Zulifeiya Abudukader, a deputy of the Uygur ethnic group, said that great attention has been paid to education in Xinjiang, and both Han and minority languages are used and studied in all schools in the autonomous region.

"The customs of minority people have also been respected. For example, under the Marriage Law, the minimum age for marriage for the Han is 22 for men and 20 for women, while for minorities in Xinjiang it is 20 for men and 18 for women," she said.

Zulifeiya also cited a special family planning policy in Xinjiang.

"In Xinjiang, minority people can have two children, such as I have. In southern Xinjiang, people can have three children. If all three children are girls, the family can have a fourth child," she said.

Zhang Jiachun, a deputy of the Shui ethnic group, used the interview opportunity to promote his people's culture.

He displayed two items that have been listed as part of the national intangible cultural heritage: His maweixiu clothes, woven with the hair of horsetails; and a calligraphy work written in the traditional Shui ideograph that reads "let the world know the Shui people".

(China Daily March 11, 2008)