BEIJING: The right of ethnic groups in Xinjiang to use and develop their spoken and written languages is fully guaranteed under the constitution.
This was stated by the spokesperson of the Chinese Foreign Ministry Zhao Lijian at a news briefing on Thursday.
It was pointed out at the briefing that the US State Department posted a video it made on Twitter to accuse schools in Xinjiang of obliterating the spoken and written languages and religious beliefs of ethnic minorities.
It also said that in schools across Xinjiang, the Chinese Communist Party penalizes students and members of other Muslim minority groups for speaking their native languages.
Zhao Lijian said what’s depicted in this video is untrue. It tells nothing but lies and disinformation.
He said, ” Ethnic minority languages are extensively used in such areas as education, judicature, administration and public affairs. People of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang live a happy life, enjoying unprecedented convenience in life, production, work and study. Some US politicians and officials has been framing that China disrespects the languages of ethnic minorities. The Constitution and the Law on the Standard Spoken and Written Chinese Language stipulate that Chinese nationals have the right to learn and use standard language, and the country provides conditions for this purpose. When performing official duties, Party and government organs of Xinjiang use at the same time standard Chinese and the languages of those ethnic minorities in the autonomous region.
Xinjiang People’s Broadcasting Station broadcasts 12 programs in Chinese, Uyghur, Kazakh, Kirghiz, and Mongolian. Xinjiang has set up Uyghur, Kazakh, Kirghiz, Mongolian and Xibe language courses for ethnic minority students at elementary and secondary schools. –PNP
