2020 Inner Mongolia protests

{{further|1981 Inner Mongolia student protest}}

Inner Mongolia has, for a long time, experienced less violent ethnic strife than Xinjiang and Tibet. The region "was seen to have been largely pacified over many decades of Han migration, intermarriage, and repression". Large-scale Han migration began from 1912 during the Beiyang government period, when land became freely traded. By 1937, the aggregated figure of the census of the Nanking Nationalist government-ruled Suiyuan Province and Chahar Province and the census of Japanese-puppet Manchukuo and Mongol United Autonomous Government, reported 3,720,000 Hans and 860,000 Mongols (roughly 8:2 ratio) within the modern Inner Mongolian boundary.{{cite news|language=zh|trans-title=Modern population in Inner Mongolia|title=内蒙古近代人口 |url=http://www.nmqq.gov.cn/quqing/ShowArticle.asp?ArticleID=26400 |trans-work=Editorial committee of the Chorography of Inner Mongolia|work=内蒙古自治区地方志编纂委员会办公室 |access-date=1 February 2019 |date=25 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190202041943/http://www.nmqq.gov.cn/quqing/ShowArticle.asp?ArticleID=26400 |archive-date=2 February 2019 |url-status=live }} That ratio continues today.

The 1981 Inner Mongolia student protest opposed a package of new policies which worsened steppe degradation and the political representation of Chinese Mongols.{{cite journal|title=The Last Hurrah? Political Protest in Inner Mongolia|first=William R.|last=Jankowiak|journal=The Australian Journal of Chinese Affairs|issue=19/20|date=1988|pages=269–288|publisher=The University of Chicago Press|volume=19/20|doi=10.2307/2158548|jstor=2158548|s2cid=156352814|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/2158548|url-access=subscription}} The policies included; increasing 100 million cattle in the province, settling, instead of repatriating, the {{ill|Rural-to-urban migration in China|lt=

rural-to-urban migrants|zh|盲流}} (盲流) from neighboring provinces, and putting Mongol officials in place in Mongols-majority settlements, while putting Han officials in place in Han-majority settlements.{{cite web|ref={{harvid|中发［1981］28号}}|title=中共中央关于转发《中央书记处讨论内蒙古自治区工作纪要》的通知，中发［1981］28号|date=3 August 1981|url=https://ccradb.appspot.com/post/935|publisher=The Chinese Cultural Revolution Database|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160827070220/https://ccradb.appspot.com/post/935|archive-date=27 August 2016}} In May 2011, unrest erupted when a coal truck collided and killed a Chinese Mongol herdman, and was later followed with unrests, which complained of the environmental impact of mining and unfair development policies.{{Cite news|url=http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/MF08Ad01.html|title=Green motives in Inner Mongolian unrest|first=Zhong|last=Wu|publisher=Asia Times|date=8 June 2011|access-date=11 June 2011| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110712162713/http://atimes.com/atimes/China/MF08Ad01.html| archive-date= 12 July 2011 | url-status= unfit}}

In 2019, it was revealed that students at a middle school at Chifeng, China's Inner Mongolia, sang and danced in a classroom with the national flag and the national emblem of Mongolia, an independent nation, hung on the wall. This has sparked concerns related to ethnic nationalism and separatism. {{cite news |last1=Б.АНХТУЯА |title=Mongolian flag raised at Chinese middle school |url=https://news.mn/en/786129/ |access-date=21 May 2023 |agency=News.mn |date=9 January 2019}}{{cite news |last1=Tam |first1=Siu-yin |last2=Ng |first2=Yik-tung |title=Chinese Officials Probe Mongolian-Language High School After Flag Outrage |url=https://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/mongolian-flag-01112019130841.html |access-date=21 May 2023 |agency=RFA (US-state media)}}

In 2022, an ethnic Mongol pilot at Sichuan Airlines was revealed to have published pan-Mongolism and anti-Han comments regarding the Nanjing Massacre in 2015, sparking concerns about ethnic hate and tensions. {{cite news |title=Sichuan Airlines Employee Suspended for Online Polemic Remarks |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-04-11/sichuan-airlines-employee-suspended-for-online-polemic-remarks |access-date=21 May 2023 |publisher=Bloomberg |date=11 April 2022}}

