In Tibet, some embrace their native language even under China’s sweeping new ‘ethnic unity’ law

In the Tibetan region of Lhasa, a 73-year-old retired nurse named Kalsang Lhamo is dedicating herself to learning Tibetan calligraphy. Once fluent in Tibetan, she has embraced her native language by practicing it at a center for elderly residents. Alongside her linguistic pursuits, Lhamo also speaks and writes Chinese, which was mandated as the primary language for educational institutions and government agencies by China's new "ethnic unity" law, effective July 1.

Critics argue the law serves to suppress the rights of Tibetans and other ethnic minorities, providing Beijing with additional power to target activities deemed separatist. The Chinese government, however, dismisses such criticism as "ideological bias." In a remote Himalayan region officially labeled as autonomous but heavily controlled by Beijing, the implications of the law are particularly significant.

This year marks the 75th anniversary of what China terms the "peaceful liberation" of Tibet, an event that many Tibetans in exile and critics contend was an invasion.

Tibetan activists argue that the new law represents intensified cultural assimilation and increased oversight of ethnic minorities. Rights organizations have observed that language policies have already been introduced in other minority regions, such as the expanded Mandarin education for Uyghurs in Xinjiang and the substitution of some Mongolian-language instruction with Mandarin in Inner Mongolia.

James Leibold from La Trobe University and Tenzin Dorjee from the advocacy group Tibet Action Institute expressed these concerns in Foreign Affairs magazine, stating that minority communities seeking to preserve their culture will be compelled to maintain a facade of public conformity while privately adhering to their traditions.