2010 Tibetan language protest
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The 2010 Tibetan language protest was an assembly in Tongren County, Qinghai, People's Republic of China by ethnic Tibetan students on October 19, 2010.[1]
Cause
- The local governments in Qinghai are promoting a "bilingual" education, that is, only Liberal Arts (语文) and English courses are taught in Tibetan, courses other than Liberal Arts and English are taught in Standard Mandarin.[2]
- The July 25, 2010 mass assembly of pro-Cantonese Yue took place in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province.
Assembly
Inspired by Guangzhou July 25, 2010 mass assembly, which returns a positive result, Tibetan students from six schools protested in Tongren from 7am[1] to 2pm.[3] The protest was against alleged proposals for the Chinese language to become the language of instruction in most subjects, excepting Tibetan and English studies in the local Tibetan dialect.[1] The students waved banners saying, "Expand the Use of the Tibetan Language".[3]
A range of reports from hundreds to 9000[1] people were alleged to have been involved in the protest. According to a local Tibetan blogger, the head of the county’s education department drove out and assured the protestors that "their grievances would be addressed by senior authorities".[3] An education-related protest in Dawu in neighboring Golog Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture was apparently inspired by the Tongren protest.[4] 400 Tibetan students at the Minzu University of China in Beijing staged a supportive demonstration on October 22.[5]
Official response
On Oct. 29，Government of Qinghai says these incidents reflect some misunderstanding of the "bilingual" education policy by Tibetan people and reinsist that “strengthen and improve the ‘bilingual’ education工作的指导思想和基本原则是完全正确的” and that “as the state is promoting Standard Mandarin and Commonly Used Characters, the rights of using local minority languages by minority peoples is fully respected and guaranteed”.
See also
References
- ^ a b c d South China Morning Post. "SCMP." Students protest to save Tibetan. Retrieved on 2010-23-10.
- ^ 青海千人撐藏語 - Sin Chew Daily
- ^ a b c Thestar.com. "Thestar.com." Tibetan students protest in China over language instruction. Retrieved on 2010-23-10.
- ^ South China Morning Post. "SCMP." Tibetan student language protests spread. Retrieved on 2010-23-10.
- ^ Yahoo.com. "Yahoo.com." China defends language reform after Tibet protest. Retrieved on 2010-23-10.