The top four languages native to Inner Mongolia are the Jin language, Northeastern Mandarin, varieties of Mongolian dialects, and Lanzhou-Ningxia Mandarin.{{cite journal|trans-title=Brief Analysis of Inner Mongolian dialects|title=浅析内蒙方言|journal= 青年文学家|date=2017|issue=35|author=苏雅瑄 |url=http://www.cnki.com.cn/Article/CJFDTotal-QNWJ201735129.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200904143755/http://m.fx361.com/news/2017/1226/2654689.html|archive-date=4 September 2020}}Language Atlas of China (2nd edition): Minority languages volume. Beijing: The Commercial Press. ［中国语言地图集(第2版):少数民族语言卷］Language Atlas of China (2nd edition): Chinese dialects volume. Beijing: The Commercial Press. ［中国语言地图集(第2版):汉语方言卷］ The majority of Mongols, and almost all Hans, opt to send their children to schools taught in Standard Mandarin, in recognition of the economic opportunities that would reap. Yet, a sizable minority among the Mongols attend ethnic schools, taught primarily in Mongolian.{{cite news|title=China's insatiable appetite for control is forcing even its "model minority" to rebel|url=https://qz.com/1899397/inner-mongolians-in-china-rise-up-against-language-suppression/|publisher=Quartz|date=4 September 2020|first=Isabella|last=Steger|access-date=8 September 2020|archive-date=7 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200907071042/https://qz.com/1899397/inner-mongolians-in-china-rise-up-against-language-suppression/|url-status=live}}

On 26 August 2020, Inner Mongolia's Department of Education officially published a two-part curriculum reform for ethnic schools.{{cite news |title=秋季学期起我区民族语言授课学校小学一年级和初中一年级使用国家统编语文教材 |url=https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/LT7jaG_RgDsusj1WVmNcpg |agency=内蒙古教育廳微信公眾號 |date=26 August 2020 |access-date=8 September 2020 |archive-date=31 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200831064723/https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/LT7jaG_RgDsusj1WVmNcpg |url-status=live }} Mongolian as the medium of instruction will be replaced by Standard Mandarin in the three subjects of Language and Literature (referring to Standard Mandarin) from first grade, Morality and Rule of law from first grade (a variant of civic education), and History from seventh grade. The reform was part of the national textbook reform rolled out in China in 2017 to eliminate various provincial textbooks by the {{ill|Nationally-unified textbook series in China|lt=nationally-unified textbook series|zh|中华人民共和国教育部中小学统编教材}}, which has attracted repeated criticism elsewhere in China. This policy has been applied in every province, including Tibet and Xinjiang, and is now making inroads into Inner Mongolia. This policy does not change the education of the Mongolian Language Art itself.

While seen as an attempt to assimilate an ethnic minority, observers also note that it exemplifies the "second-generation's ethnic policy" under paramount leader Xi Jinping, who "envisioned the melting pot formula of the West, in particular the U.S.A., as the ultimate solution to the ethnic problems". Xi Jinping "rejects the old Soviet-based system, which allowed relative autonomy and preservation of language and culture in designated regions, in favor of the new approach".

Using the nationally unified textbooks on those three affected subjects would also mean the application of standard exams, thus would have direct impacts on the student exam grades in important exams, such as the National College Entrance Exams. This could also be a factor causing some parents to protest.

Signs of public defiance began on 30 August, when students in Inner Mongolia began protesting against the new Mandarin Chinese language program.{{Cite web|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/the-only-mongolian-language-social-media-site-was-shut-down-in-china/|title=The Only Mongolian-Language Social Media Site Was Shut Down in China|website=Vice.com|date=31 August 2020 |access-date=4 September 2020|archive-date=4 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200904011757/https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/xg8p7n/the-only-mongolian-language-social-media-site-was-shut-down-in-china|url-status=live}} However, it remained local until 31 August 2020, when the Inner Mongolian education department announced that the Mongolian language would be removed in history, politics, language, and literature subjects, starting from 1 September, and will become official, with other subjects to be added.{{Cite news|date=2 September 2020|title=Ethnic Mongolians in China protest removal of traditional language in schools|language=en|work=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-education-mongolian-protests-idUSKBN25T0YP|access-date=15 November 2020}}

Following the announcement, thousands of ethnic Mongols protested what they saw as an attempt to turn the Mongolian language into a foreign language in their homeland.{{Cite news|last=Davidson|first=Helen|date=1 September 2020|title=Inner Mongolia protests at China's plans to bring in Mandarin-only lessons|language=en-GB|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/sep/01/inner-mongolia-protests-china-mandarin-schools-language|access-date=15 November 2020|issn=0261-3077}} The protesters considered this as an attempt by the Chinese government to curb them from learning the Mongolian language and to disconnect them from their nomadic background. Many Mongol families announced they would not send their children to schools until the Mongolian language is reinstated as an education language in Inner Mongolia.

