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Economic Times
2 days ago
- Politics
- Economic Times
China to drop Tibetan as core subject in university entrance exams, sparking fears of cultural erasure
ANI Representational image Beijing's push to intensify Sinicization across the Tibetan Plateau has taken a significant step forward, with the Communist Party of China's top Tibetan leader announcing that the Tibetan language will no longer be a core subject in the region's national college entrance examination for most students, Tibetan Review reported on August 7, citing the Financial Times. Gama Cedain, chairman of the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) government and the region's deputy party secretary, told a press briefing in Beijing this week that the decision was part of reforms to the gaokao, China's highly competitive national examination, and would, in his words, "improve Tibetans' career prospects." The announcement comes amid President Xi Jinping's Han-centric assimilation policies, which exile Tibetans and rights groups see as an attempt to erase the region's linguistic and cultural identity, Tibetan Review noted. Under the new system, "Tibet, like other provinces and regions," will have "unified exam subjects" such as Chinese, mathematics, and foreign languages, including English, Russian, Japanese, French, German, and Spanish. Tibetan will only be available as an optional subject for students applying to specialised fields like Tibetan literature, meaning only a small fraction of Tibetan students will take it, Tibetan Review said, citing local officials. Gama Cedain framed the change as a move to ensure "fairer access to high-quality education" for all ethnic groups in TAR, most of whom are Han Chinese. But critics argue that this framing masks the deeper objective of weakening Tibetan language education. "Once you no longer have the Tibetan language in your entry exam, it no longer is a legal means of communication or useful to seek a profession or get a job," Dawa Tsering, director of the Dharamshala-based Tibet Policy Institute, told Tibetan Review. The publication recalled that similar rhetoric was used by Zhou Yongkang, the former State Security chief, when he oversaw Sinicisation measures in Sichuan's historically Tibetan areas between 2000 and to the Tibetan Review, TAR began education reforms in 2024, and officials in six Tibetan prefectures have indicated the new exam rules will be implemented in 2026. The changes have reportedly been communicated verbally to teachers and students over recent human rights experts have repeatedly warned Beijing against policies that undermine the linguistic and religious heritage of Tibetans. Nevertheless, Tibetan Review stressed that under Xi, the CPC has escalated assimilationist policies toward ethnic minorities, framing them as "modernisation" while narrowing the space for cultural August 5 press conference, organised by the State Council Information Office in Beijing, was intended to highlight six decades of socioeconomic development in TAR. Instead, it underscored Beijing's determination to align Tibetan education and identity ever closer to the Han Chinese mainstream.
Time of India
2 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
China to drop Tibetan as core subject in university entrance exams, sparking fears of cultural erasure
China is intensifying Sinicization in Tibet. Tibetan language will no longer be a core subject in college entrance exams for most students. Gama Cedain says this will improve career prospects. Critics see this as an attempt to erase Tibetan identity. New exam rules will be implemented in 2026. UN human rights experts have warned against undermining Tibetan heritage. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Beijing's push to intensify Sinicization across the Tibetan Plateau has taken a significant step forward, with the Communist Party of China's top Tibetan leader announcing that the Tibetan language will no longer be a core subject in the region's national college entrance examination for most students, Tibetan Review reported on August 7, citing the Financial Cedain, chairman of the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) government and the region's deputy party secretary, told a press briefing in Beijing this week that the decision was part of reforms to the gaokao, China's highly competitive national examination, and would, in his words, "improve Tibetans' career prospects." The announcement comes amid President Xi Jinping's Han-centric assimilation policies, which exile Tibetans and rights groups see as an attempt to erase the region's linguistic and cultural identity, Tibetan Review the new system, "Tibet, like other provinces and regions," will have "unified exam subjects" such as Chinese, mathematics, and foreign languages, including English, Russian, Japanese, French, German, and Spanish. Tibetan will only be available as an optional subject for students applying to specialised fields like Tibetan literature, meaning only a small fraction of Tibetan students will take it, Tibetan Review said, citing local Cedain framed the change as a move to ensure "fairer access to high-quality education" for all ethnic groups in TAR, most of whom are Han Chinese. But critics argue that this framing masks the deeper objective of weakening Tibetan language education "Once you no longer have the Tibetan language in your entry exam, it no longer is a legal means of communication or useful to seek a profession or get a job," Dawa Tsering, director of the Dharamshala-based Tibet Policy Institute, told Tibetan publication recalled that similar rhetoric was used by Zhou Yongkang, the former State Security chief, when he oversaw Sinicisation measures in Sichuan's historically Tibetan areas between 2000 and to the Tibetan Review, TAR began education reforms in 2024, and officials in six Tibetan prefectures have indicated the new exam rules will be implemented in 2026. The changes have reportedly been communicated verbally to teachers and students over recent human rights experts have repeatedly warned Beijing against policies that undermine the linguistic and religious heritage of Tibetans. Nevertheless, Tibetan Review stressed that under Xi, the CPC has escalated assimilationist policies toward ethnic minorities, framing them as "modernisation" while narrowing the space for cultural August 5 press conference, organised by the State Council Information Office in Beijing, was intended to highlight six decades of socioeconomic development in TAR. Instead, it underscored Beijing's determination to align Tibetan education and identity ever closer to the Han Chinese mainstream.
