China's Mongolian Minority Facing Increased Pressure to Assimilate

Beijing long allowed Mongols in China to live out their cultural identity. That, though, is now over. Xi Jinping has decided that they must assimilate into the culture of the Chinese majority. The new era, that is the term used by Chinese propaganda to describe Xi’s regency. 

Ever since China’s head of state and party leader rose to power in 2012, pressure has been rising on the autonomous region of Inner Mongolia, where the Gegen Miao Monastery is located. Almost 300 years old, it is an important place for the local population – and its abbot is an important man: Because of his religious learnedness, Laobuseng Jinpa is regarded as a "living Buddha.” But in Xi’s China, no such honorary title exempts him from the duty of political obedience.

Read more