Mcleod, 24th March: According to Tibetan sources, Chinese government limitations on the use of the Tibetan language have now moved to video services and other online platforms, as Beijing continues to drive ethnic minorities into the dominant Han Chinese culture.
According to sources, the Chinese language learning app Talkmate and the video streaming service Bilibili have now removed the Tibetan and Uyghur languages from their platforms as a result of recent Chinese government regulations.
In addition, beginning March 1, foreign organizations and people may no longer distribute “religious content” online in China or Tibet, according to a government edict issued on Dec. 20, with religious organizations inside China being told they must seek a special license to do so.
The “Measures on the Administration of Internet Religious Information Service,” issued by the State Bureau of Religious Affairs, the State Internet Information Office, the Ministry of Industry and Information, the Ministry of Public Security, and the Ministry of State Security, took effect on March 1.
In Tibetan areas, restrictions have been imposed on a variety of social media platforms.
According to RFA, their source said “Specifically, those platforms where users go live to perform and communicate with their audiences have seen more restrictions put in place, Tibetans are forbidden to speak in Tibetan while communicating, and if any Tibetan artist tries to represent Tibetan culture and tradition on their social media platform, their accounts are disconnected, And if such performances go live, they are immediately interrupted by the government,”
Authorities in northwest China’s Qinghai province have previously outlawed Tibetan religious social media groups, warning members that if they continue to use them, they will be probed and imprisoned, according to RFA’s earlier reporting.
Requirements for Mandarin Chinese proficiency in testing and consideration for employment have disadvantaged Tibetan pupils in the meantime, according to reports, as China attempts to promote the dominance of Chinese culture and language in Tibetan areas.
In recent years, Tibetan efforts to define national identity have focused on language rights, with informally formed language schools in monasteries and cities deemed “illegal associations” and teachers detained and arrested.
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