Dharamshala — The Chinese government has imposed a hardline policy on the Tibetan language for the past six decades, with the aim of eliminating Tibetan identity. The Chinese government, as well as Chinese companies like ByteDance, restricts the use of the Tibetan language, whenever they go live, Tibetans have to speak in Chinese, otherwise the Douying authorities will stop the Tibetan livestream, and many Tibetans expressed anger and helplessness at the ban on speaking Tibetan in Douying.
The Chinese government has banned all search engines such as Google Search, western news such as the New York Times, media sites such as Youtub, social media such as Twitter and western news sources. There are only a few media and applications that are optional for people living in China, such as Wechat and Douying (Tikkot), but in these applications, particularly Douying, Tibetans must speak Chinese instead of Tibetan, otherwise the Chinese authorities will prevent Tibetans from using Douying.
In recent years, Tibetans, especially singers, small traders doing businesses online, debates among people online, meetings, educating through online, and all kinds of live broadcasts on Douying have to speak Chinese, even if they don't want to, they start by apologising to Tibetans while they are speaking Chinese, and if they don't speak Chinese, they can't continue the live broadcast. It is very difficult to openly criticise the Douying Company and the Chinese government, as they risk detention, arrest and imprisonment simply for criticising them. But recently a courageous Tibetan spoke out strongly against Douying for not allowing the use of Tibetan during live broadcasts in the early week of July, 2024. He said that Chinese law allows the use of regional languages, whereas Douying does not allow the use of Tibetan.
Tibetan netizen Youga Ga (Yul Gaga) said in a video, "I am obliged to speak out today. I question whether Douyin holds more power and authority than the nation and the legal system. Is Douyin more powerful than the state? What is the reality here? To clarify, the state’s policies explicitly grant protection for cultural preservation and language promotion, a mandate supported by both the legal system and the government."
“Why is Douyin prohibiting the use of the Tibetan language, our own language? This is a fundamental question that needs to be addressed. It is said that the country must promote the language of its people, so how do we promote our Tibetan language? Should we just sit in our villages and speak our language there? Through local authorities and governmental agencies, the state has invested substantial resources in supporting online businesses and implementing regulations. Are these entities not more powerful than Douyin? What is the rationale behind Douyin Company banning our language? Aren’t all ethnicities supposed to be equal? Why, then, is the use of our Tibetan language being restricted ?" he continued.
"Local authorities and respective regulations must pay attention to these issues from the ground level. The country has invested heavily in establishing e-commerce and live-streaming bases. Given that many of us do not know Chinese, we have no option but to speak Tibetan. The Chinese government has claimed it will protect and promote our Tibetan language and culture. Is Duoyin more powerful than the state?," he added.
"I implore the state to look into this matter seriously, especially since a significant amount of state funds is spent on improving the lives of the people. So why is our language being restricted? If this ban continues, many people who depend on Douyin for their livelihoods will pool money to take legal action against Douyin, regardless of state policy. I urge the authorities to address this issue, as the ban on the Tibetan language also affects citizens' livelihoods, whether it is online trading or online consulting. What are the reasons for such a ban? I need a clear answer to this question immediately," Tibetan netizen Yul Gaga concluded.
Like this brave man, many Tibetans livestreaming expressed their anger and helplessness at the restrictions imposed by the Douying, as well as the restrictions on Tibetan speech and language on Wechat. When one Tibetan posted a video of someone speaking in Tibetan, the authorities said the language was unrecognisable and banned the post. Chinese authorities and companies are trying various means to eliminate the Tibetan language, such as banning Tibetan children from learning Tibetan during holidays, shutting down Tibetan schools, forcibly sending Tibetan children to Chinese colonial boarding schools, and banning Tibetans from speaking and writing on Chinese social media apps.
When a young Tibetan singer was asked why she usually sang in English and not in Tibetan, she replied: "I also like singing Tibetan songs and I am good at it, but if I sing in Tibetan, Douying will restrict me, so I sing in English or in another language."
In the first week of July, 2024, a Tibetan man said in a video: "I heard many Tibetans say that Tibetan was banned in Douying. This morning I tried to say a few words in my mother tongue on Douying and they immediately banned it. It's true that Douying has banned the use of Tibetan. The Chinese Constitution provides for the protection and preservation of ethnic languages, but why did Douying ban the use of Tibetan? There are so many departments that are paid for by the government, you are not just invited to eat, you should do something about the ban on the use of Tibetan at Douying. It's not good, really not good at all, the ban on using Tibetan is discrimination and contempt (of the Tibetan people and the Tibetan language). Tibetan officials should speak out on this issue."
The young Tibetan woman said in the video: "It is inevitable to say a few words in Tibetan during live broadcasts, because we didn't go to Chinese University and we can't speak standard Mandarin. We were born to speak Tibetan and we are Tibetans. There are many unemployed Tibetans who didn't get into university or who don't have jobs after graduation. We are in the age of the Internet and live broadcasting is a way of earning a living. How will we be able to live in the future if we don't allow live Tibetan broadcasts? I hope that the concerned leaders will pay attention to the possibility of speaking Tibetan during live broadcasts."
