China Accused of Erasing Mongolian Language and Culture Online: New Study

Online Censorship Targeting Mongolian Culture

• 💡 A new report from human rights experts, journalists, and Pen America reveals that the Chinese government is actively targeting Mongolian language and culture through online spaces.
• 📌 For years, the internet served as a vital platform for Mongolians in China to use their language, share music, and connect as a community, especially after Beijing enforced a bilingual language policy in 2020 that replaced Mongolian with Mandarin Chinese in schools.
• ⚠️ This policy change led to widespread protests, mass detentions, and repression that has since bled into the digital world, intensifying online censorship.

Digital Repression Tactics

• 🚫 Nearly 89% of known Mongolian cultural websites have been censored or shut down, and popular Mongolian language social media apps have been restricted.
• 📰 A policy known as "one province, one newspaper, one client" allows state media to dominate by creating their own platforms, crowding out independent Mongolian apps.
• 🗣️ A Mongolian journalist in exile reported that the government has banned the language in local schools, and digital spaces are being deliberately removed, censoring discussions of Mongolian history, music, and identity.
• 🚫 Songs with titles like "Let Us Be Mongolian" and terms related to Mongolian identity, such as "Chinghan," are being censored or labeled as separatist.

Tech Company Responsibility

• 💻 The report argues that when apps, browsers, and search engines fail to support Mongolian or quietly remove content under government pressure, they actively accelerate cultural erasure.
• 🌐 Tech companies are urged to pay attention to this intersection of cultural rights and digital repression, as it serves as a case study for the suppression of culture globally.
• 🤝 Human rights activists and journalists are calling for a coordinated response from tech companies and international institutions to protect Mongolian culture online.
• 💬 China's Foreign Ministry was contacted for comment but had not responded at the time of reporting.