Hype distorts policy

The media are once again ablaze with misinformation against China, this time on its supposed attempts to eradicate the Mongolian language from Inner Mongolia. A recent piece by Antonio Graceffo, an American economist and author based in Ulaanbaatar, in the Diplomat is an excellent introduction:

"In August, the government announced that when the school year began in September, classes in Mongolian would be sharply curtailed. Under the new regulations, literature, politics and history will all now be taught in Mandarin….

"Many parents in Inner Mongolia responded to the announcement by saying that they would prefer to keep their children home than have them forced to accept Mandarin-language instruction. As schools opened in the first week of September, strikes by parents were widespread.

"In Naiman county, for example, where there were normally 1,000 Mongolian students, just 40 registered for this term and only 10 actually showed up on the first day of class. Across the region, more than 300,000 students have gone on strike….

"Videos have surfaced online showing ethnic Mongolian parents trying to remove their children from school grounds and police preventing them from doing so. According to a report by the BBC, hundreds of riot police were deployed the prevent one strike, but after a standoff lasting several hours, parents finally managed to break through the police barricades and collect their children.

"Other videos have appeared on social media showing masses of Mongolian children chanting 'Our mother language is Mongolian!' and ' We are Mongolian until death!' One showed Inner Mongolian men, dressed in traditional clothes, raising the khar suld (or black banner), the battlefield standard of the Mongol army, which represents the power of the 'eternal blue sky' (monke khukh tenger).

"Traditionally, the khar suld was meant to concentrate and mobilize the spirit and power of all Mongols to defeat their enemies. According to legend, it is the repository of the soul of Genghis Khan. To many ethnic Mongolians, the raising of the suld is the equivalent of a declaration of war. As one Mongolian commented, 'It's a big sign that they will not give up. [The protesters] will go until [the] end.'"

The article goes on to accuse China of diluting Mongolian language and identity. So is Beijing really up to its evil ways again? Over the last few weeks, there have indeed been some protests in Inner Mongolia over the recent changes in bilingual education. Here is some background.

Currently, the nine years of compulsory schooling in Inner Mongolia require six to seven hours of classes per day. In a typical school, all classes are taught in Mongolian for the first two years - that is, language, literature, and science classes are all taught in that language. From third grade on, an hour a day of Chinese language is added, and from sixth to 10th grades a foreign language - usually English - is further required.

Over the summer, the Inner Mongolian

Educational Department announced a change to its bilingual education program. The change calls for transitioning to statecompiled textbooks in Mandarin for language and literature, politics, and history classes. Mathematics, sciences, art, music, and physical education, however, will continue to be taught in Mongolian.

This new policy was to be formally implemented as of the 2020-21 school year, beginning September 1, starting with language and literature. Then starting next school year, the new policy will be extended to morality and law, and then to history in 2022-23.

At first, some teachers were worried about losing their jobs, which prompted some to protest. Those concerns, however, were quickly dealt with as the government clarified that its policy actually called for training teachers to teach the new curriculum. Most teachers should just need brief training regarding use of the new materials.

Rumors also arose that the change called for phasing out Mongolian language in its entirety throughout Inner Mongolia's compulsory education system. The Inner Mongolian Educational Department, however, has clarified many times that only specified subjects will be transitioned to Mandarin. The core subjects of mathematics, sciences, art, music, and physical education will continue to be taught in Mongolian throughout all grades.

Closely related to the language issue is the sensitive issue of "preferential treatment" for ethnic minorities in China. Some protesters voiced concerns that the move to more Mandarin in the schools would ultimately mean that they a deterioration of the "preferential treatments" that Mongolians - as well as the other 55 ethnic minorities recognized by Beijing - currently get, such as in the college entrance process. Government officials have since made it very clear that the change in policy does not in any way change the preferential treatments of minorities for college and university entrance.

However, it should probably also be acknowledged that "preference treatment" in general is a controversial topic in China. Some believe all citizens - whatever their ethnicity - should be treated equally, while others believe preferential treatment is required to bring about national unity and ethnic cohesion.