The preservation of Tibetan place names is particularly politically charged. References to locations in Sichuan or Qinghai rather than in Kham or Amdo are often fiercely contested, and the erosion of Tibetan toponyms has also taken place at a lower level. In one pre-Communist example, the town of Dartsedo (or Dajianlu 打箭炉, in the original Chinese rendering based on the Tibetan) was renamed Kangding 康定 in the early twentieth century. Adding insult to injury, this newer label is widely believed to commemorate the “pacification” or conquest of Kham.

A new project by the Tibetan Youth Association in Europe, Students for a Free Tibet and the Tibetan Youth Congress aims to secure the future of Tibetan place names by adding them to Google Maps:

Under the Chinese occupation many Tibetan towns and cultural landmarks not only were destroyed but also renamed with new Chinese names.

To stop this ongoing attempt to systematically wipe out the Tibetan identity, language and tradition, we are starting a worldwide petition asking Google to put Tibet’s heritage back on the map – by officially adding the traditional Tibetan names written in the Tibetan alphabet.

So from February 13th 2013, exactly 100 years after Tibet’s declaration of independence, we are collecting all the information about Tibetan landmarks on this map.

Another valuable resource on Tibetan place names is the Places Portal at the Tibetan & Himalayan Library (via High Peaks Pure Earth‘s Dechen Pemba).

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Post tags: Google, maps, qinghai, Sichuan, Tibetan culture, Tibetan language
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While Tibetan’s survival seems relatively likely, a report at ChinaNews.com [zh] shows that other minority languages in China are in critical danger. From Bruce Humes’ translated highlights at Ethnic ChinaLit:

• Non-han languages: 55 officially designated “peoples” (民族) speak an estimated 130 languages

• Populations: one-half of non-Han languages are spoken by groups that number under 10,000 members, of which 20+ have 1,000 speakers or less

• Endangered languages: Manchu, Tatar, She, Hezhen can no longer be used for conversation; another 20 percent, such as Nu, Yilao, Pumi and Jinuo are approaching that state; and a total of 40 percent are in danger of extinction in the mid-term.

• Manchu: 11 million ethnic Manchus, but only 100 or so can speak fluently and less than a dozen read and write well.

Language decline and extinction is by no means limited to China: up to half of the 7,000 languages currently spoken may disappear by the end of the 21st Century, equivalent on average to three dying out each month. Technology has helped reverse the decline of some North American aboriginal languages, however, and Tibetan has also been bolstered by blogging and online organisation and resources. Monk, font designer and software developer Lobsang Monlam discussed these developments in an interview at Trace Foundation:

Compared with developed countries, the impact of digital technology on Tibetans is relatively small and not extensive. However, in comparison to smaller communities, the impact in only a few years has been great and the progress is remarkable. To preserve the Tibetan language, there must be an appropriate forum for its use, and we must use it accordingly. There also must be proper conditions for its use. I see this as particularly important inside Tibet.

[…] From a dharma practitioner’s point of view, I serve the Tibetan people by preserving the Tibetan language. Our cultural heritage is dependent on this language. As I work hard on these projects, my motivation is pure, which is very important here.

[…] The Tibetan language still lags behind in the digital technology sphere. We are still only utilizing 5% of Tibetan’s capacity with regards to digital technologies. The language can still only be used for word processing, on the Internet and a few other applications. We have need a comprehensive character, grammar and spell check software. We also need to develop software that reads Tibetan words properly; a computer operating system that can be used in Tibetan, and software to convert old Tibetan fonts to the Unicode system. I feel these projects are very important for the digitization of the Tibetan language. We also need Optical Character Recognition software for Tibetan, various databases in the Tibetan language, speech-to-text software for Tibetan, translation software between Tibetan and other languages, and translations of important websites to Tibetan; all this is also very vital for Tibetan language.

Tibetan Dechen Pemba of High Peaks Pure Earth contributed to this post.

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Post tags: blogging, cultural preservation, education, languages, Manchu, online organizing, Tibetan language
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“Over the last several years, the authorities have been trying to institute new measures that eliminate or severely restrict the use of Tibetan as the language of instruction in Tibetan-speaking areas,” they wrote.

