are largely also religious minorities.Only a few studies have evaluated the role of religion,which is an important SD that affects the probability of having CV risk factors and diseases.Adolescents,particularly those belonging to the second generation,seem to be the weak link.If we believe that these young people are really citizens of their country of birth,then a way of recognizing their belonging to the community starts from a will to better understand their condition,in order to assist them while they grow physically and mentally.Thinking about safeguarding the health of this population should be more than a health task,rather a goal of social justice.

Brief Analysis of Religious Sacrificial Activities in Agricultural Production of Ethnic Minorities in China

China is vast in territory and there are 55 ethnic minorities. Due to the geographical location,the experience in the development process and the stage of cultural development,ethnic minorities show great differences with Han people in many aspects,so that in the process of obtaining food,they manifest different cultural characteristics,especially the religious sacrifices and taboos present in the agricultural production process show more uniqueness and retain more primitive features.

Suggestions and Reflections on Inheritance Strategy of Traditional Residence Construction Technique of Ethnic Minorities in Western Hubei

The traditional residence of ethnic minorities in western Hubei has a long history,and their construction skills reflect the wisdom and culture of the nation.Due to the limitation of geographical environment,the development of modern cities and towns,and the influence of foreign culture,the inheritance of traditional construction skills is facing a great crisis.This paper analyzes the research status of traditional residence of ethnic minorities and summarizes the necessity of inheriting the traditional residence construction technique.Moreover,strategies and suggestions about inheritance are put forward from four aspects:the national policy guidance and local implementation,building characteristic area of traditional residence,establishing and improving the theoretical framework of building skills,and building digital platform.The ways and methods of integrating traditional construction skills and culture into the training process of colleges and universities are explored.

Equality and Self-government For Ethnic Minorities

The Chinese Government has always been keen to promote human rights in the interest of the country's 55 ethnic minority groups, regarding this as vital to promote the country's human rights cause as a whole. Following is an interview with Li Dek Su, an ethnic Korean who serves as minister in charge of the State Ethnic Affairs Commission. We hope that the interview will help give a better idea of the country's policies toward ethnic minorities and the achievements made under such policies.

Make All Ethnic Minorities Prosper, No Ethnic Minority Be Left Behind

Of the 55 ethnic minorities, 22 each has a population of less than 100,000. These minority people are relatively backwardin economic and social development and poverty haunts them. In 2005, the State Council launched a 5-year program to support the development of these small ethnic minorities and the State Development and Reform Commission and the State Commission for Ethnic Affairs have compiled a development program for these minority people. According to the programs, the State will commit 200 million yuan each year, totaling one billion yuan in five years, to the construction of infrastructure facilities in the areas inhabited by these minority people.

Reinstating Traditional Horsemanship of Ethnic Minorities in Southern China by Excavation,Sorting,and Comparative Research

In August 1991,the book Chinese Nation’s Traditional Sports History was published,and it was hailed as the“masterpiece of Chinese folk sports”by academic circles.In this masterpiece,the traditional horsemanship of 23 ethnic minorities and that of 10 southern ethnic minorities represented by the Miao,Yi,Bai,Shui,Hani,Naxi,and other ethnic groups has been included.For the first time,this masterpiece integrates the traditional horsemanship of the ethnic minorities in Southern China in one volume.The disadvantage is that most of the included traditional horsemanship of ethnic minorities only made a brief introduction to the time,place,and form of its development.However,under the global trend of the transition from traditional society to modern society and post-modern society,the traditional horsemanship of ethnic minorities in Southern China is facing an increasingly serious crisis of inheritance and disconnection,resulting in a gradual extinction of related traditional cultural heritage.The characteristics are gradually lost because of it.Therefore,it is essential to return to the historical and cultural field of traditional horsemanship,conduct rescue excavation,sort out the traditional horsemanship of ethnic minorities in Southern China,rescue the records of traditional horsemanship that is disappearing or undergoing drastic changes,as well as carry out comparative studies on this basis.This is not only an important way to inherit the traditional culture of ethnic minorities,but also means to protect the diversity of ethnic cultures and promote the development of exotic villages.

Family Planning among Ethnic Minorities:a Review

It is known to all that China, the world＇s most populous country with 1.3 billion people, has been practicing a stringent family planning policy as part of an endeavor to ensure a sustainable development. Does this policy of allowing most couples to have only one child apply to China＇s 55 ethnic minority groups？ To put it another way, what is exactly the government policy toward family planning among ethnic minorities,

Regional Autonomy of China's Ethnic Minorities

The aggregate population of ethnic minorities has never accounted for more than 9 percent of China’s total, currently approaching 1.3 billion. Yet their development and prosperity have always been high on the agenda of the leaders of the People’s Republic. One of the first things Chinese leaders did after New China was founded in 1949 was to conduct large-scale studies to identify the country’s ethnic groups and name them properly, based on scientific

