China Passes Law Mandating Mandarin Education for Ethnic Minorities, Sparking Cultural Suppression Concerns

Beijing. China has passed a new law on 'Ethnic Unity and Progress Promotion' making Mandarin language instruction compulsory for ethnic minority communities. Critics, however, say this law will create further pressure on the language, culture, and identity of minorities. This law was passed on Thursday towards the end of the annual session of China's parliament, the National People's Congress.

Under the new regulation, all children will be required to study Mandarin compulsorily from before kindergarten until the high school level. Previously, many subjects could be studied in mother tongues such as Tibetan, Uyghur, or Mongolian. The Chinese government claims this move will help increase unity among various ethnic groups and expand employment opportunities. According to the government, such a policy is necessary to modernize the country and consolidate national unity.

However, human rights groups and researchers have interpreted this as an attempt to weaken the cultural identity of minorities. Magnus Fiskesjö, an associate professor of anthropology at Cornell University, stated in a university report that this policy aligns with China's ongoing policy of suppressing the ethnic diversity formally recognized since 1949. According to him, this increases the risk of distancing the new generation from their own language and culture.

China has about 56 officially recognized ethnic groups. Among these, the Han community is in the majority. The Han Chinese community accounts for more than 90 percent of the country's total population. In recent years, the Chinese government has been promoting a policy of Sinicization, meaning integrating minority communities with the mainstream Han culture. This policy has been criticized for being implemented especially in regions like Tibet, Xinjiang, and Inner Mongolia.

According to critics, restrictions have been placed on religious and cultural freedom in these regions. For example, arrests of monks and increased government control over monasteries in Tibet have been reported. Furthermore, strict surveillance is reportedly maintained even for expressing reverence towards the Tibetan Buddhist leader, the Dalai Lama.