The PRC faces independence movements in Tibet, Xinjiang, and to a lesser degree, Inner Mongolia. Many[who?] Tibetans and Uyghurs consider their territories countries in their own rights, and resent Chinese rule as colonialism[citation needed]. As such, independence groups and many foreign observers are critical of the PRC's ethnic policies, considering reality to be markedly different from the image presented by the PRC. For example, Han Chinese have been moving into Xinjiang and Tibet for over 50 years. Before market reforms, many of these were workers, soldiers, and prisoners assigned compulsorily to settle in those regions, carried out by organizations like the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps. Market reforms in recent years and the development of tourism have resulted in a large influx of economic migrants into Xinjiang and Tibet in search of private business opportunities; moreover the government carries out programs that move peasants from overcrowded regions in the interior of China into sparsely populated regions such as Xinjiang and Tibet. Finally, cadres and professionals have also been enticed with financial incentives, though demographically speaking this category is comparatively insignificant numbering in the thousands[15] the cadres involved are posted for a few years before being replaced[16] and such programs are focused upon the entire impoverished western half of China, not just Xinjiang and Tibet. Independence groups consider practices such these to be chauvinistic and colonialistic, aimed at homogenising the demographics of non-Han Chinese areas and reducing the possibility that any independence movement could succeed. One prominent example is Xinjiang, where official statistics show that the Han Chinese population has increased drastically over the past five decades and has nearly caught up with the Uyghur population.
Some Han Chinese are also critical of the above policies. Han Chinese in Xinjiang or Inner Mongolia, faced with both a local population hostile to their presence and policies that discriminate against them in areas from education to employment, are generally resentful and believe they are treated as second-class citizens subject to double racism perpetrated by both the locals and their own government, a feeling shared to a lesser extent by Han Chinese in areas where ethnic tensions are not as severe, such as Guangxi. These Han Chinese people therefore tend to support reducing, or abolishing altogether, the policies they perceive as unfair. But after all all these are heresay at best. Some also consider these policies to have actually encouraged the formation of independence movements and threatened the territorial integrity of China, by acknowledging the emotional ties of peoples to their territories. While both opinions are criticized as Han chauvinist, supporters of these views would argue that all official minorities, including Han Chinese and others, should be abolished in favour of an overarching Zhonghua Minzu concept. Finally, many Han Chinese people consider criticisms by independence groups to be unfounded and politically motivated, as most recent migrants are simply taking advantage of the freedom of movement made possible by market reforms; moreover it is regarded as only natural that the government would attempt to entice talented professionals to move into impoverished areas that they would otherwise never go to. They may consider perceptions of being conquered and oppressed among Uyghurs and Tibetans to be a result of the nature of the current political system, to be solved by democratization and liberalization that give a greater voice to minority groups, rather than independence movements.