Dossier
Kalsang Lhamo
Coverage of Kalsang Lhamo in the Nexus archive.
- In Tibet, some embrace their native language even under China’s sweeping new ‘ethnic unity’ law
Tibetans in China's Tibet autonomous region are practicing their native language despite a new 'ethnic unity' law mandating Mandarin in schools and government. The law, criticized as a tool for cultural assimilation, requires institutions to promote national unity, while some Tibetans like Kalsang Lhamo learn Tibetan calligraphy to preserve their heritage. The Chinese government dismisses foreign criticism as 'ideological bias,' and the law has drawn comparisons to policies in Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia.