Joe Ludwig (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Manager of Government Business in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

by leave—The government recognises the importance of language in a people’s social, cultural, religious, academic and artistic endeavours. Every human being has the right to take part in cultural life and enjoy and develop their own identity, including their own language. We continue to urge China to protect the economic, social and cultural rights of ethnic minorities, including Tibetans, in accordance with the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

We are aware that the Qinghai education department issued a new education reform plan in September stipulating that Mandarin become the medium for instruction in 2015 at all primary schools, which would mean that in the Tibetan area of Qinghai province Tibetan would be a subject in the curriculum rather than the medium of instruction. According to Chinese media, the purpose of this bilingual education reform is to bridge the education gap between China’s various ethnic groups and to promote development in ethnic minority areas.

Some ethnic Tibetans, however, are concerned about the implication of this policy for their linguistic heritage. Any reform like this needs to be carried out in close consultation with local communities and with respect for the linguistic heritage. At the same time we need to recognise that there is another issue here: the right of ethnic minorities to have equal access to education and employment opportunities and improving their livelihoods as a result. Bilingual education reform is one way of addressing that issue.