“We know the value of Tibet’s civilization and we regret that the Tibetan language, which is its fundamental support, is seemingly marginalized and devalued in the TAR,” or the Tibet Autonomous Region, as Tibet is known in China, “and in various other Tibetan autonomous administrative units at the same time that it is increasingly being taught and studied in universities around the world.”

Examples in the petition include: replacing Tibetan with Chinese as the medium of education in Qinghai Province in 2010; and replacing textbooks written in Tibetan with Chinese textbooks in Rebkong, or Tongren county, also in Qinghai Province, in March 2012.

Anecdotal evidence suggests that the issues the scholars describe are widespread.

Read the full text of the petition.

Tibetans in various regions have protested the use of Mandarin Chinese in education, including in Qinghai in 2010 when Mandarin replaced Tibetan in local schools. In February, the New York Times reported on a rare Tibetan school that was working to pass on the Tibetan language and culture to its students.

© Sophie Beach for China Digital Times (CDT), 2012. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: self-immolations, Tibetan culture, Tibetan language
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Lobsang Gendun, a 29-year-old Tibetan monk self-immolated in Golog Pema Dzong at around 7:45 pm (local time). He succumbed to his injuries at the site of his protest.

[…] “According to eyewitnesses, Lobsang Gendun had his hands clasped in prayers as he raised slogans while engulfed in flames,” Tsangyang said. “He walked a few steps towards a busy road intersection and then fell to the ground.”

Following the self-immolation protest, a minor scuffle broke out between local Tibetans and Chinese security personnel, who tried to confiscate Lobsang Gendun’s body.

[…] Security has been heightened in the region following today’s fiery protest.

The total of 92 excludes five self-immolations carried out in India and Nepal and two disputed cases in Sichuan.

At LinkAsia, Yul Kwon discussed the situation with historian Tsering Shakya. The crackdown on self-immolations has only spurred further protests, he explained, adding to a list of grievances including the relegation of Tibetan language to secondary status in schools.

Click here to view the embedded video.

At Foreign Policy, Oxford sociologist Michael Biggs examined the history and logic of suicide protests, in contrast with suicide attacks. He concludes:

So far, the recent wave of Tibetan immolations has not yielded any tangible political success. Repression has only increased in the Tibetan areas of China, and expressions of sympathy from the majority Han population within China are rare. Western public opinion, which already favored the Tibetan cause, has no means of exercising leverage over China. But it is too soon to assess the consequences of these immolations. Gauging their effect on Tibetans within China is effectively impossible given the degree of repression.

What we can predict is that suicide protest will continue. Its communicative logic is no less potent than the suicide attack’s sanguinary logic — and it is more readily carried out. A suicide bombing requires organization, coordination, and technical skills to prepare explosives. In conflict zones like Afghanistan, the attacker also needs assistance to reach what are often fortified targets. Suicide protest does not require organization. There is no defense against the practice, short of the total suppression of information. Where information about suicide protest can be suppressed completely, there is hardly any reason to perform it. In today’s world, the totalitarian control formerly exercised by the Soviet Union or Maoist China is no longer feasible, at least for a country participating in the global economy. For evidence, look no further than China’s inability to prevent us from reading about — and in some cases even watching — the immolations in Tibet.

This may risk underestimating the effectiveness of China’s suppression of information, however. While news of over 90 cases has escaped Tibet to date, its impact appears to have been substantially dampened by the difficulty of independent verification. The Guardian’s Jonathan Watts and McClatchy’s Tom Lasseter were able to reach Aba in February, but restrictions on foreign reporters have generally held firm, with coverage of the protests often muted as a result. Madeline Earp of the Committee to Protect Journalists viewed this near-blackout through the lens of Jigme Gyatso’s unknown whereabouts. The monk and filmmaker’s assistant has been missing since mid-September, and was presumed detained until local authorities publicised an award for his capture, accusing him of manslaughter.

Let’s concentrate […] on what we do know about Jigme Gyatso. After his initial arrest for making the film, he reported being tortured in Chinese prison. Radio Free Asia has reported he lost consciousness due to beatings, and was prodded in the face with electric batons. Publicizing that led to his re-arrest, according to CPJ research. Twice, authorities have moved him from a monastery where he lived, once in 2009, and again in 2012, when they razed his home, Radio Free Asia reported. This man has undergone unrelenting harassment since he collaborated with Dhondup Wangchen. An arrest order issued against him is a deeply troubling sign. Either he is already in secret detention, and this order is meant as a belated justification. Or, he is really missing–and there is nothing good waiting for him once he is found.

