MANDARIN DROWNING OUT UIGHUR LANGUAGE AMONG YOUTH

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BEIJING 002949 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/04/2032 TAGS: PGOV PHUM SOCI KCUL CH SUBJECT: MANDARIN DROWNING OUT UIGHUR LANGUAGE AMONG YOUTH IN XINJIANG Classified By: Political Section Internal Unit Chief Susan A. Thornton. Reasons 1.4 (b/d). Summary -------------- ¶1. (C) Young people, teachers and parents are optimistic about Xinjiang's economic future but are also concerned about the loss of Uighur cultural roots, Poloff learned during a recent trip to the region. Official Xinjiang media and Government policy confirm that speaking Chinese is the key to advancement in most non-agricultural fields and the Government has instituted a policy making Mandarin the language of instruction for most courses, even in schools that are officially Uighur-language institutions. The official emphasis on Mandarin coincides with continuing tight restrictions on unsanctioned religious activity and promotion of Uighur identity and political activism, which protracts general anti-Han resentment among young Uighurs. Nonetheless, an increasing number of Uighur parents are actively taking steps to ensure that their children master Mandarin in an effort to assure their economic future. End summary. Language and the Trials of Integration -------------- ¶2. (C) By law, parents in Xinjiang have a choice between sending their children to schools where instruction is in Mandarin or in Uighur. Although the Government intends for the Uighur institutions to be seen as symbols of cultural tolerance, our reading from discussions with minorities in Xinjiang February 3-10 is that the policy poses a stark dilemma for Uighur parents. A Uighur child who attends Mandarin school may never learn to read or write the native script and thus runs the risk of being resented by other Uighurs for "selling out" and contributing to the loss of cultural identity. On the other hand, the choice to attend a Uighur school could limit career opportunities after graduation, as Chinese language is a requisite for a large number of non-agricultural jobs, both blue and white collar, observers said. ¶3. (C) According to students and teachers in Yining and Kashgar, two cities in northern and southern Xinjiang respectively where Han Chinese are in the minority, more and more Uighur parents are enrolling their children in Mandarin schools. Contacts estimated the portion of Uighur students in Mandarin schools has reached 30 and 40 percent in each city respectively. (Note: A teacher in Kashgar, where roughly four-fifths of the population is Uighur, estimated that 55 to 60 percent of local primary and middle schools are Uighur. End Note.) A new "bilingual classes" policy gradually being implemented across the region aims to ensure that even Uighurs not attending Mandarin schools will speak Chinese. According to the official Xinjiang Daily, in 2007 the Government will invest RMB 210 million (USD 27.2 million) in this initiative, which requires teachers in Uighur schools to speak Mandarin in all subjects but Uighur literature. Some RMB 151 million (USD 19.5 million) of the funding will come from the Central Government. Statistics reported in the press indicate that 150,000 minority students in 5,000 schools, including kindergartens, are already enrolled in "bilingual classes." The figure is slated to reach a total of 258,000 minority students by 2010. ¶4. (C) Tailaiti, a teacher at Kashgar No. 1 Middle School, said his daughter is a second grader at a Uighur school. She is receiving all instruction (except for literature) in Mandarin Chinese as decreed under the "bilingual classes" policy. Tailaiti had mixed feelings about this new development in Xinjiang education. Asked if he felt Mandarin is an important skill for his daughter to have, he responded dismissively. "If the government says so," he griped, the implication being that if she wants to get ahead economically, she has little choice in the matter. Two female students in "Bilingual Classes" at Kashgar No. 13 Middle School, a Uighur school where one-third of the homeroom sections receive bilingual education, said they enjoy learning Chinese in the special classes. Speak Mandarin or Get Sacked -------------- BEIJING 00002949 002 OF 003 ¶5. (C) In fact, the need to master Mandarin to achieve career advancement has become an economic reality for Xinjiang's Uighur population, which is why these educational opportunities are increasingly appealing. Xinjiang Government policy and leaders publicly acknowledge this phenomenon. CPC Secretary Wang Lequan stated in a March 12 interview that the only way for ethnic minority peasants in southern Xinjiang to increase their income is to learn Mandarin. Without this skill they cannot venture to the cities in search of non-agricultural jobs. According to official Xinjiang media, Kashgar District alone is investing RMB 30 million (USD 3.9 million) each year in an effort to train at least one member of each household in Mandarin language and various technical skills so that they may seek work in the cities. The goal is to empower what the official media has referred to as a "rich labor force of over 1 million peasants idling in Kashgar, Kizilsu and Hotan districts of southern Xinjiang." ¶6. (C) Despite speaking Uighur and English, 28-year- old Sabir has lost jobs as a tour guide and as a taxi driver