2020 Inner Mongolia protests

2020 Inner Mongolia protests
Part of Ethnic issues in China,
Forced assimilation,
Regional language education in China [zh]
Date31 August – 2 September 2020
Location
Inner Mongolia
Caused byA two-part curriculum reform that (1) replaced Mongolian as the medium of instruction with Standard Mandarin in three particular subjects, and (2) replaced three regional textbooks, printed in Mongolian script, by the nationally-unified textbook series [zh]
GoalsRescind the curriculum reform
MethodsStudent strike
Protest
Resulted inGovernment crackdown and the implementation of the curriculum reform
Parties
  • Parents and students opposing the curriculum reform, most of which are Chinese Mongols
  • Inner Mongolia Department of Education
  • Local police
2020 Inner Mongolia protests
Traditional Chinese2020年內蒙古抗議
Literal meaning2020 Inner Mongolia protest
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyin2020 Nián nèiménggǔ kàngyì
CIA's depiction of the language distribution in Inner Mongolia in 1967, Mongolian and "Northern Mandarin" (a term phased out after 1987, now referred separately as the Jin language, Northeastern Mandarin, and Lanzhou-Ningxia Mandarin)

The 2020 Inner Mongolia protests was a protest caused by a curriculum reform imposed on ethnic schools by China's Inner Mongolia Department of Education. The two-part reform replaces Mongolian with Standard Mandarin as the medium of instruction in three particular subjects and replaces three regional textbooks, printed in Mongolian script, by the nationally-unified textbook series [zh] edited by the Ministry of Education, written in Standard Mandarin.[1][2][3] On a broader scale, the opposition to the curriculum change reflects racism in China and the decline of regional language education in China [zh].[4]

The three subjects in concern are Language and Literature (referring Standard Mandarin) from first grade, Morality and Rule of law from first grade (a variant of civic education), and History from seventh grade.[2][3] The reform was part of the national textbook reform rolled out elsewhere in China from Autumn 2017 to eliminate various provincial textbooks by the nationally unified textbook series,[1][4] which has been criticized elsewhere in China.[5][6]

The parents and students of the ethnic schools strongly opposed the curriculum reform. The sentiment spread to other Chinese Mongols not attending those schools, leading to protests. While seen as an attempt to assimilate ethnic minority,[1][7] observers also note it exemplifies the "second generation's ethnic policy" under Chinese Communist Party (CCP) general secretary and President Xi Jinping, who "envisioned the melting pot formula, as the ultimate solution to the ethnic problems".[7][8]

  1. ^ a b c Qin, Amy (31 August 2020). "Curbs on Mongolian Language Teaching Prompt Large Protests in China". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 1 September 2020. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
  2. ^ a b "全区民族语言授课学校小学一年级和初中一年级使用国家统编《语文》教材实施方案政策解读" [Policy Interpretation: the Implementation of Nationally-unified Textbook Series on "Language and Literature" in Ethnic schools across Inner Mongolia starting from First and Seventh Grade] (in Chinese). Government of Wuda District, Wuhai City, Inner Mongolia. Inner Mongolia Daily (内蒙古日报). 31 August 2020. Archived from the original on 4 September 2020.
  3. ^ a b ""五個不變"如何落地 自治區教育廳權威回應" [How "Five things unchanged" is implemented? Inner Mongolia's Department of Education Authoritative Response]. The Paper (澎湃新聞). Archived from the original on 12 September 2020. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
  4. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ 廖瑾 (27 August 2019). "新版部编语文教材总主编温儒敏：欢迎批评指正，但反对炒作" [Wen Rumin, the Chief Editor of the "Language and Literature" volume of the new Nationally-unified textbook series, commented, "While Welcoming Criticism and Corrections, Media Hype is not Welcomed"]. The Paper (澎湃新聞) (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 4 September 2020. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
  6. ^ 王旭明 (1 September 2017). "王旭明：教材改革不存在方向性问题，但总有人别有用心" [Wang Xuming, former spokesman of the Ministry of Education, commented, "Issues on the General Direction of the Textbook Reform is Non-existent, but Critics with Ill-intention Always Exist"]. Guancha Syndicate (观察者网). Archived from the original on 4 September 2020. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
  7. ^ a b Su, Alice (4 September 2020). "China cracks down on Inner Mongolian minority fighting for its mother tongue". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 4 September 2020. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
  8. ^ Baioud, Gegentuul (30 August 2020). "Will education reform wipe out Mongolian language and culture?". Language on the Move. Archived from the original on 3 September 2020. Retrieved 5 September 2020.