As long as foreign journalists are prevented from independent travel to Tibet, and reporting by Tibetans themselves remains criminalized, there is simply no way to get to the bottom of mysteries like these. And that is untenable. Twenty-seven Tibetans said so this month in the only way they believe they have left: They set themselves on fire, leaving messages calling for the return of the exiled spiritual and political leader of Tibet, the Dalai Lama. Self-immolation, too, is now a criminal offense, as is documenting or caring for the body of anyone who does, Human Rights Watch reports. The urgent need to find out what has happened to Jigme Gyatso reflects a broader need to restore freedom of information to Tibetans in order to stop this awful tide of protest by those who contest Chinese rule. This is a story that cannot be suppressed any longer.

Lobsang Sangay, the Tibetan prime minister-in-exile, discussed the prospects for change with The Globe and Mail’s Stephanie Nolen. He explained his views on the legitimacy of the protests and the Dalai Lama’s reincarnation, and expressed his hope that Tibetans could reach an “equilibrium” of contented autonomy within China, analogous to Quebec’s status within Canada. This Middle Way of eschewing demands for independence has come under increased fire as the self-immolations have surged.

Q. How are you feeling about the new leadership in Beijing, installed at the 18th Congress of the Communist Part a few weeks ago, and what do you think it may mean for Tibet?

A. I think it’s too early to say. Of the seven leaders, most of them are in their mid-60s. … So in the 19th Congress there will be more wholesale changes – the 18th Congress is a continuation of the same people from the 16th and 17th. So if you are really looking for real changes you have to wait for the 19th. The likelihood of continuing the same policy is high. Particularly the fact that some of the more “liberal” people, who are of younger age and more open-minded, were not included … We might get some hint when Xi Jinping takes over the presidency in March of next year … He will give a speech and that’s where he will indicate his line of thinking. Otherwise it’s so opaque.

Q. The Dalai Lama has suggested he is optimistic about Mr. Xi Jinping, perhaps because he had a warm relationship with Mr. Xi’s father.

A. Optimism is too strong. As a human being you should always remain hopeful. Optimism you have some basis for. Xi Jinping is the son of [former Chinese deputy premier] Xi Zhongxun, who received His Holiness in Beijing in 1954 and was with His Holiness many times, and His Holiness gave him a watch that he kept even during the Cultural Revolution and after. They took a picture and Xi Zhongxun saved it … so it seems the [warm feeling towards the Dalai Lama] was genuine … Xi Zhongxun also had a close relationship with the late Panchen Lama … and he would tell him, ‘Have patience, don’t get angry, things will take time to change.’

See more on the self-immolations via CDT.

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Post tags: Aba, Committee to Protect Journalists, Dalai Lama, detention, jonathan watts, journalists conditions, Lobsang Sangay, reincarnation, self-immolations, suicide bombing, suicides, Tibet, Tibetan language
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In confirmed reports received by Phayul, Lubum Gyal, 18, set himself ablaze in Dowa town of Rebkong, eastern Tibet at around 4:20 pm (local time) in an apparent protest against China’s continued occupation of Tibet.

China’s state-run Xinhua news agency also reported on the incident, confirming that the self-immolator (Libong Tsering) succumbed to his injuries.

“Lubum Gyal set himself on fire in protest against the Chinese government in Dowa town,” Sonam, an exile Tibetan with close contacts in the region told Phayul. “Soon, a large number of Tibetans gathered and rescued his body from falling into the hands of Chinese authorities.”

[…] The Chinese officials were reportedly implementing the five-point notification issued by the Malho Prefectural office and Malho People’s government on November 14 giving stern orders to local officials “to punish self-immolators and their families; even those who had offered condolences and prayers to the bereaved family members and relatives.”

CNN reported more broadly on the self-immolations on Thursday. The network’s Paul Armstrong suggested that the difficulty of verifying news of the protests with journalists and independent monitors barred from the region has suppressed the level of media coverage abroad:

When a downtrodden Tunisian street vendor set himself on fire in protest after his vegetable cart was confiscated by officials, this desperate act of self-sacrifice was seen as a catalyst for a revolution that became known as the Arab Spring.

