[lg policy] EP urges the Chinese authorities to support a genuine bilingual language policy in Tibet

Wed Dec 1 17:06:49 UTC 2010

EP urges the Chinese authorities to support a genuine bilingual
language policy in Tibet
By cratke
Created 11/30/2010 - 11:24
European Parliament
30 November, 2010

In a resolution on Tibet, MEPs urge the Chinese authorities to support
a genuine bilingual language policy, in which all subjects can be
taught in the Tibetan language. They condemn the "increased crackdown
on the exercise of cultural, linguistic, religious and other
fundamental freedoms" of the six million Tibetan people as well as the
Chinese authorities' plan to make Chinese the main language of
instruction in Tibet.  Parliament deplores the often discriminatory
treatment of ethnic and religious minorities in China and asks the
European Commission to report on the use made by China of the €1
million fund requested in 2009 to support Tibetan civil society.

http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP//TEXT+TA+P7-TA-2010-0449+0+DOC+XML+V0//EN&language=EN
[1]

European Parliament resolution of 25 November 2010 on Tibet – plans to
make Chinese the main language of instruction

The European Parliament,

–   having regard to its previous resolutions on China and Tibet, in
particular its resolution of 10 April 2008 on Tibet,

–   having regard to Rule 122(5) of its Rules of Procedure,

A.   whereas respect for human rights and freedom of identity, culture
and religion is a founding principle of the European Union and a
priority of its foreign policy,

B.   whereas the People's Republic of China has expressed a desire for
harmonious ethnic relations among all 56 ethnic minorities,

C.   whereas on 19 October 2010 approximately 1 000 ethnic Tibetan
students marched through Tongren, also known as Rebkong, peacefully
opposing a plan to establish Mandarin Chinese as the main language of
instruction in schools in the region; whereas on 23 October 2010 the
protest spread to Qingai province and Beijing, where 400 Tibetan
students studying at Minsu university staged a demonstration,

D.   whereas the Tibetan language, as one of Asia's four oldest and
most original languages, is a fundamental catalyst for Tibetan
identity, culture and religion, but also, together with Tibetan
culture as a whole, constitutes an irreplaceable part of the world's
heritage; whereas the Tibetan language, the testimony to a
historically rich civilisation, is a fundamental and irreplaceable
element of Tibetan identity, culture and religion,

E.   whereas languages express the social and cultural attitudes of a
community, whereas the shared language of a community is a key
determinant of culture, and whereas languages convey very specific
social and cultural behaviours and ways of thinking,

F.   whereas it has been established that mother-tongue bilingual
education is the most effective path to successful bilingualism for
Tibetans, and whereas this ‘model 1 bilingual education policy’ has
consistently led to the highest college placement rates for Tibetan
high school students across the Tibetan region,

G.   whereas in elementary, middle and high schools in all areas
covered by the Tibet Autonomous Regional government, the Tibetan
language is gradually being replaced by Chinese, and official
documents are usually unavailable in Tibetan,

H.   whereas changes to education policy would limit the use of the
Tibetan language in schools, since all textbooks and subjects, except
for Tibetan and English language classes, would be in Mandarin
Chinese,

I.   whereas the People's Republic of China, along with 142 other
countries, voted to adopt the United Nations Declaration on the Rights
of Indigenous Peoples on 13 September 2007, Article 14 of which states
that ‘indigenous peoples have the right to establish and control their
educational systems and institutions providing education in their own
languages, in a manner appropriate to their cultural methods of
teaching and learning’,

J.   whereas, owing to the dominance of the Chinese language, there is
growing anxiety over job prospects among graduate students in Tibetan
areas as, according to the petition signed by teachers and students,
most Tibetan students have never been in a Chinese-language
environment and therefore are not able to communicate in Chinese,

1.  Condemns the increased crackdown on the exercise of the cultural,
linguistic, religious and other fundamental freedoms of Tibetans, and
stresses the need to preserve and protect the distinct cultural,
religious and national identity of the six million Tibetan people and
to address concerns about the repression and marginalisation of the
Tibetan language, which underpins Tibetan identity;

2.  Notes the concerns about the attempts to devalue the Tibetan
language, and stresses the fact that if there is to be successful
bilingual education, Tibetan must be the domestic language;

3.  Calls on the Chinese authorities to implement Article 4 of the
Constitution of the People's Republic of China's and Article 10 of the
Law on Regional National autonomy which guarantee ‘the freedom of all
nationalities to use and develop their own spoken and written
languages’;

4.  Urges the Chinese authorities to support a genuine policy of
bilingualism, whereby all subjects, including maths and science, are
allowed to be taught in the Tibetan language, teaching of the Chinese
language is strengthened, and local authorities and communities are
empowered to make decisions on the language of instruction;

5.  Considers that every ethnic minority has the right to preserve its
own language and writings; takes the view that a fair bilingual
education system will contribute to better cooperation and
understanding when Tibetan people learn Chinese, with Han people
living in Tibetan areas at the same time being encouraged to learn the
Tibetan language;

6.  Stresses that, with the introduction of Chinese as the primary
language of instruction, the quality of education for the vast
majority of middle-school Tibetan students would suffer significantly,
and that school subjects should therefore, as is most appropriate,
only be taught in the Tibetan mother tongue;

7.  Calls on the Chinese authorities to make every effort to lessen
the linguistic and cultural disadvantages faced by Tibetans in urban
employment, albeit in ways that do not undermine Tibetan language and
culture;

8.  Calls on the European Commission, the HR/VP and the Member States
to urge the Chinese Government to ensure, firstly, that the right of
peaceful expression by students is respected and that the relevant
authorities address their grievances substantively and appropriately,
and, secondly, that the 2002 ‘Regulations on the Study, Use and
Development of the Tibetan Language’ are properly implemented, in
accordance with the Law of Regional Ethnic Autonomy;

9.  Asks the Commission to report on the use of the fund requested for
the support of Tibetan civil society in China and in exile in the
framework of the 2009 budget (EUR 1 million), and stresses the need to
preserve Tibetan culture, particularly in exile;

10.  Calls once again on China to ratify the International Covenant of
Civil and Political Rights, and deplores the often discriminatory
treatment of ethnic and religious minorities in China;

11.  Asks the Chinese authorities to provide foreign media access to
Tibet, including the Tibetan areas outside the Tibet Autonomous
Region, and to abolish the system of special permits being required;

12.  Calls on EU diplomatic representatives in Beijing to visit the
region and to report back to the Council and the HR/VP on the current
situation with regard to the education and language issue;

13.  Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the
Council, the Commission, the Vice-President of the Commission/High
Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy,
the governments and parliaments of the MemberStates, the Government
and Parliament of the People's Republic of China, and His Holiness the
Dalai Lama.

http://www.savetibet.org/media-center/tibet-news/ep-urges-chinese-authorities-support-genuine-bilingual-language-policy-tibet

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