The “Bilingual Education” Policy in Xinjiang Revisited: New Evidence of Open Resistance and Active Support among the Uyghur Elite

Abstract

The “bilingual education” policy in Xinjiang has been one of the most contentious policies implemented in the region in recent decades. Given its negative impact on one of the most important markers of Uyghur ethnic identity, it has been a major cause of Uyghur discontent. Nevertheless, our knowledge of the genesis of this policy and the negotiations that took place around its implementation has been partial at best. Through an in-depth analysis of two essays published in the early and mid-2000s by two prominent Uyghur scholars, a large body of academic publications by other Uyghur scholars, and ethnographic data collected since the early 2000s, this article reexamines part of the conventional academic wisdom that relates to this policy, particularly the role Uyghurs have played in relation to it. The article suggests two main revisions to the existing knowledge. One has to do with the amount and form of Uyghur resistance to the policy, and the other with the role Uyghurs have played in promoting the policy. I argue that at least in its early stages, not only did not all Uyghurs resist the policy, but also, in fact, part of the Uyghur political and academic elite played an active role in promoting it. In addition, contrary to the implicit agreement in the existing scholarship that Uyghurs could resist the policy only in covert forms, in fact a considerable number of Uyghur academics have been engaged for years in persistent and overt struggle against it.

An Overview of Bilingual Education for Ethnic Minorities in China

“…Students wanted to continue Nuosu language learning and did not consider it useless for their future career development. Baranovitch suggested that many Uyghur academics had expressed their opposition to the unbalanced bilingual education, which preferred Mandarin and neglected the Uyghur language [10]. For instance, Uyghur scholar Teklimakani, has repeatedly expressed his concern and anxiety about the Uyghur language and culture's disappearance in his articles and further advocated Uyghurs' determination and practical actions of protecting and promoting their language [10].…”

Linguistic purism as resistance to colonization

“…The assimilationist policy had already been enacted in different minority regions with different pace and intensity depending on state perceptions of each minority group (e.g. Baranovitch, 2020). A year later in August 2021, to speed up assimilation, mandatory Mandarin Chinese teaching was expanded to Mongolian kindergartens with the state's implementation of the “Children Speak in Unison” regulation (Grey & Baioud, 2021a).…”