Contrast this with China, where almost 80 people — men and women — have self-immolated since 2009 in protest against Beijing’s poor treatment of Tibet, according to rights groups. Yet details of these cases are often sketchy and difficult to verify, such is the stranglehold China has over the region.

As a result the issue has yet to gain real traction internationally.

At Global Voices Online, Oiwan Lam translated messages left behind by 19 of the self-immolators, originally compiled in Chinese by Woeser. Two of the 19 were from Tongren:

Nyankar Tashi (娘尕扎西), 24 years old, self-immolated on November [12], 2012 in Tongren County, Qinghai Province. He left a letter to Dalai and Panchen Lama as well as to six million Tibetans:

Tibet needs freedom and independence. Release Panchen and let Dalai return home. I self-immolate to protest against the Chinese government! Father, please don’t be disheartened because of me. I follow the Buddha and Goodness. My wish is that six million Tibetans will learn their mother tongue, wear Tibetan clothes and be united.

Tingzin (丹珍措), 23-year-old herdswoman living with her parents and her six-year-old son, self-immolated on November 7, 2012 before the 18th National Chinese Communist Party Congress in Tongren […]. She left her last words to her father:

Father, being a Tibetan is so difficult. We can’t even say our prayer to Dalai Lama’s portrait. We have no freedom at all…

Nyankar Tashi’s message, like that of 18-year-old Nya Drul, stresses the importance of language and dress as defiant expressions of Tibetan identity. The widespread fear, both within Tibet and in exile, that such identity will be extinguished has given rise to the ‘Lhakar’ movement. From Lhakar Diaries:

Lhakar, meaning ‘White Wednesday,’ (the Dalai Lama’s ‘soul day’) is about resisting China’s occupation and the pressure to become sinicized by making the effort each Wednesday to speak the Tibetan language, wear Tibetan clothes, eat Tibetan food and shop at Tibetan merchants. Lhakar is about being Tibetan.

See more on Tibet and the self-immolations there via CDT.

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Post tags: 18th party congress, Arab Spring, cnn, crackdown, Dharamsala, Rebkong, self-immolations, Tibet, Tibetan culture, Tibetan language, tongren
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“I am deeply sorry for any pain that the character I portrayed brought to my communities. As a recent college grad who has spent time working to improve communities and empower those without a voice, this role is not in any way representative of who I am. It was absolutely a mistake on my part and one that, over time, I hope can be forgiven. I feel horrible about my participation and I am determined to resolve my actions.”

Politico also reported this week that the ad appeared to have damaged the Hoekstra campaign, based on a Public Policy Polling survey (PDF):

… 54 percent of voters in Michigan were aware of Hoekstra’s controversial ad and 45 percent said it made them less likely to vote for him, according to Public Policy Polling. Only 16 percent said that the spot made them more likely to vote for him, and 37 percent said it didn’t make a difference in their voting preferences.

Hoekstra is now 14 points behind incumbent Sen. Debbie Stabenow in head-to-head polling, 51 percent to 37 percent. In July, her lead was just nine points, and in PPP’s previous three polls, her lead had been an average of seven points.

Stabenow’s approval ratings have changed little over the past six months. In fact, the change in poll numbers appear to be driven by disapproval of Hoekstra, whose favorability has dropped by a net ten points since PPP’s last poll.

Hoekstra’s team dismissed the news, arguing that the poll was weighted in favour of Democrats. This would not completely explain changes relative to previous polls using the same model, however.

GOOD Design (via Adam Minter), meanwhile, explores the history and significance of the “chop suey” fonts used liberally on the ad’s accompanying website (now offline).

In an article for Print magazine, type expert Paul Shaw traces the origin of these Asian-inspired fonts. They began in 1883, when the Cleveland Type Foundry created a typeface called Chinese, which became known as Mandarin by the mid 1950s. The font became famous when it was used in a poster that promoted tourism to San Francisco’s Chinatown after the 1906 earthquake ….

But though chop suey fonts rose to popularity through entrepreneurial Chinese immigrants, they waned in the second half of the 20th century as graphic designers shook off the prejudice that dominated the discipline through the 1950s Modern era. Today, chop suey types are still contested by those who find them derogatory ….

