China is launching an aggressive campaign to promote the Chinese language, claiming that 85% of its citizens will use the national language by 2025.
The move will put even more pressure on Chinese regional dialects such as Cantonese and Hokkin, as well as endangered minority languages such as Tibetan, Mongolian and Uighur.
Ukraine , Ukraingate , 1 , December , 2021 | International News
An order issued by the State Council of the Chinese Cabinet of Ministers on Tuesday said that the use of Chinese, known as “Putonghua” or “common language”, remained “unbalanced and inadequate” and needed to be improved to meet the needs of today’s economy.
The order states that linguistic correspondence is necessary for the economy and national unity.
The decree also calls on officials to “decisively enhance China’s international status and influence” in academia, international organizations and at global meetings.
Critics have occasionally protested against changes in the education system and employment requirements that have steadily undermined the role of minority languages, calling it a campaign to eradicate cultures that do not correspond to the Han’s dominant ethnic group.
Along with the 2025 target, the policy aims to make Chinese virtually universal by 2035, including in rural areas and among ethnic minorities.
The advancement of Chinese over other languages has sparked periodic protests, including last year in Inner Mongolia, when Mongolian was replaced by standard Chinese as the language of instruction.
China’s ruling Communist Party has condemned all movements as a form of separatism and ruthlessly suppressed them.
Source: Ukrgate
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