In Han Cadres Required to Learn Tibetan Language, the Global Times reports that Xi Jinping and company are getting serious about implementing the “bilingual policy” (藏、汉双语方针) that was legislated in Tibet way back in 1987:
Mastery of the Tibetan language will become a requirement for non-native cadres in China’s Tibet Autonomous Region.
All seven prefecture-level cities in Tibet have started organizing Tibetan language training for non-native cadres, according to the regional bureau of compilation and translation on Monday.
Qoizha, deputy director of the bureau, said they have handed out 40,000 books on basic Tibetan language for daily conversation.
In a country where statistics and quantifiable targets pepper most news reports — e.g., 90 percent of Tibet residents are Tibetan, 40,000 handbooks distributed — there are several key numbers missing from the report:
- Percentage of Han cadres who can currently conduct their daily tasks in Tibetan
- Percentage who must attain basic fluency within 2015
- Date when formal testing of Han cadre fluency in Tibetan will begin
Although the new announcement regarding the implementation of the old bilingual policy is certainly a step in the right direction, it sounds like a statement of intention rather than the “requirement” being suggested in Global Times’ lead paragraph.
Here are a few suggestions on how to make bilingualism among civil servants in Tibet a reality:
1) Announce a realistic timetable and a budget for implementing the program. It will certainly take at least 5 years to get this project off the ground;
2) Gradually introduce examinations in oral and written Tibetan for would-be and current civil servants. Gradually tie promotions for cadres to ability to communicate in both Putonghua and Tibetan;
3) Offer free, intensive Tibetan language training to current and new civil servants;
4) Do not refer to ethnicity of candidates in recruitment ads. Instead, note the level of Putonghua and Tibetan required for each job;
5) Send a delegation to Hong Kong to see how 1-4 were fairly successfully implemented for Cantonese and English during British rule, and continue to be implemented in the post-1997 Hong Kong SAR.
For the Chinese-language version of the news item, see 西藏动员全区汉族干部学藏语 “接地气” .
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