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submitted 5 days ago by gedaliyah@lemmy.world to c/world@lemmy.world

A new report by Human Rights Watch argues that the compulsory use of Chinese as the primary language in schools in Tibet raises “serious concerns under international human rights law”.

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[-] Riverside@reddthat.com 24 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

Literally US Zionist propaganda

From Wikipedia

Human Rights Watch (HRW) is a nonprofit watchdog group headquartered in New York City

In 2026, HRW's Israel and Palestine director resigned after HRW blocked a report that argued that Israel's denial of the Palestinian right of return is a "crime against humanity".

In 2014, two Nobel Peace Laureates, Adolfo Pérez Esquivel and Mairead Maguire, wrote a letter signed by 100 other human rights activists and scholars criticizing HRW for its revolving-door hiring practices with the U.S. government, its failure to denounce the U.S. practice of extrajudicial rendition, its endorsement of the U.S. 2011 military intervention in Libya, and its silence during the 2004 Haitian coup d'état.

Why are you posting Zionist propaganda "NGO"s?

[-] Lucius_Sweet@lemmy.world 43 points 4 days ago

I'm no fan of Zionists but what you are doing is attacking and attempting to discredit the source to distract from the message that they are trying to push.

The story here is the attempted cultural genocide of the Tibetan people by the Chinese government. I come from a nation that has almost lost its language as a result of similar colonial cultural genocide. This issue may not be real or important to you but it is an attempt to destroy a nation's cohesion and identity.

The real question for me is why are you trying to discredit an article on this, what is your agenda here Riverside?

[-] vagrancyand@sh.itjust.works 12 points 4 days ago

It isn't cultural genocide to teach the only useful language in the region, while requiring the cultural language also be taught.

[-] GirthBrooksPLO@lemmy.world 8 points 3 days ago

Who are you to decide what languages are useful?

[-] phutatorius@lemmy.zip 5 points 3 days ago

Cultural erasure is a form of genocide by most definitions.

China is not just requiring the teaching of Mandarin, it is taking steps to eradicate the use of Tibetan and other non-Han languages.

And yes, Western countries have done it too, and it's just as much a crime when they do it. For example, in Britain, children used to be punished for speaking Welsh or Gaelic in schools. The same happened with Catalan and Basque in Spain. Those are just two of many examples.

[-] Riverside@reddthat.com 10 points 4 days ago

attempting to discredit the source to distract from the message that they are trying to push

Yes, because the message they're trying to push is "China bad" as a US-gvt and Zionist controlled "NGO", in the current cold war that the US is instigating against China as the former loses worldwide economic dominance.

The story here is the attempted cultural genocide of the Tibetan people by the Chinese government

Yes, and I'd take it seriously if it was real and not fabricated propaganda designed to target the most progressive among us.

I come from a nation that has almost lost its language as a result of similar colonial cultural genocide

I'm very sorry about that. Is China the aggressor in your instance, or are you projecting Western colonialist history onto China because the US propaganda outlets are telling us to do so?

This issue may not be real or important to you

It's extremely important to me. And if it were important to you, you'd be doing activism not for the fabricated false news about Tibetan language, but actual cultural genocides ongoing right now in the west that I haven't seen you do activism about, such as Breton or Occitan in France, the latter of which has gone from 1Mn speakers to 100k over the past century and, to this day, enjoys no official recognition or status. Lhasa Tibetan is, TODAY, the official language of the Tibet Autonomous Region of China. In the 1950s, there were about a million speakers of Tibetan in China, today there are about 6 million. From Wikipedia:

"In the Texas Journal of International Law, Barry Sautman stated that "none of the many recent studies of endangered languages deems Tibetan to be imperiled, and language maintenance among Tibetans contrasts with language loss even in the remote areas of Western states renowned for liberal policies"

I understand your concern with the preservation of languages and cultures, I completely share that mindset. However, I urge you to look at the material facts beyond US/Zionist-fabricated fearmongering: Chinese currency portrays the currency values written in Tibetan among other languages of China, Tibetan speakers only grow over time according to modern evidence, and the countries warning against such acts are literally carrying out unspoken acts of linguistic genocide.

