|
¡¡ |
¡¡
¡¡
The following is an English summary of the statement of Ms. Xinna,
wife of ethnic Mongolian political prisoner, on Mongolian language
issues:
Recently there have been a series of online discussions regarding Hu
Zonghua, new Party Secretary of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region,
who has been meeting with key personnel of the Education Bureau to
explore the possibility of replacing the Mongolian language as a
medium for education with Chinese under the slogan of ¡°responding to
the requirements of a new era¡±. Like many other Mongolians, I am
very concerned about this issue and interested in finding some
official document on this matter. Unfortunately no such document has
been made available to the public.
But it is not important whether such a printed document exists. Its
implications are profound. This [language] issue has always been a
very sensitive issue. If you look back in history, to the 1981 and
1982 student movements, they had already touched on this topic. We
can see that language is a sensitive issue to the Mongols. It is
considered sensitive because it is linked to the rights of the
Mongols, especially to rights that have been taken away. As you all
know, one of the four main components of ethnic identity is a common
language. If a people loses its language, then that people will
gradually cease to exist. Some argue that it [elimination of
language] is an inevitable result of Utopian Socialism where all
peoples will use a single common language.
If this idea [changing Mongolian language to a Chinese one] is
proposed by the Mongols, then we can consider it as a voluntary
change. However it will be completely different in nature if it is
proposed by the Chinese, because this means the rights of the
minority have been violated. Using Mongolian language as a tool of
learning is naturally part of the rights of Mongols.
I have been reading a book entitled ¡°The True Story of the Cultural
Revolution¡±. According to this book, Mongolian students argued about
the Mongolian language education issue in their ¡°Opinion Regarding
the Communist Party Central Committee¡¯s No.28 Document¡±. They
insisted that ¡°the ethnic autonomy policy of the Party guaranteed
that ethnic minorities have the right to use their native language
and have the right to develop their own culture and education, and
this right shall not be violated¡±. All these are the basic rights of
ethnic minorities. If the demand for these basic rights is
considered a ¡°too-far-out¡± requirement, then how can the ethnic
autonomy rights be guaranteed?
This naturally explains the anxiety of our fellow Mongolians about
their future. In recent years, the Chinese authorities claim that
economic growth has been unprecedentedly rapid and GDP is reaching
that of Hong Kong. If there really is such economic growth then it
has been achieved at the price of opening up the Mongolian people¡¯s
land, plundering Mongolian people¡¯s natural resources and destroying
the Mongolian people¡¯s ancestral territory. For example, the whole
land of Shiliin-gol league has become open mine fields and the
entire territory of Uushin Banner has become a web of natural gas
pipe-lines. The Mongolians have been forced to sacrifice their right
to open space and freedom of livelihood. A friend of mine told me
that a livestock grazing ban was recently imposed in
Darhan-muumingan banners, Shiliin-gol League, and Bairan Right
Banner.
Space and land have become a major issue as the direct result of
livestock grazing bans and language is another issue due to forced
urbanization. In cities and urban areas certainly Mongolian language
will lose its ground and will gradually die away.
Heated discussion of this issue indicates that there must be a move
by the Government to carry out this new policy. It is understandable
that Mongolian people are concerned about this issue.
Mongols are aware that it is vitally important to preserve their
language by sending their children to Mongolian schools. However,
the social environment and harsh reality forces them to make
decisions different from what they wish to do. They must deal with
ethnic discrimination their kids would face in employment. For
example, after graduating from Mongolian schools, Mongolians
students always have difficulties finding a job since almost all
jobs are controlled by Chinese. Many companies publicly state that
¡°No Mongolian Students!¡± in their job postings.
It is extremely unfair that no Chinese is requested to learn
Mongolian whereas all Mongolians are forced to learn if they want to
survive on their own land. Whoever asks the Chinese to learn
Mongolian has been and will be labeled as ¡°separatist¡± who is
attempting to destroy the ¡°ethnic harmony¡±. One of the major crimes
of Ulaanhuu, founder of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region during the
Cultural Revolution was that he asked to the Chinese to learn
Mongolian as Mongols are asked to learn
http://www.smhric.org/Latest_A.htm
¡¡ |
|