Hoekstra’s use of chop suey fonts and other racially charged imagery shines a light on the stereotypes that still exist within every part of society, including the political and graphic design worlds. “Ethnic” typefaces, though often only found on sketchy websites offering free font downloads, survive today simply because they are good at what they do: distill an entire culture into a typographical aesthetic that becomes a signifier to the uninitiated.

Chop suey type is just one example of “simulation font”; another can be found in China itself. Dechen Pemba of High Peaks Pure Earth has collected a number examples of Chinese characters designed to mimic Tibetan script, used “from book covers to food packaging to album covers, basically for anything packaged as ‘Tibetan’” in order to “exoticise Tibet and Tibetans.”

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Post tags: michigan, racism, san francisco, Tibetan language, United States
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“Tibetan language is the key to our culture, and without it all our traditions will be locked away forever,” said Abo Degecairang, 25, a ruddy-cheeked monk who is among the inaugural class of young men enrolled at the school, the Anymachen Tibetan Culture Center, which opened in September here in southeastern Qinghai Province.

More striking than its improbably isolated setting is the fact that the Chinese government allowed Rinpoche Tserin Lhagyal, 48, the school’s spiritual guide and soft-spoken founder, to set up an autonomous institution dedicated to promoting Tibetan culture and language. Although Tibetan areas of China are flecked with Buddhist monasteries, their mandate is to teach religious devotion through ancient texts and long hours of prayer. Nonreligious schooling is typically controlled by the state, most often anchored in Mandarin, although poverty and geographic isolation deprive many children of any formal education.

It was those young people whom the Rinpoche — a title bestowed on high-ranking teachers in Tibetan Buddhism — has sought out, eager to give them a future that he hopes will help preserve their heritage. Today, 30 shepherd boys, orphans and novice monks are learning the fundamentals of Tibetan culture, as well as Mandarin and English. Some are garbed in burgundy monks’ robes, others in jeans and trucker hats. A few arrived unable to read or write in any language, but the Rinpoche has faith that these challenges can be overcome, just as he succeeded in establishing this center despite the daunting political and financial odds.

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Post tags: education, rural education, Tibetan culture, Tibetan language
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I’ve been travelling through Eastern Tibet (modern-day Kardze prefecture in Sichuan Province). Where there are mountains, they’re digging mines; where there are rivers, they’re building hydroelectric stations; and where there are mountains and rivers, they’re digging mines and building hydroelectric stations. One of the locals told me that the officials, from high to low, are selling whatever there is in Kardze that can be sold: the development rights for the Zachu River have already been sold to the Huaneng [Power] Company.

A large-scale hydroelectric station is being built on the road between Dartsedo and Luding, with appalling results for the environment. The locals are already calling Luding a time-bomb.

According to reports, on the 29th [July] Tibetans in Kardze were arrested when they once more took to the streets shouting slogans for the Dalai Lama’s return. The Tibetans adopted the method of drawing lots to see who would go out on the streets to shout slogans and distribute leaflets. As for those who might be arrested, once they were detained the other Tibetans would furnish assistance to their families for their livelihoods. Since June more than 60 Tibetans have been arrested for this form of resistance.

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Post tags: Dalai Lama, Hydropower, mining industry, Sichuan, Tibet environment, Tibetan language
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1. The Nature of the Movement

This modest movement called Lhakar comes from the fact that I am Tibetan, and it is like a note reminding us that we are Tibetan in our daily life. Through this movement, we restore, renovate and keep our language, culture, identity and tradition.

Through this technique we can keep the people of the Snowland’s soul language till the end of humankind. This technique helps us retain Tibetan culture, Tibetan good morals and the traditions which are born from our soul language. This technique is easy and it is meaningful ….

I am Tibetan, from today I will remind myself every day that I am a Tibetan till I die.

I am Tibetan, from today I will wear only Tibetan traditional dress, chuba, every Wednesday.

I am Tibetan, from today I will stop eating meat and only eat a vegetarian diet and gain more merit every Wednesday.

I am Tibetan, from today I will only use Tibetan and speak Tibetan when I call or send a message to Tibetans.

