[Global Issue+] China Implements 'Cultural Eradication Policy' in Neimenggu Following Xinjiang Uyghur Region

"Stop the Reduction of Mongolian Language Classes" White House Petition
Strengthening Minority Policies Since the Escalation of US-China Disputes in 2018

On the 2nd, Mongolians holding placards with anti-China slogans protested in Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia. The protesters condemned China's replacement of Mongolian language classes with Chinese (Mandarin) in schools in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and marched to the Chinese Embassy.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] Following the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, the Chinese government has begun implementing a hardline assimilation policy in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, including the reduction of Mongolian language classes. This has sparked protests not only among Mongols in Inner Mongolia but also in Mongolia itself. While there are growing concerns that the hardline policy in Inner Mongolia?where a conciliatory approach had been maintained since the Qing Dynasty in the 17th century?will provoke strong backlash, the Chinese government is expected to stubbornly push forward with the hardline policy citing national security reasons.

According to foreign media such as The New York Times (NYT), since last month, petitions have been posted on the White House website urging the U.S. government to stop the Chinese government’s attempt to erase culture by replacing Mongolian language classes with Chinese language classes in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Since early last month, protests by Mongol residents have continued in Inner Mongolia, with armed troops and armored vehicles deployed around key government offices and buildings, escalating the situation. Protests condemning the Chinese government are also ongoing in Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia.

The Chinese government has recently begun enforcing hardline assimilation policies against ethnic minorities. Not only the Mongols in Inner Mongolia but also the Hui people in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region have seen bans on religious Islam, native language, and traditional cultural education. Women have been forced to stop wearing hijabs commonly worn by Muslims. Unlike the Uygurs in Xinjiang, the Chinese government had maintained very conciliatory policies toward the Mongols and Hui, who were already significantly assimilated into Chinese society, raising concerns that these new policies could backfire even within China.

Originally, the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and modern Mongolia were regions inhabited by Mongols and were not separated until the 17th century. The Qing Dynasty, established by the Manchus in the 17th century, conquered southern Mongolia and, through intermarriage policies with Mongol nobility, incorporated them as part of the Manchu people. This led to the region being called Inner Mongolia (Nei Mongol), while the remaining area was called Outer Mongolia. Inner Mongolia was heavily assimilated into China over more than 400 years as the Qing Dynasty conquered China. Currently, Mongols living in Inner Mongolia make up about 20% of the population, with most residents being Han Chinese or Manchu mixed.

Outer Mongolia resisted the Qing Dynasty for about 100 years after Inner Mongolia was assimilated and controlled areas including present-day Mongolia and parts of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. After being conquered by the Qing at the end of the 18th century, many were subjected to massacres close to ethnic cleansing. This fostered resentment against the Qing, and following the 1911 Xinhai Revolution and the fall of the Qing Dynasty, Outer Mongolia declared independence. However, Inner Mongolia chose to remain with the Republic of China, leading to a complete split. Inner Mongolians, already heavily assimilated and economically tied to China through trade, reportedly did not desire independence.

Subsequently, the Chinese government generally maintained a conciliatory policy toward Inner Mongolia. Unlike the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, where armed uprisings demanding independence occurred, Mongols in Inner Mongolia welcomed the Chinese government’s economic support and development policies. As Inner Mongolia’s economy advanced ahead of Mongolia’s, labor exchanges between the two regions became active.

However, since 2018, as the U.S.-China rivalry intensified, China’s conciliatory policies began to change. The U.S. government’s international criticism of China over human rights issues in Xinjiang and Tibet, along with the enactment of the Uygur Human Rights Act, altered the situation. The Chinese government is believed to have shifted to a hardline policy to prevent the emergence of a second or third Uygur-like situation among its 57 ethnic minorities.

The U.S. increasing contacts to strengthen ties with Mongolia is also known to have greatly alarmed the Chinese government. According to Foreign Policy, in September last year, U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper visited Mongolia for the first time since taking office, and recently, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo planned to visit Mongolia during an Asia tour but was unable to due to President Donald Trump’s COVID-19 diagnosis, showing efforts to closely engage with Mongolia.

The Chinese government views these U.S. moves as attempts to include Mongolia in a containment strategy against China, which is analyzed to be leading to increased pressure on the Mongols. As the U.S.-China power struggle intensifies, concerns are growing that the Chinese government will further intensify repression of ethnic minorities under the pretext of strengthening internal unity.