London: Today (25th November) the European Parliament adopted a resolution concerning their stance on Chinese language reforms in the Tibetan educational system.
The recent protests in Tibet were sparked by the educational reform proposed by the Chinese government to make Mandarin the only language taught in school in the Amdho region. Today's vote is seen as critical by Tibetan campaigners, who have called the reforms "cultural genocide," Amisha Zuber, a Tibet campaigner from America said, "today's vote is crucial, as the issue has not been given political attention until now."
The resolution was successfully adopted by the European Parliament, which urges the Chinese authorities to support a genuine bilingual language policy, in which all subjects, including math and science, can be taught in Tibetan language. They condemned the "increased crackdown on the exercise of cultural, linguistic, religious and other fundamental freedoms" of the six million Tibetan people as well as the Chinese authorities' plan to make Chinese the main language of instruction in Tibet.
Furthermore, the Parliament requested that the European Commission report on the use made by China of the €1 million fund requested in 2009 to support Tibetan civil society.
