"Chinese authorities in Xinjiang Province have issued a notice that any Uyghur cadres or workers found not eating lunch during Ramadan could lose their jobs.
It is part of the campaign of local authorities in Xinjiang, home to the Muslim Uyghur ethnic group, to force the Uyghur people to give up their religious rituals during the fasting month of Ramadan ".
Given that China contains a large number of differing ethnic minority groups, about 55 in total at last count, it is quite hard for them to really develop a definition of what it means to be 'Chinese', in a way that would allow it to be applied to all of these ethnic groups. Many of these groups share nothing at all with the majority Han-Chinese - who represent what it means to be 'Chinese'. As such, it would seem like these ethnic minority groups can only be referred to as being 'Chinese' solely because they happen to be living within the borders of the country.
With that in mind, it wouldn't be surprising if the government and powers-to-be made attempts to suppress the most vocally opposing groups and have them conform, in some way, to the Chinese values that the Han-Chinese represent - that is, 'real' Chinese values and customs. While the veracity of the above linked story may need to be checked out, if it is true it truly is an interesting example of the government trying to suppress these non-Chinese minorities and influence them toward a more 'Chinese'-based identity. That is, giving up their traditional customs and culture and adopting that of the Han-Chinese - therefore, becoming a proper part of China.
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