Languages and Equality of Ethnic Groups in China
In China, there are 56 (this number is disputed by some) officially recognized ethnic groups, or nationalities in the government vocabulary. You can hardly state the country is a “nation state”. However the majority of the population is Han people; and many of them are totally unaware of the existence of other ethnic groups.
In the Chinese language (which is actually the language of Han people, the ethnic majority), the language is known as 汉语 (language of Han people) or 中文 (language of China). 中文 is the more preferred word in most cases, and 汉语 is generally used when then other ethnic groups in China are mentioned in the context. In this sense, the language of the ethnic majority is understood to be the language of the whole country, and naturally, the existence of other languages and cultures on the same territory are forgotten. In Japanese and Korean languages, similar unawareness also exists. The language of Han Chinese is called 中國語 (language of China), suggesting this language is the one and only language that is spoken in China. The good news is the media are more aware about the cultural diversity in China after recent Tibetan protest (in some cases violence), although this is largely due to the ethnical conflict nature of the series of protests. For example, in the coverage of CNN and French magazine Le Point, ethnicities of Han, Hui and Tibetan are especially noted.
A friend of mine is of Mongolian origins. She had some difficulty in introducing herself to foreigners: apparently she looks Chinese. Being raised in the city, she is quite modernized and she largely thinks, lives and does everything the same way other people do (most of them Han Chinese). Most Mongolian people who grow up in the city don’t speak Mongolian any more. I believe other ethnic minorities would have similar sad language transition as well.
The government policy to keep everyone equal is setting up autonomous regions. The government and many other people think this is a good idea to preserve cultural diversity and protect ethnic minorities. Ironically, Indian reservations in the United States are interpreted as restriction over the freedom of Native Americans by Chinese government. In the five autonomous regions and many other autonomous cities and towns in China, languages of the ethnic groups other than Han are used equally in government agencies and courts. Education for minority ethnic groups is given in their languages. In the street, signs and shop advertising are made bilingual. But this equality between cultures is only made available in those autonomous regions (mostly poor and underdeveloped) and not in other area in China.
To make a real equality between ethnic groups, it would be ideal that all the attempts of ethnic equality are made in all places in China. When a Tibetan or Mongolian needs public service in a mostly-Han area, he or she should be given language service and be treated equally, and vice versa. The “vice versa” thing is really not kidding. I know in many minor crimes, ethnic minorities would be less punished than Han Chinese.
The biggest problem is that the Chinese government is cocky about the GDP it achieved by raising land price and totally indifference about equality of ethnic groups, respecting different religions and freedom of the Chinese people (including ethnic minorities and Han Chinese).