In a similar case in Tongliao, a prefecture of Inner Mongolia, parents found out about the announcement only after sending their kids to a boarding school, which led to the protests. The parents besieged the school before being repelled by the police. The authorities released their children from the school despite rampant pressure.{{Cite news|last=Wu|first=Huizhong|date=3 September 2020|title=Students in Inner Mongolia protest Chinese language policy|work=Associated Press|url=https://apnews.com/article/fbec428448572f4789f9b3f711d7e2f8|access-date=15 November 2020}} Resentment against forced Mandarin-based education was also reflected on Chinese social media by Mongol users. However, it was removed by the authorities.{{Cite news|date=1 September 2020|title=Rare rallies in China over Mongolian language curb|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-53981100|access-date=2 September 2020|archive-date=2 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200902122719/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-53981100|url-status=live}}

On 1 September, staff at a school in Naiman Banner told the BBC that only around 40 students had registered for the semester, in place of the usual 1,000. Some subsequently changed their minds, and only some 10 remained. At the same time, 300,000 ethnic Mongol students went on strike against the policy imposed by Beijing.{{Cite web|last=Graceffo|first=Antonio|date=4 September 2020|title=China's Crackdown on Mongolian Culture|url=https://thediplomat.com/2020/09/chinas-crackdown-on-mongolian-culture/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200904055557/https://thediplomat.com/2020/09/chinas-crackdown-on-mongolian-culture/|archive-date=4 September 2020|access-date=4 September 2020|website=The Diplomat}} Even among those ethnic Mongols who support Chinese government, many Mongols objected at the plan, with one Mongol, using the short video app Kuaishou, saying, “I am Chinese, I am Mongolian, you can take anything from me except my mother language. Without language, I cannot say that I am Mongolian,” in a following demonstration against the policy.{{Cite news|last=Xiao|first=Eva|date=4 September 2020|title=China Cracks Down on Mongols Who Say Their Culture Is Being Snuffed Out|language=en-US|work=The Wall Street Journal|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/china-clamps-down-on-inner-mongolians-protesting-new-mandarin-language-rules-11599132973|access-date=15 November 2020|issn=0099-9660}}

On 2 September, several ethnic Mongols participated in the raising of the khar suld (Black Banner in Mongolian). The khar suld has an implied connotation used only when Mongols fought against an enemy.

Chinese state media, like Xinhua News Agency and China Daily, largely ignored the protests and its demands at first, instead focusing on the planned festivals held in Inner Mongolia, to the social life of ethnic Mongols.{{Cite web|title=Desert off-road festival to be held in China's Inner Mongolia - Xinhua {{!}} English.news.cn|url=http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2020-09/01/c_139334279.htm|access-date=3 September 2020|website=www.xinhuanet.com|archive-date=12 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200912153240/http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2020-09/01/c_139334279.htm|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|last=刘明|title=Mother, son pass gaokao in Inner Mongolia|url=https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202009/01/WS5f4da762a310675eafc56b43.html|access-date=3 September 2020|website=www.chinadaily.com.cn|archive-date=12 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200912153245/https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202009/01/WS5f4da762a310675eafc56b43.html|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|title=Inner Mongolia pledges 400 mln yuan to promote dairy industry - Xinhua {{!}} English.news.cn|url=http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2020-09/01/c_139334735.htm|access-date=3 September 2020|website=www.xinhuanet.com|archive-date=12 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200912153241/http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2020-09/01/c_139334735.htm|url-status=live}} However, at the same time, Chinese officials traveled to Inner Mongolia and tried to persuade families to send their children back to school, although there was a strong objection from Mongol families.

In early September, State Councilor and police minister Zhao Kezhi visited the region to strengthen the fight against “terrorism and separatism” during a tour to parts of the province.{{Cite web|url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/china-s-police-minister-talks-terrorism-during-inner-mongolia-tour-amid-rare-protests-over-language/story-9jWpwHFERYZBXyZo7ciPJO.html|title=China's police minister talks terrorism during Inner Mongolia tour amid rare protests over language|date=3 September 2020|website=Hindustan Times|access-date=3 September 2020|archive-date=3 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200903233504/https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/china-s-police-minister-talks-terrorism-during-inner-mongolia-tour-amid-rare-protests-over-language/story-9jWpwHFERYZBXyZo7ciPJO.html|url-status=live}} Chinese police of the region offered a 1,000 yuan bounty for anyone who could identify people participating in anti-government protests.{{Cite web|date=3 September 2020|title=China offers bounty for Inner Mongolia protesters|url=https://asiatimes.com/2020/09/china-offers-bounty-for-inner-mongolia-protesters/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200912153344/https://asiatimes.com/2020/09/china-offers-bounty-for-inner-mongolia-protesters/|archive-date=12 September 2020|access-date=3 September 2020|website=Asia Times}}

