Local residents keep to the plain. “They just started again on September 1,” says the Mongolian manager of a restaurant next to the school with conviction. She says she has heard nothing of protests. “The fact that it might be a bit quieter is probably due to the epidemic.”
That seems unlikely. Corona largely passed by Inner Mongolia. As of the start of the epidemic, the province registered only 77 cases of corona, one person died. Tongliao, of which Horqin is a part, has about 3 million inhabitants. Of these, only seven tested positive for covid-19, according to authorities.
Rebellion
In recent decades, the government has encouraged Han Chinese to settle in the region. Something the Mongol community already rebelled against in the early 1980s, afraid of losing their own culture. However, unlike in Tibet and Xinjiang, the education system was largely left untouched. In recent years, a growing group of Mongolian parents has already opted for Chinese education, for example to increase job opportunities outside Inner Mongolia, especially in urban areas. That is a different story on the grassy plains.
In an article in the Inner Mongolian Newspaper, authorities stated that there are still “many young and middle-aged herders” who do not master the basics of Chinese. “An obstacle for individuals to emerge from poverty and a limiting factor in the unity and harmony within the region.” A spokesman for China’s Foreign Ministry previously called the protests “hyped” by foreign media.
No need
Mongols disagree. “The Mandarin of Mongolian students has improved a lot,” says Zhaolig, who has just graduated from a Mongolian secondary school. “So there is no need at all to adjust the curriculum. It remains unacceptable and will be at the expense of the Mongolian language,” he says firmly of the reforms in Mongol-language education that were not announced in advance.
Yet many Mongols seem to bow to the pressure of the authorities. “Most parents believe they cannot change the policy anyway,” Zhaolig said through a secure messaging app. “I have nothing to say about it,” says a father at a more deserted schoolyard during a visit to Agula, a shepherd’s village in Tongliao. The fact that the file is extremely sensitive is also evident from the fact that the authorities subsequently detain us for two hours. There is no official reason, but the epidemic is pointed out.
In Horqin, the Han Chinese hint that they are done with the civil disobedience of the Mongol community. “You just have to follow what the government says,” says 17-year-old student Zhang Qi. “It is certainly important to preserve the culture of minorities, but they should not become too radical. The main language is and will remain Chinese.”
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