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<a href="http://www.thetibetpost.com/en/outlook/interviews-and-recap/3839-language-policy-in-tibet-absolutely-unacceptable-top-official" class="">
Language policy in Tibet absolutely unacceptable: Top Official </a>
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Wednesday, 22 January 2014 14:39 </span>
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The Tibet Post International </span>
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<p><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:verdana,geneva"></span></p><div style="float:left;width:350px" class=""><a target="_blank" href="http://www.thetibetpost.com/images/stories/January-2014/Tibet-Australia-2014-Minister.jpg"><img style="margin-right: 5px; border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); float: left;" class="" title="Kalon Dicki Chhoyang's meeting with including Australian Senator Lee Rhiannon and members of TSGs & Tibetan groups in Sydney, Tuesday, 21 January 2014. Photo: TPI" alt="Tibet-Australia-2014-Minister" src="http://www.thetibetpost.com/images/stories/January-2014/Tibet-Australia-2014-Minister.jpg" width="350" height="235"><p class="">
Kalon
Dicki Chhoyang's meeting with including Australian Senator Lee Rhiannon
and members of TSGs & Tibetan groups in Sydney, Tuesday, 21 January
2014. Photo: TPI</p></a></div>Dharamshala: - The replacement of the
Tibetan language with Mandarin in schools in Tibet is absolutely
unacceptable for Tibetan people, said a Tibetan minister who is on a
two-week official visit to Australia.
<p><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:verdana,geneva">Dicki
Chhoyang, a minister for the Central Tibetan Administration based in
Dharamshala, India, is in Australia for the annual Festival of Tibet in
Brisbane. but she's also embarked on a campaign of public outreach, to
meet with not just the Tibetan community, but also the Chinese diaspora.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:verdana,geneva">She was
interviewed by Sen Lam, a presenter of the Radio Australia while she was
in Melbourne, the capital and most populous city in the state of
Victoria, Australia.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:verdana,geneva">"We have
been very active in reaching out to the Chinese community for several
years, and Australia has an important Chinese community, so of course we
think it's very important to meet people who believe in social justice
and want to learn more about the issue of Tibet. And our message to
them, is very simple," Dicki Chhoyang said.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:verdana,geneva">"We are
not seeking independence, that we're seeking a resolution to the issue
of Tibet, through what we call genuine autonomy or the 'middle way'
approach, within the framework of China's constitution, without
challenging its political and territorial integrity," she told Radio
Australia.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:verdana,geneva">"You
know, I think that gradually, people or individuals who're independent
thinkers, are more open to hearing a version of what's going on inside
Tibet and the policies that have been implemented inside Tibet, that are
leading to the unrest we've been witnessing over the last half a
century - a different version than the version that they (Chinese
diaspora) grew up with, in the People's Republic of China," said
Chhoyang in response to a question asked by Sen Lam from the Radio
Australia, "How do you read the mood of the Chinese diaspora - are they,
if not supportive, at least empathetic?."</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:verdana,geneva">"So we
hope that that message spreads - so hopefully, just like there's an
entire generation in China that has absolutely no clue about what
happened in Tiananmen Square in 1989, hopefully, they will make the
connection and say, "Well, we weren't told about Tiananmen Square,
perhaps there're other events, where we haven't been given the accurate
information," she added.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:verdana,geneva">"China is
an emerging global power - economically and consequentially as well,
politically. But what firmly believe in, is the fact that we have truth
on our side and that internationally, as China does pressure governments
to not broach the subject of Tibet, the issue of Tibet is much more
than just about Tibetans. It's about peaceful conflict resolution, about
sending a message to other marginalised groups and other political
movements, who may not be as committed as we are to non-violence. That
it does pay to stick to non-violence," the Tibetan minister said, when
asked if she finds it an unequal struggle - a David and Goliath battle -
given China's growing economic clout and indeed, using that wealth at
its disposal, to perhaps influence global political agenda.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:verdana,geneva">"For over
fifty years, we have without any exception, steadfastly stuck to
non-violence, and we are committed to do so. Right now, the autonomy
we're asking for, is for the Chinese government to implement the
regional autonomy laws that it has in its own constitution. Right now,
it's all in writing, but in actual practice, it has not been
implemented. Where all the decisions are taken in Beijing and at the
local level, people are left to execute decisions that were made in
Beijing," she added.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:verdana,geneva">In
response to the migration of Han Chinese into Tibet, she said the "terms
of regional autonomy, if one goes to autonomous Tibetan regions, and
neighbouring Chinese provinces, most of the high officials are all Han
Chinese and on top of that, very few speak the local language,"</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:verdana,geneva">She was
asked if the newcomer Chinese interacting with the local Tibetans? She
answered that how can you say you enjoy genuine autonomy when the local
culture and language is not respected and also the local people do not
have a say in mining projects, or economically marginalised, and also,
very importantly, the language of instruction, with Tibetan being
replaced with Mandarin, and this is a development over the last few
years, which is absolutely unacceptable for local Tibetans.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:verdana,geneva">Asked
whether doesn't that make assimilation a little bit easier, that local
Tibetans can now speak Mandarin- the language of rule, she denied such
policy saying that 'Tibetans, when they say they want to preserve their
cultural identity, it's about including Tibetan culture and heritage,
not about excluding Chinese culture. Of course Tibetans should learn how
to speak Mandarin. Mandarin is a very practical language, it's our
neighbours' language.'</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:verdana,geneva">'So what
they're saying is, we do not want to learn Mandarin at the expense of
our language - we want a choice - whether we can send our children to
Tibetan medium (schools) or Chinese medium,' she added.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:verdana,geneva">To a
question about the current situation in Tibet and if the younger
generation of Tibetans are learning to deal with Chinese rule now, she
replied that "the wave of self-immolation, you'll that's now numbering
124 since 2009, it's very clear that Tibetans inside Tibet are sending a
clear signal to both the authorities in Beijing, as well as to the
international community, that their policies in Tibet have failed, and
that no matter how powerful China becomes globally, the issue of Tibet
is not going to go away."</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:verdana,geneva">"It's
very clear from the signal that we get from inside Tibet, as well as in
exile, where we have inter-generational leadership transfer and we have a
new emerging younger generation that is rooted in both tradition values
and modern education, that are also deeply committed to making sure
that their voices are heard," she further said.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:verdana,geneva">"We see a
genuine of cultural risk of cultural assimilation, while the
international community is increasingly appreciating the messages of
individuals like His Holiness, the Dalai Lama," she said, adding: "We
need to make the connection that what he represents, his message, is
representative of the cultural heritage, that is now in danger of
disappearing."</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:verdana,geneva">She
concluded by saying "His Holiness is a by-product of Tibetan culture and
the culture doesn't live through books and museums, but through
people."</span></p><p><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:verdana,geneva"><a href="http://www.thetibetpost.com/en/outlook/interviews-and-recap/3839-language-policy-in-tibet-absolutely-unacceptable-top-official">http://www.thetibetpost.com/en/outlook/interviews-and-recap/3839-language-policy-in-tibet-absolutely-unacceptable-top-official</a><br>
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