Why? Lookit Taiwan, how long did it take them? And they're a million times smaller and more mangeable than China.
Depends, American money anyone? It's proximity to other Asian tigers, cheap labor pool, and sea access will help. Although I'm not sure on education without communists (probably won't change much since education was seen as a respectable method of promotion even in ancient times).
A maybe-freer China. Almost certainly with harsh minority policies (very pro-Han, anti-everything else, lookit Taiwan under KMT). Exporting its influence everywhere (provided it's not a basket-case but growing like Deng's China).
Depends, Muslims have been traditionally been over represented in Chinese militaries. Plus I'm not sure how oppressive they can be with hostile Soviet influence next door, more so that some of these regions were essentially autonomous during the civil war, especially in the Soviet disputed areas. There's no reason they would be more free, especially if the nationalists got their censoring act together.
You can still bet on Tibet being a problem (less publicity if China is seen as an ally vs communism) and you would still get a lot of localized discrimination of people from out of province.