Though the movement started in Tibet itself, it has also taken root abroad. On the Lhakar Diaries blog, for example, a group of young diasporic Tibetans is recording their expressions of cultural identity, such as exploring the history of Tibetan literature:

It wasn’t long ago that I thought Tibetan writing consisted largely of Buddhist scriptures, and some very recent poems and stories from Tibet and exile. But in the spring of this year, I took a course on this subject taught by Lauran Hartley (one of the pioneers in Tibetan literature studies) at Columbia and learned quickly of the immense scope and diversity of our nation’s canon.

Over the coming weeks, I will explore and learn more about everything from the history of Tibetan novels to the influence of Indian literature to autobiographies to corpse tales to avant garde poetry in the 1980s and more. I’ll share what I learn here not as an expert but as student of literature and an aspiring writer.

So let’s get started…what did the beginning of Tibetan literature look like?

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Post tags: Tibet, Tibetan culture, Tibetan exiles, Tibetan language
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Thousands of Tibetan students in western China have protested since Tuesday against proposals to curb or eliminate the use of the Tibetan language in local schools, according to reports from Tibet advocacy groups and photographs and video of the protests circulating on the Internet.

The protests are the largest in Tibetan areas since the March 2008 uprising that began in Lhasa and spread across the Tibetan plateau. But unlike those protests, these have been peaceful and have involved mostly students.

A protest against the proposed policies was also held in Beijing on Friday afternoon, drawing hundreds of Tibetan students at a prominent university that specializes in teaching ethnic minorities, according to witness reports and photographs.

The widespread protests over language reveal the deep resentment that many Tibetans feel over policies formulated by the Han, China’s dominant ethnic group, that Tibetans say are diluting their culture. Many Tibetans in western China also complain of strict controls over the practice of Tibetan Buddhism, including a ban on images of the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan spiritual leader, and large-scale Han migration to Tibetan towns. The Han end up taking many jobs that would otherwise go to Tibetans.

See video of the protests from RFA:

The Los Angeles Times is reporting that the protests have spread to Beijing with students at the Central University for Minorities in Beijing also taking part:

A source at the university who did not wish to be identified said 200 to 300 students participated in the two-hour protest at midday, after which the president of the university and teachers called them into classrooms and asked them to write out their complaints in Chinese.

Among Tibetans, the language of instruction in schools is a flashpoint for protest. Although many families want their children to learn Chinese so they can attend a university and apply for better jobs, they also worry that Chinese officials are seeking to diminish their language, culture and religion.

The largest of the protests this week was in Tongren, known as Repkong in Tibetan, a city in Qinghai province that has frequently been the scene of ethnic clashes. These were the largest demonstrations by China’s Tibetans since 2008, when clashes erupted in the city of Lhasa and spread through most of the Tibetan communities in China.

The High Peaks Pure Earth blog has posted several photos of the Beijing protest, which it heard about on China-based social networking sites Renren and MyBudala.

Anti-Mandarin protests broke out in Guangzhou in July when officials announced a plan for local TV stations to broadcast only in the official dialect. See reports from CDT.

© Sophie Beach for China Digital Times (CDT), 2010. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: mandarin, protests, qinghai, Tibetan language
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Tibetan students in western China marched in protest of unconfirmed plans to use the Chinese language exclusively in classes, teachers said Wednesday, an unusually bold challenge to authorities that reflects a deep unease over cultural marginalization.

Students marched from school to school in the town of Tongren in Qinghai province on Tuesday chanting slogans against unconfirmed plans to supplant the use of Tibetan, the teachers said.

The march ended by midday and classes resumed in the afternoon, said a teacher at the Huangnan Prefecture No. 1 Minorities High School in Tongren.

The teacher, who refused to give his name out of fear of retaliation by authorities, said about 300 students from the school had participated in the march. The London-based group Free Tibet and U.S. broadcaster Radio Free Asia said students from six different schools joined in the march with estimates of the total number of participants ranging from 1,000 to 7,000.

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Post tags: mandarin, qinghai, Tibetan culture, Tibetan language
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Especially interesting are the many pages of comments, mostly by Chinese educated Tibetans, often the children of cadres, who are sent for further schooling after elementary school to middle and high schools in Han areas in China, and then on to higher education. There are also some comments by ethnic Han people, all friendly and constructive. It would seem that most visitors to the website tibetcul.com (headquartered in Gansu Province), judging by the cyberpolice sticker at the bottom of the home page, are already quite favorably disposed to Tibetans. Translated by CDT.