White Paper:China’s Policies toward Ethnic Minorities Well Fit National Conditions and Win Support from All Nationalities

The State Council Information Office published on September 27, 2009, a white paper entitled China＇ s Policies toward Minorities and Common Prosperity and Development of All Nationalities. The white paper says that the policies well fit the national conditions and are correct. They are instrumental to promoting harmonious coexistence of all nationalities that work with one heart and one mind and in mutual cooperation; they have helped open up a good national situation characterized by economic development, political stability,

Progress in Helping Ethnic Minorities

The issue of human rights should be a point of meeting and collaborating among different civilizations rather than a spot for wrangles and tussles. This is the impression people gathered from the Second Beijing Forum on Human Rights,held on Nov. 2-3, 2009. Officials and experts from 26 countries attended the forum in the--nation＇s capital.

Evolution of the System to Honor Ethnic Minorities' Rights

What system should a multinational state adopt to resolve ethnic minority problems and ensure the rights of minorities? This is a major problem that has to be settled. There are roughly three options: confederacy, autonomy and power sharing. The former Soviet Union adopted the form of confederacy. That was determined by the fact that during the October Revolution, many ethnic groups were in a state of entire separation and isolation. In his speech in 1989, Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping said: We owe the stable and united situation in the areas inhabited by ethnic minorities to Chairman

The Right to Development of Chinese Ethnic Minorities Promoted in Accordance with the Idea of Putting People First

I. The Idea of Putting People First and the Right to Development from the Contemporary Perspective of Human Rights

China's Ethnic Minorities and Their Own Languages

China has 56 ethnic groups, who speak a total of 120 languages. Chinese, China＇s official language, is spoken by the Han, Hui and Manethnic groups, and all the other ethnic groups have their own languages. About 15 million people speak the Zhuang lan- guage, outnumbering speakers of any other ethnic minority language. Quite a few ethnic minority groups have two or even more spoken languages. Though belonging to the same ethnic group, the ethnic Yaos who live in different places speak four different languages -the Mian, Bunu, Lajia and Yangbu. The ethnic Jingpos also have four different spoken languages the Jingpo, Zaiwa, Langsu and Leqi.

Macro Characteristics of Human Rights Legal Principles for Ethnic Minorities in New China

In this paper, ethnic minorities refer to the 55 minorities other than the Han ethnic group with- in the borders of the People＇s Republic of China; human rights mean the human rights connotations within the ken of international human rights laws; legal principles mean the principles that all authoritative organizations, legislative organs, administrative departments, judicial organs and other departments should obey.

The Status Quo, Opportunity and Approach——the Development of Ethnic Minorities in the Context of the Belt and Road Initiative

Currently, China is advancing the Belt and Road Initiative, which creates a new opportunity of historical significance and provides guidance for the economic and social development of ethnic minority communities(particularly those in western China). Under the new historical conditions, it is necessary to innovate and improve China's regional aid policies and regional development strategies such as the "pairing assistance" and the Western Development, and organically combine them with the Belt and Road Initiative. In the meantime, China should revolve tightly around the internal and external "connectivity," and give full play to the functions of the "pairing assistance" policy and the "Western Development" strategy in a bid to boost the ethnic development of contemporary China within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative.

The Right to Work of Chinese Ethnic Minorities:Replies to Concerns and Suggestions of the UN Human Rights Treaty Bodies

The UN Human Rights Treaty Bodies have repeatedly raised concerns about the Chinese government’s fulfillment of its obligations to safeguard the right to work of ethnic minorities, including the insufficiency of materials, the asymmetry of employment conditions between migrating Han and other ethnic groups, as well as so-called pervasive discrimination against non-Han ethnic workers. The UN Human Rights Treaty Bodies raised these concerns based on various facts and the rationality of their suggestions differ. China has replied accordingly. China should continue to reply based on the facts, and it should accept those suggestions that are reasonable and on facts.When addressing suggestions that are not based on facts, we should identify the nature of the problems and eliminate misunderstanding by clarifying the facts and encouraging friendly dialogue.

Spiritual Forests—A Nature Conservation Model of Ethnic Minority Communities in Central Viet Nam

This paper aims to analyze and evaluate a model of forest conservation and management of ethnic minority (or indigenous) people in central Vietnam, often referred to as the spiritual forest. These forests, called sacred forest or ghost forests by the ethnic minority people in Thua Thien Hue province, have existed for a long time among forest residents. However, they have recently declined, both in quality and quantity, due to various factors, including changes in society, economy, environment, and perception, among other reasons. Based on research conducted in A Luoi district, Thua Thien Hue province with household interviews, group discussions, and field surveys, we find that spiritual forest retains religious and human significance. They are also often among the last remaining natural forests left due to deforestation by human activities. The research results indicate challenges that conservation of spiritual forest may face, while giving recommendations derived from communities for sustainable forest development and conservation in the region.