Executive Summary:
International human rights organizations have long focused on violations against ethnic minorities. While this is necessary, it is not sufficient. A critical and often overlooked issue is the systemic harm inflicted by authoritarian regimes on their own majority ethnic groups. From the Soviet Union’s deep structural violence against ethnic Russians to the People’s Republic of China’s suppression of Han Chinese regional identities, we must reframe the conversation to include state violence against the majority. This shift is essential to understanding and dismantling modern authoritarianism.
1. A Blind Spot in Global Human Rights Discourse
Contemporary human rights frameworks—rooted in post-colonial and multicultural theories—often presume that majorities are oppressors, and minorities are victims. While this assumption holds in many colonial or settler-state contexts, it fails in centralized authoritarian regimes, where dominant ethnic groups themselves are among the most systematically suppressed populations.
In both the Soviet Union and the People’s Republic of China, the ruling party projected itself as a multi-ethnic protector but implemented highly coercive policies that eroded the freedoms, identities, and economic dignity of their own dominant populations.
2. Structural Violence Against the Majority: The Case of Russia and China
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The Soviet Union and Russians:
Despite being the largest ethnic group, Russians were subjected to state-enforced atheism, centralized economic deprivation, information censorship, and the suppression of native cultural expressions. Millions perished in purges, famines, and forced collectivization. Russian peasants and workers, not just minorities, were among the primary victims of Stalinist terror. -
The PRC and Han Chinese:
While often portrayed as privileged, Han Chinese—especially in inland regions like Sichuan (巴蜀), Hunan, and Henan—have borne the brunt of forced abortions under the One-Child Policy, censorship, militarized policing, land seizures, and indoctrination campaigns. Local languages such as Cantonish (粤语), Shanghainish (沪语), and Sichuanish (巴蜀话) are stigmatized or systematically erased from public education, undermining cultural diversity within the so-called "majority."
3. The Overlooked Power of Majority Awakening
Authoritarian regimes rely not merely on the suppression of dissenting minorities, but on the active compliance of the majority. The political loyalty of this majority is often secured through propaganda, forced silence, or economic dependence. Yet once that majority begins to question the legitimacy of the regime, the system becomes unsustainable.
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In China, many of the rank-and-file personnel in law enforcement, military, and propaganda systems come from inland Han-majority regions, especially from the historically resilient Ba-Shu (巴蜀) population. These groups provide the human capital for state control mechanisms. Awakening their historical and cultural consciousness could shift the internal balance of power.
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Human rights strategies that only appeal to the margins miss the opportunity to create transformational pressure from the center.
4. Why This Matters Now
Global advocacy risks reinforcing authoritarian power structures by failing to acknowledge the suffering and suppressed identity of the majority. This negligence not only perpetuates a false narrative but alienates those with the most potential to lead internal reform or resistance.
We need to:
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Recognize the structural harm done to majority populations in authoritarian states.
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Re-evaluate the legitimacy of "majority = oppressor" assumptions in totalitarian contexts.
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Encourage cultural self-recognition and regional identity revival within dominant groups (e.g., Ba-Shu, Yue, Wu peoples).
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Support channels for majority dissent, historical reflection, and civic awakening.
Conclusion:
Ending totalitarian regimes requires more than minority rights—it requires majority awakening. It is time to look beyond the familiar categories of colonial victimhood and confront the modern reality of majority populations being systematically used, silenced, and sacrificed. The road to human dignity in authoritarian states runs through the hearts of their forgotten majorities.
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