Demonstrations in Inner Mongolia continue to ferment Officials characterize protests as foreign agitation

A massive rally was recently held in Inner Mongolia, China, to demand that authorities rescind the so-called bilingual education model that was introduced on September 1 throughout the autonomous region and return to the original teaching model, but officials refused to budge and nine of those involved in the rally are wanted. In addition, authorities internally characterized the protest as “instigated by forces outside the country.

In Inner Mongolia, rallies and protests have been held over the past few days in response to the authorities’ decision to eliminate mother-tongue instruction for first-year elementary and middle school students, who officially began the new school year on September 1. According to farmers and herders in Tongliao City’s Ulatzhong and Kulun banners, the vast majority of parents refuse to send their children to school, and classrooms in Mongolian schools have been empty in recent days as a sign of protest. In Xinanmeng and Ulanhot, local police have been chasing ethnic Mongolian students to force them to return to school.

High School Students on Hunger Strike Government and Media Employees Join Protest

Kubis, a Mongolian scholar living in Japan, told Radio Free Asia on Thursday that Mongolian high school students were on hunger strike to protest the government’s cancellation of first grade Mongolian language instruction: “Four students in their third year of senior high school in Inner Mongolia’s Xilin Gol League went on hunger strike the day before yesterday to protest against the new Chinese language education policy. More than three hundred Mongolian employees of Inner Mongolia Radio signed a collective sign saying they would not accept the new Chinese language education and opposed the new Chinese language policy.”

Mongolians have also discovered a new Mongolian language textbook for Mongolian schools, with snippets of nationalistic poetry about Mongolian love for their homeland, culture and mother tongue removed, and Chinese characters added.

Mongolian Language Textbook Deletes “Love for Mongolia” and Contains Chinese Characters

The Mongolian scholar Kubis said that the new Mongolian language textbooks include Mongolian elementary school and other Chinese characters: “On September 1, the school sent out the textbooks, and one of the problems that parents found was that in addition to Chinese being taught in the name of the language, music classes were originally taught in Mongolian, but the textbooks were changed to Chinese. Also, the content of the Mongolian language class in elementary and junior high schools has been greatly changed. The lyrics love Mongolian culture and hometown have been deleted.”

Inner Mongolia’s Ulathong Banner has issued a “special emergency notice” to all townships, instructing Mongolian public officials to bring their children to school by the evening of September 2, and to take disciplinary action, including expulsion, if they have not reported to school by noon on September 3.

9 Wanted for Protesters Incited by Foreign Forces

According to Mongolian herders, large numbers of armored personnel carriers (APCs) have been hitting the streets every day lately, and the government has blamed the mass protests on “incitement by forces outside the country.

Mongolian scholar Azhizha told the station that roads in the middle of several flags and counties have been blocked, cutting off communication between students’ parents and teachers: “Since yesterday (2nd), many roads between flags and counties have been blocked. It is said to be the border between Naiman and Kulen, and there have been clashes between parents and police. In addition, in WeChat, group names in Mongolian have been closed. There are many rules about no communication between parents and teachers, no phone calls, no WeChat contact, etc.”

Two people arrested in Ganqiqa Township for provocative behavior

Ažiča also disclosed that the foreign special police stationed in Inner Mongolia: “Yesterday, in Tongliao Ganqika town seems to be arrested 2 people, to provoke the crime of this charge, they are because in front of the school shouted a student’s name, called him out. At that time a large number of people gathered in front of the school, the focus on a few people arrested.”

On September 2, the Kezuo Houqi Public Security Bureau issued another notice asking nine people involved in the case to surrender to the police. The police said that the above nine people were suspected of violating the law when they gathered in primary and secondary schools in the areas under their jurisdiction, such as Ganqika Town, Agoura Town, Hailutu Town, and Gilgalang Town, from August 28 to 30. Anyone who reports it will be rewarded RMB 1,000.

Mongolian Scholars March to Protest the Strangulation of the Mongolian Language in Inner Mongolia

In addition, former Mongolian President Tsakhia Elbegdorj issued a video statement urging the Chinese government to respect the Mongolian people’s national right to maintain their mother tongue and calling for solidarity from Mongolians around the world. He strongly supported the campaign to save the Mongolian language, stressing that without it, the Mongolian people would have nothing to talk about, and the loss of the language would be like the loss of brains and hands.

The Mongolian scholar Kemug said on Thursday that the same day in Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia, scholars rallied to protest against the Chinese government’s stranglehold on the Mongolian language and demanded that the authorities resume the teaching of Mongolian in the first grade of elementary school: “Many civil society groups went to the entrance of the Chinese Embassy in Mongolia a few days ago to protest in the hope that the Chinese government would reconsider its current policy and that the original Mongolian language would be restored. Policy. Today, the knowledge circle of Mongolia, the professors and students of the University of Mongolia, as well as the professors and students of the Mongolian Normal University, and the Mongolian University of Science and Technology are protesting again today.”

They are seeing what is happening not only in Inner Mongolia, because there are Mongolians all over the world who share the same concern about this issue, Khemug said.