Tibetan language hurt by China's neglect - report

By Ben Blanchard

BEIJING (Reuters) - The Chinese government is neglecting and actively undermining the Tibetan language as part of continuing efforts to dilute the region's unique culture, a human rights group said on Thursday.

Schools are forcing Tibetan children to learn China's national language, Mandarin, at a younger and younger age and are failing to support use of Tibetan in official fields, the Free Tibet Campaign said in a new report.

"China's insistence on Chinese language in Tibetan schools has failed a generation of Tibetans who now lag behind the rest of China in terms of basic literacy," the group's Matt Whitticase said in an emailed statement.

"But the one-language policy in Tibet goes beyond education; it is part of a more general assault on Tibetan culture and identity," he added.

"The growing prevalence of the Chinese language in all spheres of Tibetan public life automatically advantages Chinese settlers over Tibetans ..."

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao rejected the report's findings, saying Tibetan was widely used and properly respected.

"I believe bare-faced lies from such groups cannot deceive anyone," he told a regular news conference.

China has ruled Tibet with an iron fist since People's Liberation Army troops occupied the region in 1950 and has vowed to bring economic prosperity to the poor Himalayan region.