At the same time, the Chinese police force had been deployed and increased its activities across Inner Mongolia, with a number of people arrested for supporting the protests. Families that refused to send children to schools may be stripped of social benefits by the government.{{Cite web|last=Yang|first=Ming|date=3 September 2020|title=Inner Mongolians Boycott Classes to Protest Chinese Language Policy|url=https://www.voanews.com/a/east-asia-pacific_inner-mongolians-boycott-classes-protest-chinese-language-policy/6195417.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200912153328/https://www.voanews.com/east-asia-pacific/inner-mongolians-boycott-classes-protest-chinese-language-policy|archive-date=12 September 2020|access-date=4 September 2020|website=Voice of America}}

On 4 September, a journalist for the Los Angeles Times was allegedly detained for four hours before being expelled by the Chinese authorities for her coverage.{{Cite web|url=https://www.startribune.com/us-paper-says-reporter-was-held-in-china-s-inner-mongolia/572313722/|title=US paper says reporter was held in China's Inner Mongolia|website=Star Tribune|access-date=4 September 2020|archive-date=12 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200912153329/https://www.startribune.com/us-paper-says-reporter-was-held-in-china-s-inner-mongolia/572313722/|url-status=live}}

On 13 September, some counties' governments required guardians to send their children to school or they would be fined for up to 5000 yuan in response to the student strike.{{cite web|url=https://news.ltn.com.tw/news/world/breakingnews/3291558|title=內蒙古人罷課抗議漢語教材 中國下令：罰款嚴懲|work=Liberty Times|date=14 September 2020|language=zh-tw}}

On 1 December, reports said that the Chinese government is mass recruiting secondary school teachers to work in the northern region of Inner Mongolia. Online government documents issued in the weeks since the protests rocked the region in early September revealed government plans to hire more than 1,000 teachers across the region.

Local banner and league governments across the region have also posted recruitment ads for hundreds of teachers from elsewhere in China to relocate to the region and teach Mandarin.{{Cite news|url=https://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/recruits-12012020105355.html|title=China Recruits Mandarin Teachers Amid Ongoing Crackdown in Inner Mongolia|author=Qiao Long and Lau Siu Fung|publisher=Radio Free Asia|date=1 December 2020|access-date=2 December 2020}}

In Taipei, Former Council of Indigenous Peoples minister Yohani Isqaqavut, who is a Presbyterian pastor, and other members of the church's Indigenous Ministry Committee, held placards at a rally outside the Legislative Yuan in Taipei to express support for people in China's Inner Mongolia.{{Cite web|date=12 September 2020|title=Groups back Inner Mongolia protest|url=https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2020/09/12/2003743263|access-date=15 November 2020|website=Taipei Times}}

Many Mongolians were outraged following the reports, although economic dependence on China largely undermines the opportunity to help. Dozens of Mongolian protesters marched to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs headquarters in Ulaanbaatar and demanded a reaction against ongoing repression of Mongol rights in China.{{Cite web|title=China's ethnic Mongolians protest Mandarin curriculum in schools|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/09/china-ethnic-mongolians-protest-mandarin-curriculum-schools-200901114745577.html|access-date=3 September 2020|website=www.aljazeera.com|archive-date=2 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200902143629/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/09/china-ethnic-mongolians-protest-mandarin-curriculum-schools-200901114745577.html|url-status=live}} The leader of the IMPP, Temtsiltu Shobtsood, who lives in exile in Germany, accused China of "trying to suppress" the Mongolian language.

In September 2020, the Congressional-Executive Commission on China issued a statement condemning the suppression of the protests and an assault on a U.S. journalist covering the protests.{{Cite web|title=Chairs Condemn Suppression of Language Protests, Assault on U.S. Journalist in Inner Mongolia|url=https://www.cecc.gov/media-center/press-releases/chairs-condemn-suppression-of-language-protests-assault-on-us-journalist|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200918045131/https://www.cecc.gov/media-center/press-releases/chairs-condemn-suppression-of-language-protests-assault-on-us-journalist|archive-date=18 September 2020|access-date=16 September 2020|website=www.cecc.gov}} The same month, an international petition and movement by ethnic Mongols, “Save the Mongolian Language in Southern \Inner\ Mongolia,” was started.

On 24 and 25 November, hundreds of Mongolians living in Japan protested outside the National Assembly in Tokyo, calling on the Chinese Communist Party not to end Mongolian-medium education in Inner Mongolia. The protesters held up banners and placards in Mongolian, Chinese, Japanese, and English, such as "Withdraw the sinicization policy!", "Stop oppressing Mongolians!", and "Give Mongolians back their mother tongue!"{{Cite news|url=https://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/protest-11252020110719.html|title=Mongolians in Japan Protest During Chinese Foreign Minister's Visit|author=Qiao Long|publisher=Radio Free Asia|date=25 November 2020|access-date=2 December 2020}}

• 1981 Inner Mongolia student protest on steppe degradation
• Soviet-era Korenizatsiya
• Melting pot
• Ethnic issues in China
• Ethnic groups in Chinese history
• Mongols in China

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