Tibetan students protesting against Chinese language study policy
Posted by Filed under Culture
Source: bbc.co.uk/news
Think what you will about the current political situation in Tibet, but the latest protest emanates from Tibetan students in China who feel that being forced to study in Mandarin Chinese is “an erosion of their culture and language”. The march took place on Tuesday in Tongren (Qinghai province), and unlike previous protests, this one was entirely peaceful. It was sparked by forthcoming changes to the education policy limiting the use of the Tibetan language in schools, instead dictating that all text books be only in Mandarin Chinese, besides subjects that are explicitly another language (such as English or Tibetan language classes).
The Chinese constitution claims to protect the rights of its inhabitants, and the Free Tibet organization has said that “the use of Tibetan is being systematically wiped out as part of China’s strategy to cement its occupation of Tibet”.