this post was submitted on 13 Mar 2026
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China has approved a sweeping new law which claims to help promote "ethnic unity" - but critics say it will further erode the rights of minority groups.

On paper, it aims to promote integration among the 56 officially recognised ethnic groups, dominated by the Han Chinese, through education and housing. But critics say it cuts people off from their language and culture.

It mandates that all children should be taught Mandarin before kindergarten and up until the end of high school. Previously students could study most of the curriculum in their native language such as Tibetan, Uyghur or Mongolian.

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[–] fushuan@lemmy.blahaj.zone 25 points 2 hours ago* (last edited 2 hours ago) (1 children)

I'm Basque, we are "forced" to learn Spanish too since it's a co-official language in out autonomous region of Spain.

This post might sound alarming to monolingual people, but for any multilingual that had to learn both official languages AND english, watching people complain about schools requiring extra languages is embarrassing.

Unless I'm misunderstanding the post, it doesn't imply that most lectures need to be in Mandarin, only that the kids need to be taught the language, right?

Edit: I read the post. The language thing doesn't matter, what's alarming is actually this:

The law also provides a legal basis to prosecute parents or guardians who may instil what it described as "detrimental" views in children which would affect ethnic harmony and it calls for "mutually embedded community environments".

If it were actually about language and communication, that bit wouldn't be there.

[–] Alcoholicorn@mander.xyz 2 points 2 hours ago

I think it varies in parts of Xinjiang, but in at least part of it, along with most of the rest of China, most school instruction is in Mandarin.

Everyone still speaks their native languages, but they speak mando to chinese from other places. The kids know a few english phrases too for some reason.

[–] cecinestpasunbot@lemmy.ml 1 points 46 minutes ago

Can we please stop with the scare quotes around terms that don’t have the same connotation in their original language? The BBC is deliberately misleading its readers by translating 民族团结 to mean “ethnic unity”. A better translation in this case would be “national solidarity” but that wouldn’t sound as scary would it?

It’s also not unreasonable for a country to require schools to teach children the common language. Knowing 普通话 (the common language) is a critical skill for any Chinese national who wants to succeed in the modern Chinese economy. Almost every state with a national language does this in some way.

Instead of falling for deliberate mistranslations, maybe look up what was actually said in Mandarin next time.

[–] Undvik@fedia.io 5 points 3 hours ago

But when Spain or France does the same to its own minorities nobody cares

[–] Thedogdrinkscoffee@lemmy.ca 24 points 6 hours ago

See, China's peacefulness and benevolence are on full display providing conquered peoples free education, and re-education!

[–] hammertime@lemmy.org 17 points 8 hours ago (17 children)
[–] Kacarott@aussie.zone 9 points 3 hours ago (23 children)

I'm not ML by any means, but I don't really see the problem here? Schools are for learning useful life skills, etc. Surely learning the official language of your nation is a very useful life skill to have? Mandating that kids be taught a language does not mean forcing them to unlearn their native language.

[–] ptu@sopuli.xyz 3 points 2 hours ago (1 children)

I’m not sure how the Uyghurs and Mongols came under Chinese power, but Tibetian people were captured by force. They have autonomous states each, where they could decide to just collectively learn Mandarin if they thought it was something they wanted.

[–] Kacarott@aussie.zone -1 points 2 hours ago (1 children)

If the autonomy of these states are being infringed by this law, then that is a problem. In that case, I think the reduction of autonomy is far more concerning than the particular curriculum change.

[–] ptu@sopuli.xyz 1 points 1 hour ago

It’s not like they are separate problems, but both part of the same push where minority nations are being assimilated and stripped of indentity.

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[–] valtia@lemmy.world 16 points 4 hours ago* (last edited 4 hours ago) (6 children)

In the US, all children are required to take English classes from kindergarten and up until the end of high school. There are no alternatives offered, if a student can't speak English, then they are at the very least offered ESL classes in addition to their regular English courses, but they still must take those courses and pass in order to get a diploma

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[–] duncan_bayne@lemmy.world -2 points 3 hours ago

Tankie in comment #3 of course 😀

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