Douyin’s ban on the Tibetan language sparks concerns over rapidly shrinking cultural and linguistic freedoms online
The strict imposition on using the Tibetan language on Douyin, the most popular short video app in China—the Chinese counterpart of TikTok—has been a recurring issue and has raised concerns about digital freedoms and the rapidly shrinking space for cultural and linguistic autonomy in Chinese cyberspace.
The issue has once again sparked concerns after Tibetan netizen Youga Ga posted a video expressing strong discontent over the ban on using the Tibetan language. Numerous Tibetans have also voiced their concerns on social media, reporting difficulties in streaming and speaking in Tibetan, and their content has been subjected to immediate censorship and deletion.
“I am compelled 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?
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?
I implore the state to seriously consider this matter, particularly since a substantial amount of state funding is dedicated to improving the lives of the people. Why is our language being restricted then? If this ban continues, many individuals who depend on Douyin for their livelihood will pool money to take legal action against Douyin, regardless of state policy. I request that the authorities address this issue, as the ban on the Tibetan language is also affecting the livelihoods of citizens, whether it is for online trading or online counselling. What is the rationale behind such a ban? I am in immediate need of a clear answer to this question.”
Douyin, launched in September 2016 has more than 700 million active users and has become a thriving business in China. Many Tibetans, including businessmen, social workers, doctors, influencers, and monastics, use Douyin for content creation, online business, and marketing, essentially making a living from this platform.
A Tibetan doctor who regularly provides online medical advice said, “I may be a small-time Tibetan doctor, but my medical expertise has never been in question. I encounter numerous patients who self-medicate for headaches and other illnesses with painkillers without seeking medical advice. Many seriously ill individuals and those with health issues seek my guidance. With the prohibition on using the Tibetan language, I am forced to use Chinese, and since my patients are Tibetan, especially the elderly and illiterate youth, including farmers and nomads, they struggle to understand me when I speak in Chinese. What purpose does speaking Chinese serve if they cannot comprehend it? As a result, I have stopped my online broadcasts.”
A Tibetan trader using Douyin shared, “I have been trading on various online platforms for about five years, dedicating approximately 18-19 hours daily to live broadcasts. I am not alone in this; myself and six other colleagues take turns hosting live commercials. We use online broadcasting to conduct our business. In total, I oversee a team of over fifty people. Our business model involves purchasing wholesale goods from China and selling them online at a reduced price to Tibetans. However, a significant challenge we face is that all websites prohibit using the Tibetan language. This means that 80% of our potential customers cannot understand the products we are offering. This restriction directly hurts our business objectives. It would be much more effective if we were allowed to communicate in Tibetan.”
Bhoejey, formerly a monk, proficient in the dialect of the three traditional provinces—Amdo, U-Tsang, and Kham—and an avid online poetry reciter, shared his perspective.
“As a monk, I live by the doctrine, so I do not engage extensively in live broadcasting. However, I believe monks can participate in various online activities, such as reciting poetry and engaging in philosophical discussions. If we have a platform to teach Amdo, U-Tsang, and Kham languages along with Chinese, Tibetan, and English, we can effectively use technology to promote knowledge and culture. Unfortunately, the management of Douyin and online broadcasts have only allowed using the Chinese language, as you have observed. Even foreigners are using Chinese for online broadcasts because English is not permitted. Numerous platforms are teaching English on Chinese live broadcasts. Why aren’t Tibetans allowed to do the same thing in the Tibetan language? We monks especially would like to invite Geshe and experts from Kham, Amdo, and U-Tsang provinces to join the platform for teachings and discussions so we would not need to travel from place to place. Scholars from across Tibet could exchange ideas. Unfortunately, we do not have such freedom.“
Douyin’s parent company, ByteDance, has previously sparked concerns over its links to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its censorship practices, including shadow-banning videos related to Uyghurs. Douyin is also a well-known platform through which Chinese authorities disseminate information and propaganda. Restrictions on the Tibetan language are viewed as a part of a broader effort by the Chinese government to erode the cultural identity of Tibetans. In March 2022, the multilingual learning app Talkmate and the video streaming app Bilibili imposed restrictions on the use of the Tibetan language.
Similarly, Kuaishou has been actively removing and restricting content related to Tibetan culture. In an appeal video, Rinchen, a Tibetan from Kham, Qinghai Province, called on the Kuaishou platform to stop racial discrimination and avoid harming ethnic unity by imposing restrictions on Tibetan language and cultural content. The appeal pointed out that while content from non-Tibetans and other groups in China, including depictions of animal violence and abusive language, remains unrestricted, Tibetan voices are being unfairly silenced.
Because Rinchen’s appeal video has been widely shared by Tibetans, both his video and his account has been deleted.
The prohibition of Tibetan language use is a flagrant violation of provisions enshrined in Chinese constitution as well as Regional Ethnic Autonomy Law, which promised but rarely granted meaningful autonomous powers to ethnic minorities including Tibetans.
In August 2021, Xi Jinping, President of the People’s Republic of China, announced at the Central Ethnic Work Conference in Beijing that all ethnic matters should be addressed with the broader goal of establishing a modern socialist state unified under a single Chinese national identity. Xi officially endorsed the party-state’s shift towards the assimilationist ‘Second Generation Ethnic Policy’ (Rónghé / 融合 / intermingling), which has been strongly advocated by Chinese intellectuals and party leaders, especially following the 2008 Tibetan uprising. This policy aims to undo seven decades of theoretical autonomy granted to minority nationalities (少数民族 shaoshu minzu) under the Regional National Autonomy Law and the Chinese Constitution. Today, the Chinese party-state is aggressively promoting the concept of the ‘Chinese national’ (中华民族 zhonghua minzu), which was added to the Chinese Constitution in 2018, to forcefully integrate minority nationalities into the larger Han Chinese population of 1.4 billion.
“Language constitutes a crucial aspect of one’s cultural identity. Prohibiting Tibetans from using their language effectively denies them the means to preserve their identity,” said Ngawang Lungtok, a researcher at the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy.
The Chinese authorities must uphold the principles of equality and non-discrimination, which form the core of international human rights law and are enshrined in major treaties, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.