These are the some hopes the Tibetan people have. We hope that the state support them.
1. We hope that a common Tibetan language will be designated. (86% of Tibetan want Lhasa dialect to be designated the common language.) Establishing a common Tibetan language will solve the problems people from different Tibetan areas have in communicating.
2. We hope that the state will recognize degrees granted by Tibetan monasteries. Tibetan monastery education has a long history and excellent record as an educational system. Many outstanding Tibetan scholars are graduates of the monastery schools. However since their degrees are not recognized by the state, they cannot get jobs in schools set up by the public (min ban xuexiao) or in state work units. The result is that institutions of higher education for Tibetans are short of teachers and talented people. The Dorampa degree should be equivalent to the bachelor’s degree, the Tsogrampa degree should be considered equivalent to the master’s degree and the Lhamrampa Degree equivalent to the PhD.
3. We hope that all the Tibetan areas will have the same educational system. (Except for Chinese language class, all other subjects should be taught in Tibetan.) Already in the Tibetan areas, experiments in implementing this type of education have been very successful. The language barrier has made it very difficult for students to understand the coursework. For example, if a teacher explains to students in Tibetan that one plus one equals two, all the students understand. However, if the teacher explains in Chinese that one plus one equals two, then the students don’t understand what the teacher is saying. Some people say that these young students are the world’s youngest interpreters.
4. We hope that Tibetan music, traditional arts and history all become part of the music, fine arts and history course from elementary school to university in the five provinces and autonomous regions of the Tibetan areas.
5. We hope that Tibetan elementary schools, middle schools and universities will be established in areas and cities in which there are concentrations of Tibetans. Many Tibetans move to the cities for the sake of employment. In the cities, all Tibetans run into the problem of getting education for their children. They all way their children to study the Tibetan language and Tibetan culture but there are no Tibetans schools in the areas. For example, cities like Xining in Qinghai Province, Chengdu in Sichuan Province, Lanzhou in Gansu Province, Kunming in Yunnan Province. We know that there is a school in Kangding, Sichuan named the Tibetan Elementary School, but there are only a very few classes in Tibetan there, nearly none really. We especially hope that the state will establish several Tibetan universities in the Tibetan areas.
6. We hope that government organs in the Tibetan areas will use the Tibetan language. In most of the government organs in the Tibetan areas, the language used is Chinese, not Tibetan. For example, meetings are held in Tibetan and most of the documents are in Chinese.
7. We hope that the state will establish more Tibetan language television channels in the Tibetan areas. At present, the two most popular television channels in the Tibetan areas are the Qinghai Tibetan language channel and the Tibet Tibetan language channel. In some Tibetan areas these channels cannot be received. Therefore we hope that the state will establish Tibetan language channels in Sichuan, Gansu and Yunnan. It is especially important to establish Tibetan language channels in the Tibetan autonomous prefectures and counties. The people very much like watching television channels with the characteristics of their Tibetan nationality.
8. We hope that schools in the Chinese interior that give Tibetans a Chinese education will have classes in Tibetan culture and history.
9. We hope that the state will train more Tibetan technical personnel.
10. We hope that in the Tibetan areas, all tests will be given in Tibetan. For example: for civil service and government funded institutions [shiye danwei] etc. Presently most people in most Tibetan areas take examinations in Chinese. Therefore there is a severe unemployment problem among students who study Tibetan.
We hope that the state will take our wishes seriously.
We offer our best wishes in advance for the success of the 2008 Beijing Olympics!!

(...)
Read the rest of The Wishes of a Tibetan (3,136 words)

© Xiao Qiang for China Digital Times (CDT), 2008. | Permalink | 44 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: netizens' voices, Tibet, Tibet culture, Tibetan language
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The Chinese government is neglecting and actively undermining the Tibetan language as part of continuing efforts to dilute the region’s unique culture, a human rights group said on Thursday.

Schools are forcing Tibetan children to learn China’s national language, Mandarin, at a younger and younger age and are failing to support use of Tibetan in official fields, the Free Tibet Campaign said in a new report.

“China’s insistence on Chinese language in Tibetan schools has failed a generation of Tibetans who now lag behind the rest of China in terms of basic literacy,” the group’s Matt Whitticase said in an emailed statement.

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Post tags: mandarin, Tibet culture, Tibetan language
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