Originally posted by the Voice of America.
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Inner Mongolians Boycott Classes to Protest Chinese Language Policy

Ming Yang

   Tuesday marked the first day of school in China's northern Inner
   Mongolia Autonomous Region, but a boycott of classes left many
   classrooms and playgrounds empty. Hundreds of ethnic Mongolian
   students, parents and teachers are protesting a new bilingual education
   policy they say will endanger Mongolian language and culture.

   The policy, announced before the start of the fall semester, requires
   schools to use national textbooks in Mandarin starting in the first
   grade of primary schools and in middle schools, replacing the current
   Mongolian textbooks. The Mandarin instruction is expected to expand to
   politics and morality courses and history classes over the next two
   years.

   Over the past few days, protests by Mongolian students, parents,
   teachers and ordinary herders have taken place in many cities in Inner
   Mongolia, all opposing the "bilingual teaching" policy implemented by
   the Inner Mongolia Education Department.

   Videos provided by the South Mongolia Human Rights Information Center
   show hundreds of middle school students in school uniforms chanting,
   "Defend Mongolian culture and language," while some of them, with the
   help of parents and citizens, are seen breaking through a closed gate
   and leaving school.

   Many others are not choosing to make public demonstrations against the
   policy, fearing possible violent retaliation by Chinese authorities.
   Dagula, a mother of an elementary student, told VOA she was keeping her
   child at home.

   'Just stay at home'

   "Now everyone is saying, 'Don't march on the streets or anything, just
   stay at home. As long as you don't send your kids to school, everything
   will be fine,' " she said.

   Like other parents of Mongolian students, Dagula worries that if
   Mandarin replaces Mongolian in classrooms, it may lead to the
   disappearance of their language.

   The Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region government's interpretation of the
   policy published on August 31 says "the textbooks reflect the will of
   the Party and the State" and "inherit the advanced achievements of
   Chinese excellent culture and human civilization." The moves are being
   promoted as a major reform initiative that has popular support.

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