News18
4 days ago
- Politics
- News18
China asserts communist rule over Dalai Lamas reincarnation
Beijing [China], August 7 (ANI): In a display of China's authoritarian grip over Tibet, Beijing has once again claimed total control over the reincarnation process of the Dalai Lama, rejecting the spiritual leader's authority on the statement came from Gama Cedain, chairman of the so-called Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), during a news conference in Beijing marking the 60th anniversary of TAR's founding, as reported by Tibetan also the deputy secretary of the Chinese Communist Party's TAR committee, declared that 'the central government has the indisputable final say in the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama." He emphasised that the process must be carried out 'domestically", through the Communist Party's approved methods, including the controversial 'golden urn" lot-drawing ritual, and only with Beijing's explicit approval, according to Tibetan hardline assertion directly contradicts the Dalai Lama's position. During his 90th birthday celebrations last month, the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader reiterated that his reincarnation would be determined solely by a non-profit institution he established for that purpose, and not under the control of the Chinese Communist Party. Tibetan Review noted that he has also made it clear that there is 'no question" of his reincarnation being born in a territory under Beijing's has long labelled the Dalai Lama, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, as a separatist, though he has only called for genuine autonomy within China, not independence. Beijing, however, seeks nothing less than total ideological and religious control over Tibet, Tibetan Review is not the first time China has intervened in Tibetan religious succession. In 1995, Beijing abducted a six-year-old boy recognised by the Dalai Lama as the 11th Panchen Lama, Tibet's second most important spiritual figure, and replaced him with a hand-picked loyalist. The original child, Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, remains missing to this Cedain's remarks make clear that Beijing's goal remains the same: to hijack Tibetan Buddhism for political control, using state power to suppress the spiritual freedoms of the Tibetan people. The reincarnation of the Dalai Lama, once a sacred religious tradition, is now yet another front in China's war against Tibetan identity and autonomy, Tibetan Review observed. (ANI)
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Chinese government has 'final say' in Dalai Lama reincarnation, Tibetan official says
BEIJING (Reuters) -The discovery of the next Dalai Lama will be carried out by the Chinese government, and not under the current Dalai Lama's directions, a Chinese Communist Party committee official for Tibet said on Tuesday. China considers the Nobel laureate Dalai Lama a separatist and wants to bring Tibetan Buddhism under its control, but the Dalai Lama and his huge following have been obstacles to that ambition. At his 90th birthday celebration last month, he assured followers that he would be reincarnated, and a non-profit institution he has set up will have the sole authority to identify his reincarnation. But Gama Cedain, the deputy secretary of the Chinese Communist Party committee in Tibet, said the Dalai Lama's reincarnation would be found using a domestic search and approval by the central government. "The central government has the indisputable final say in the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama," he told reporters at a press conference about the socioeconomic development in Tibet. He said that was the creed devotees adhered to, and the government's process follows the strict religious rituals and historical customs of the reincarnation of living Buddhas. "The reincarnation has never been decided by the Dalai Lama himself," he said. The current Dalai Lama, 14th in the line of spiritual leaders for Tibetan Buddhism, has said his reincarnation will be born outside China and ruled out Beijing's role in choosing his successor. China installed a Tibetan Buddhist monk picked by Beijing as the faith's No. 2 leader, the Panchen Lama, three decades ago after a six-year-old chosen by the Dalai Lama for the position disappeared in 1995. Solve the daily Crossword
AsiaOne
6 days ago
- Politics
- AsiaOne
Chinese government has 'final say' in Dalai Lama reincarnation, Tibetan official says, Asia News
BEIJING — The discovery of the next Dalai Lama will be carried out by the Chinese government, and not under the current Dalai Lama's directions, a Chinese Communist Party committee official for Tibet said on Tuesday (Aug 5). China considers the Nobel laureate Dalai Lama a separatist and wants to bring Tibetan Buddhism under its control, but the Dalai Lama and his huge following have been obstacles to that ambition. At his 90th birthday celebration last month, he assured followers that he would be reincarnated, and a non-profit institution he has set up will have the sole authority to identify his reincarnation. But Gama Cedain, the deputy secretary of the Chinese Communist Party committee in Tibet, said the Dalai Lama's reincarnation would be found using a domestic search and approval by the central government. "The central government has the indisputable final say in the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama," he told reporters at a press conference about the socioeconomic development in Tibet. He said that was the creed devotees adhered to, and the government's process follows the strict religious rituals and historical customs of the reincarnation of living Buddhas. "The reincarnation has never been decided by the Dalai Lama himself," he said. The current Dalai Lama, 14th in the line of spiritual leaders for Tibetan Buddhism, has said his reincarnation will be born outside China and ruled out Beijing's role in choosing his successor. China installed a Tibetan Buddhist monk picked by Beijing as the faith's No. 2 leader, the Panchen Lama, three decades ago after a six-year-old chosen by the Dalai Lama for the position disappeared in 1995. [[nid:720703]]
