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Letters | China wants Mongolians to learn Chinese for their own benefit

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Protesters demonstrate in the Mongolian capital of Ulan Bator on September 15 against neighbouring China’s plan to introduce Mandarin-only classes at schools in its Inner Mongolia region. Photo: AFP
Letters
I refer to the letter from Coco Siu, “Beijing’s aim was never in doubt, it is now in view” (September 15), suggesting China aims to cleanse itself of the Mongolian language.

Why do Hongkongers learn English? One, English is the world’s common language. Two, Hongkongers want to connect and compete with the world. Hong Kong wants to attract foreign investments. Hongkongers want to compete for highly paid jobs and go overseas. There is nothing political about this.

So why must all Chinese, regardless of ethnicity, learn Mandarin and simplified Chinese? One, it is the official language in China. Two, the central government wants Mongolians to connect and compete anywhere in China. Today, the whole world is learning China’s language. There is nothing political about this.

03:11

Mongolians fear loss of languages as China pushes Mandarin at school

Mongolians fear loss of languages as China pushes Mandarin at school

From a management perspective, if you have a country where your people cannot communicate with each other, how do you run your country effectively? You pass a policy, say, to deal with Covid-19. How do you spread your words quickly? Look at India, some Indians do not know each other’s languages and have to communicate in English, which is a foreign language.

Mongolians still can use their language. The central government is not stopping them. It is only asking them to use Chinese in public schools. There is no need to politicise this with talk about cultural cleansing.

P.Y. Chan, Ontario

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