The rights of ethnic minority peoples in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region to participate in the administration of state affairs are under special protection, said a white paper issued by the Information Office of China's State Council Monday.

The paper, titled "Development and Progress in Xinjiang" said, at present, some members of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC) and the leadership of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference are from Xinjiang's ethnic minority groups.

"Recognizing the existence of each ethnic group and guaranteeing its equal rights in every aspect is the fundamental principle and policy of the Chinese government to handle ethnic problems," the paper said.

"It is also the foundation of all other policies concerning the ethnic issue," it said.

According to the paper, in the local people's congresses of Xinjiang, there are deputies from each ethnic group who live in compact communities.

In the Ninth People's Congress of the autonomous region, the 542 deputies were comprised of 13 ethnicities, and the proportion of minority deputies accounted for 65.5 percent, four percentage points higher than the ratio of the minority population to the total population of the region, it said.

The paper said, a large number of outstanding cadres of minority origin have been trained and fostered by being sent out for study, receiving training, working at the grassroots level, or at different places through job exchanges or on rotation basis.

The number of Xinjiang's cadres from minority ethnic groups has increased from 46,000 in 1955 to 363,000 in 2008, according to the paper.

Source: Xinhua