Activists are bringing awareness to the Chinese government's suppression of the Tibetan language, calling it a violation of their right to education and their unique ethnic identity.
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00:00 These activists are cycling throughout Taipei to bring awareness to the Chinese government's
00:04 suppression of the Tibetan language. The event comes on International Mother Language Day,
00:09 which aims to promote linguistic diversity around the world. Speaking in front of Taiwan's
00:14 Education Ministry in both Tibetan and Mandarin, the activists say China's campaign is an attempt
00:19 to crush their culture and heritage.
00:21 Free Tibet! Free Tibet! Free Tibet! Free Tibet!
00:26 (In Tibetan)
00:47 There are over six million Tibetans living under repressive conditions in China, and
00:51 an estimated one million Tibetan children are forced to enroll in Mandarin-language boarding
00:56 schools. Human rights groups say this also erases their Tibetan identities. Advocates
01:01 have been jailed for promoting the language, and Tibetans are worried that their language
01:05 could die out.
01:06 Tibet is the army of China. The army of China.
01:12 They say it's part of a larger crackdown in China on minority languages, which they call
01:17 a violation of their right to education and to their unique ethnic identities, something
01:22 they hope to counter by speaking out proudly in their native languages here in Taiwan.
01:27 Alex Chen and Tiffany Wong in Taipei for Taiwan Plus.
01:30 [BLANK_AUDIO]