Three Tibetan Teens Detained for Questioning Lack of Usage of Tibetan Language in their School

22.03.2022

Mandakini Jathavethan

Tibet and Human Rights Researcher,

Global Human Rights Defence.

In October 2021, three Tibetan students named Palsang (16 years old), Sermo (15 years old) and Yangkyi (11 years old) had been detained by the Chinese authorities of Chamdo city in the Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR). They were sent to Markham county’s “reform through education centre” (Tibet News, 2022), where it is believed that they continue to remain. 

Their public opposition to the forced imposition of Mandarin medium of instruction in their school appears to have been the reason for their incarceration. They were picked up by the authorities on the grounds that they suffered from “psychological problems and needed psychological education” (McDonald, 2022). Stringent Chinese control over media and communication out of the TAR prevented the spread of this news.

The invisibilisation of Tibetan culture follows from a systematic approach adopted by the Chinese government. The latest attack on linguistic rights of Tibetan children is supported by a supposed bilingual educational policy. It requires Tibetan schools to teach Mandarin as well as Tibetan language classes. In effect, all Tibetan textbooks were replaced by Mandarin textbooks. Only Tibetan and English language textbooks remained in their respective languages. Further, Tibetan children are taught to practice the writing and pronunciation of Mandarin every day.

A Human Rights Watch Report (2020) opined that bilingual education was a façade employed by Chinese authorities to continue sinicising education in Tibet. It continued that political necessity drove such policies, and that they had led to grave consequences for Tibetan culture and language. Such policies function in violation of various international human rights law instruments and procedures, such as the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. These violations have also previously invited the attention of the Committee on the Rights of the Child; the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; and the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. 

Sources and further reading:

Tibet News. (2022, March 18). China incarcerates 3 teens for being unhappy with lack of Tibetan classes in their school. https://www.tibetanreview.net/china-incarcerates-3-teens-for-being-unhappy-with-lack-of-tibetan-classes-in-their-school/ 

McDonald, M. (2022, March 16). China detains three Tibetan students for opposing sinicisation policy in Tibet. https://www.thetibetpost.com/en/news/132-tibet/7251-china-detains-three-tibetan-students-for-opposing-sinicisation-policy-in-tibet