The world's most populous country has over 56 minority ethnic groups(minzu),with the Han population being the majority group Although development is lifting people out of poverty at a rapid rate,minorities in the country seem to benefit far less from the economic progress in China:minorities represent8%of the total population but they comprise 40%of the poor The treatment of minorities and other forms of discrimination documented in China have been criticized by Western media,NGOs and scholars8. While the author does not have the requisite expertise to fully and justly analyze discrimination in China and to judge of how the government is dealing with it through policies and the law,this paper reviews the relevant literature and provides an overview of the existing legal framework protecting against discrimination in the workplace.The four main questions the author tries to answer are the following: What are the main forms of discrimination in employment? Do Chinese citizens have a recognized fundamental right to equality? Is the legal corpus and system adequately protecting people against illegal discrimination? Is China evolving toward less discrimination? After looking at the possible grounds of discrimination such as gender,ethnicity and religion, the relevant laws are examined.How non-discrimination provisions are and can be enforced in Chinese courts is then discussed.It concludes with an assessment of the Chinese government's actions to cope with discrimination. 6 Shuping Wang,supra note 4,at 162. 7Susan K.McCarthy,The State,Minorities.And Dilemmas Of Development In Contemporary China,26 Fletcher F.World Aff.107(2002),at 107. 8 See Internal Migrants:Discrimination And Abuse-The Human Cost Of An Economic 'Miracle,Amnesty International,March 2007,available online at http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/ASA17/008/2007. This paper examines discrimination and legal protection against it in mainland China.It does not cover Autonomous and Special Administrative Regions. 33 The world’s most populous country has over 56 minority ethnic groups (minzu), with the Han population being the majority group6 . Although development is lifting people out of poverty at a rapid rate, minorities in the country seem to benefit far less from the economic progress in China: minorities represent 8.2% of the total population but they comprise 40% of the poor7 . The treatment of minorities and other forms of discrimination documented in China have been criticized by Western media, NGOs and scholars8 . While the author does not have the requisite expertise to fully and justly analyze discrimination in China and to judge of how the government is dealing with it through policies and the law, this paper reviews the relevant literature and provides an overview of the existing legal framework protecting against discrimination in the workplace9 . The four main questions the author tries to answer are the following: ▫ What are the main forms of discrimination in employment? ▫ Do Chinese citizens have a recognized fundamental right to equality? ▫ Is the legal corpus and system adequately protecting people against illegal discrimination? ▫ Is China evolving toward less discrimination? After looking at the possible grounds of discrimination such as gender, ethnicity and religion, the relevant laws are examined. How non-discrimination provisions are and can be enforced in Chinese courts is then discussed. It concludes with an assessment of the Chinese government’s actions to cope with discrimination. 6 Shuping Wang, supra note 4, at 162. 7 Susan K. McCarthy, The State, Minorities, And Dilemmas Of Development In Contemporary China, 26 Fletcher F. World Aff. 107 (2002), at 107. 8 See Internal Migrants: Discrimination And Abuse - The Human Cost Of An Economic ‘Miracle’, Amnesty International, March 2007, available online at http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/ASA17/008/2007. 9 This paper examines discrimination and legal protection against it in mainland China. It does not cover Autonomous and Special Administrative Regions