[-] Lucius_Sweet@lemmy.world 4 points 3 days ago

Yes, because the message they're trying to push is "China bad" as a US-gvt and Zionist controlled "NGO"

Yes but are they lying? Is it not true that China is unilaterally changing the primary language to Chinese for schools in Tibet?

Yes, and I'd take it seriously if it was real and not fabricated propaganda

Why do you say it is not real, human rights watch is just one source, a quick search leads to several sources you can find yourself. This is also not a new issue, there is information on the promotion of Mandarin over Chinese in Tibetan schools going back years. Just because you do not accept what is happening does not make it propagand

Is China the aggressor in your instance, or are you projecting Western colonialist history onto China

Colonialism is still colonialism, doesn't matter if it's Chinese or western it's all the same. Erasure of cultural identity and especially language is always a big part.

And if it were important to you, you'd be doing activism

I don't need you to tell me what I should be doing buddy.

I haven't seen you do activism about, such as Breton or Occitan in France,

To be fair you haven't seen me do anything, I am an anonymous internet stranger. For all you know I was marching the streets of Rennes in support of my brothers there.

This is also "whataboutism" on your part, one of the lowest forms of rhetoric. Up your game and stick to the point at hand please.

is, TODAY, the official language of the Tibet Autonomous Region of China. In the 1950s, there were about a million speakers of Tibetan in China, today there are about 6 million.

I see that you capitalised the word today, either you understand the concept of time or are, like Donald Trump, a fool who capitalises words for no reason. You should also then be able to understand that this measure is meant to reduce the amount of native Tibetan speakers going forwards in time. You seem to be trying to use the fact that there are more Tibetan speakers today than in 1950 as proof that China is not trying to reduce native Tibetan speakers in the future? How does this make sense in your thick head buddy? Does this type of argument ever work on people?

Have you ever considered that maybe the Zionists, the USA AND China are all bad? All are shitty imperial colonists.

[-] Riverside@reddthat.com 2 points 3 days ago

Cool, keep believing your western made-up anti-China propaganda about Tibet erasure while all scholars on the topic agree that the language is healthy, preserved, and the number of speakers keeps growing...

[-] rwrwefwef@sh.itjust.works 1 points 3 days ago

I’m no fan of Zionists but what you are doing is attacking and attempting to discredit the source to distract from the message that they are trying to push.

It cuts both ways. The source here is probably pushing this news to align with a certain (pro-American) narrative, likely with some amplifications along the way.

[-] Mr_WorldlyWiseman 28 points 4 days ago

Gasp, New York City! I only get my news straight from Beijing! Everybody else is a zionist! /s

[-] Riverside@reddthat.com 9 points 4 days ago

Great job ignoring the part about the organization blocking reports about the Isntreali genocide in Palestine

[-] Mr_WorldlyWiseman 2 points 3 days ago

I dont know the details of the exact issue mentioned above, but HRW has no problems commenting on Israeli genocide.

https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/12/19/israels-crime-extermination-acts-genocide-gaza

[-] Riverside@reddthat.com 1 points 3 days ago

Just out of curiosity: the genocide only intensified after 2022, we all know now that Palestinians have been enduring an apartheid and Gaza has been besieged and starved for decades. Can you find similar HRW statements before 2022, or are they just releasing them now to cover their asses?

[-] rwrwefwef@sh.itjust.works 2 points 3 days ago

In 2026, HRW’s Israel and Palestine director resigned after HRW blocked a report that argued that Israel’s denial of the Palestinian right of return is a “crime against humanity”.

Hmm. The more you know.

[-] Riverside@reddthat.com 1 points 3 days ago

These are the people who pretend to be super concerned about the Tibetan language while ignoring that Tibet enjoys being an Autonomous Republic within China (with all the added political power), that Tibetan is the official language in the Tibetan Autonomous Republic, and that the number of Tibetan speakers has skyrocketed from about 1mn in the 1950s to about 6mn nowadays. For comparison, in 1920 there were about 1mn speakers of Occitan in southern France and now there are about 100k and Occitan still doesn't enjoy any official character

this post was submitted on 11 May 2026
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