(TibetanReview.net, May21’26) – Claiming that “voices in the West” have for years been accusing the Chinese government of “erasing the Tibetan language and culture”, China’s official media outlet news.cgtn.com has presented “proof” of what it claims is the “reality” on May 20.
But the proof is not some independent expert or media outlet, or a human rights organization, or a diplomat from a genuinely democratic country being allowed to freely visit a school of their choice and presenting their finding.
Nor is it a presentation of some Tibetan children speaking fluently in their spoken and written mother-tongue and being adept in their traditional cultural practices, although this can be managed for propaganda purposes.
Rather, the proof is CGTN Digital reporter Li Jingjing who visited the No.8 Middle School in Tibet’s capital Lhasa, “to get to know the staff and students’ life on campus”.
And the presentation is made not with a view to “find out” the truth but to prove the presupposed “truth” that Tibetan children learn their mother tongue and culture, along with Mandarin Chinese.
The video presentation shows Tibetan children apparently learning to read and write Tibetan, as well as practising Tibetan opera, art, and music, which is theatrically manageable.
The report goes on to claim that not only does the school offer the same number of Tibetan language classes as Mandarin Chinese classes, but students can also freely choose their language track based on their preferences. But this is not exactly what China’s recently adopted law on ethnic unity and progress says, for it strongly emphasizes prioritizing Mandarin learning for the sake of inculcating a sense of national unity among ethnic minority children.
Tellingly, the students seem to be more comfortable expressing themselves in Chinese, as seen in the snippets of interviews Ms Li had with them, and in which they spoke not a word of Tibetan.
The report emphasized the point that Tibet had witnessed significant improvements in education conditions, thanks to a national policy that has been in place since 1985 – China’s “Three Guarantees” policy. It covers food, accommodation, and basic school supplies for kids in Tibet, helping ease the financial burden on rural and pastoral families.
But this is the cost China has set out to bear for the sake of Sincizing Tibet.