Pro-Cantonese Rallies in Southern China and Hong Kong
Massive rallies took place in southern China and Hong Kong over the weekend, as residents marched to protect the Cantonese language. While the protest in Hong Kong went on undisturbed, authorities in mainland China dispatched police to break up the crowds, detaining participants and foreign journalists.
Hundreds of Hong Kong residents took to the streets on Sunday. They’re supporting fellow Cantonese speakers in mainland China to safeguard their language. Cantonese is native to southern China, and is spoken by about 70 million people in the region.
Earlier in July, authorities in Guangzhou city proposed to replace some Cantonese TV programs with Mandarin—China’s official language. Officials say they are trying to streamline the image of the city, in preparation for the Asian Games in November. They say reducing Cantonese on local TV would, quote “forge a good language environment.”
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[Choi Suk Fong, Organizer of Pro-Cantonese Rally]: (female, Cantonese)
“A country that uses a hard-line stance or cultural dominance to treat a group of locals would diminish certain opportunities for those people, or suppress them, or create a lack of respect for the language. Even when we use this language to express our opinions, they may think it’s an act of opposing the government.”
Across the border in mainland China, crowds gathered in downtown Guangzhou for the second weekend in a row to show their support for Cantonese. Over one thousand residents protested, despite earlier warnings by authorities saying that such rallies are ‘illegal.’
To deal with the protesters Guangzhou authorities dispatched hundreds of police to the scene. Hong Kong-based Mingpao newspaper reports that scuffles broke out between police and demonstrators. Seven foreign journalists were taken away for questioning and detained for several hours.
China’s state-run Xinhua News Agency reports three participants in Sunday’s protest were detained for disrupting public order.
Hundreds of Hong Kong residents took to the streets on Sunday. They’re supporting fellow Cantonese speakers in mainland China to safeguard their language. Cantonese is native to southern China, and is spoken by about 70 million people in the region.
Earlier in July, authorities in Guangzhou city proposed to replace some Cantonese TV programs with Mandarin—China’s official language. Officials say they are trying to streamline the image of the city, in preparation for the Asian Games in November. They say reducing Cantonese on local TV would, quote “forge a good language environment.”
[...]
[Choi Suk Fong, Organizer of Pro-Cantonese Rally]: (female, Cantonese)
“A country that uses a hard-line stance or cultural dominance to treat a group of locals would diminish certain opportunities for those people, or suppress them, or create a lack of respect for the language. Even when we use this language to express our opinions, they may think it’s an act of opposing the government.”
Across the border in mainland China, crowds gathered in downtown Guangzhou for the second weekend in a row to show their support for Cantonese. Over one thousand residents protested, despite earlier warnings by authorities saying that such rallies are ‘illegal.’
To deal with the protesters Guangzhou authorities dispatched hundreds of police to the scene. Hong Kong-based Mingpao newspaper reports that scuffles broke out between police and demonstrators. Seven foreign journalists were taken away for questioning and detained for several hours.
China’s state-run Xinhua News Agency reports three participants in Sunday’s protest were detained for disrupting public order.