text: reference and not become involved in political issues. The CHAIRMAN appealed to members to maintain the tradition of the Committee and to exclude a spirit of confrontation from the dialogue. Mr. VIDAS associated himself with the views expressed .by Mr. Song Shuhua. Mr. FAN Guoxiang (China) said that his Government had always opposed racial discrimination and recalled that his country had suffered greatly from aggression on grounds of race. Its experience had made it aware of the importance of ensuring the equality of nationalities and of safeguarding national unity. Therefore, in 1982 China had ratified the Convention and fulfilled all the relevant obligations. His delegation had no objection to questions put by members of the Committee in their personal capacity, even those which were not in keeping with the provisions of the Convention. However, his delegation would not reply to comments or questions which sought to teach it a lesson. Mr. WU Shimin (China), said that his statement would be in two parts, the first relating to the general situation in his country and the second, to the question of Tibet. China had a population of 1.4 billion, including 56 nationalities. The Han people constituted the most numerous nationality. CERD/C/SR.871 page 3 With regard to the question of national autonomy, the principal legal instruments regulating ethnic relations in China were the Self-Government Laws of Nationality Regions of the People's Public of China and national autonomous areas and provinces with large minority populations complied with the provisions of those laws. Each minority area formulated its own self-government regulations. Provinces with mixed and dispersed minority populations also formulated such regulations and the Working Regulations of Dispersed Nationalities of Hunan Province, for instance, stipulated that the administrative arrangements for dispersed minorities must take into account the characteristics of a minority people, try to safeguard the legitimate 
analysis: The text appears to be a transcript of a meeting or discussion between government representatives and international organizations, focusing on issues related to human rights and nationalities. The speakers are discussing the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and the situation in China regarding nationalities and autonomy.