cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/53062611
[…]
Starting around March 27, Uyghur Times reviewed multiple videos from Urumqi and Kashgar showing city management workers removing Uyghur-language signs from shops, restaurants, supermarkets, and even private businesses. In many cases, only Chinese-language signage was left behind.
One widely circulated video on the Chinese version of TikTok shows the demolition of Uyghur-style architectural elements at a major transportation hub in Urumqi, known as Uchtash Qatnash Bikiti (also referred to as Sandongbi Transportation Station).
In the footage, a Uyghur man standing in front of the site expresses deep sorrow:
“Today we are witnessing the destruction of one of the most iconic cultural landmarks in Urumqi. It held our memories. For many of us, our journeys began here and ended here. Now, it is gone.”
[…]
Other videos show workers dismantling Uyghur-language signage across urban areas. One sign reads “ئۆي مۈلۈكچىلىك، ئىلىم سېتىم,” meaning “Real estate Sales & Transactions.” Another removed sign identifies a construction materials supplier. In the clip, a bystander can be heard lamenting:
“It is not over. One day, it will come back.”
Observers say the campaign reflects a broader effort to eliminate visible markers of Uyghur cultural and linguistic identity under the framework of the new law.
When the law was passed, experts warned that it would legitimize cultural destruction and forced assimilation. Uyghur activists also condemned the law.
[…]
That’s literally the requirement in the law. You have no idea what you’re talking about. There’s no point in discussing the law if you don’t even understand what it says.
Show the place in the law that says that. My reading of the law is the Mandarin is now both required and required to be the primary language, but Tibetan is still taught and still protected and required for government functions. The reason for this is that Mandarin is the primary language for business and commerce. For young Tibetans and those in rural areas, the inability to speak, read, and write in Mandarin acts as a significant barrier to employment, particularly for higher-paying or administrative jobs. Requiring that all schools thoroughly educate children in Mandarin is NOT equivalent to outlawing instruction in their native tongue.