because of unsatisfactory Mandarin. Ali, 27, who works for a travel agency in Kashgar and also speaks English, is being pressured to learn more Mandarin by his Han Chinese boss. Abdigini, a 24- year-old teacher in Yining, switched to a Han Chinese high school because of the example of an elder cousin who regretted her own limited opportunities after completing her secondary education in Uighur schools. For reasons such as these, more and more Uighur parents are sending their children to Mandarin schools or having them join bilingual classes, our contacts said. ¶7. (C) Speaking a foreign language can also help create career opportunities. The municipal governments in Yining and Kashgar have allowed opening of Uighur-operated private language schools where Uighurs can study English and, in some places, Russian. These training centers are thriving. For example, in Kashgar the number of these schools has more than tripled in the past several years, according to one adult student. Although some primary and middle school students also attend the schools to learn foreign languages, most clients are young adults who, having given up hope of careers where Mandarin is the lingua franca, are seeking to improve their prospects based on foreign language abilities. This could give them an edge in seeking employment in private enterprises, particularly in trade and tourism. ¶8. (C) During informal discussions with Poloff at the Mengbulak English School in Yining, all of the roughly 10 Uighur students in one group said they are optimistic about their future career opportunities. At Yining?s Western Nur Language School, enrollment for Russian classes surpasses even that for English, likely a result of the growing trade opportunities with Xinjiang?s close foreign neighbors, the former Soviet republics of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Russia. Articles in the official Xinjiang media frequently tout increased trade and infrastructure development between Xinjiang and the neighboring Central Asian republics. In fact, a USD 700 million pipeline began pumping oil from Kazakhstan into Xinjiang in 2005, and there has been regular official discussion of creating a "free trade zone" between western China and its neighbors. The "Seven Forbiddens" -------------- ¶9. (C) The authorities' liberal approach to regional trade does not extend to tolerance for unsanctioned religious activity, promotion of Uighur identity or political activism. In fact, official worries about Uighur separatism continue to color propaganda efforts. For example, a large poster in front of Bazha Primary School in Yangdaman Village of rural southern Xinjiang -- a school that recently received a national award for education work in impoverished areas -- spelled out the "seven Forbiddens" for students and school employees to avoid, with corresponding illustrations for each "forbidden." According to the poster, students must not: -- refuse education or Marxism and atheism; BEIJING 00002949 003 OF 003 -- believe in religion or participate in religious activities; -- wear clothing with religious adornment; -- spread illegal religious propaganda; -- do anything to the disadvantage of the solidarity of the ethnic groups; -- say anything to the disadvantage of the ethnic groups; or -- participate in ethnic separatist activities. In a similar vein, a notice board at Kashgar No. 1 Primary School, which has 1,000 students (and which locals say was a madrassah before the Communists took over),calls for students to thoroughly study Marxism and atheism, "strengthen resistance against ethnic separatism and illegal religious activities and maintain social stability and a sense of responsibility for the unification of the motherland." Even in the more tolerant regional capital of Urumqi, Poloff heard reports of Muslim students being forced to eat during Ramadan, a traditional time of fasting and prayer. Ethnic Tension Among Students -------------- ¶10. (C) Such pressures have given rise to Han-Uighur tension among Xinjiang?s youth. Two American teachers at Xinjiang Normal University in Urumqi said their classes have been divided by the school administration into Han sections and minority sections for fear of inter-ethnic disturbances. One teacher described a multi-ethnic conversation exercise she held where a group Han and Uighur students divided down ethnic lines and refused to speak to one another. At an informal meal attended by Poloff with several university students of Han, Hui and Uighur ethnicities, a Han student derided Rebiya Kadeer as a criminal and woman of low character. Immediately following the dinner, a 19-year-old Uighur freshman who had been sitting next to the Han student confided her enthusiastic admiration for Kadeer and frustration that she could never voice such praise in public. Comment -------------- ¶11. (SBU) By pushing linguistic and educational assimilation, the authorities appear to be betting that Uighurs' desire to have a stake in China's supercharged economy will outweigh any sentiments of Uighur nationalism they may harbor. How this plays out remains to be seen, but it is clear from our discussion with regular citizens that there is a long way to go before Uighurs and Han enjoy equal access to the best job opportunities. In the meantime, the resentments that have emerged with Xinjiang's demographic shifts and culturally repressive policies will continue to simmer. RANDT