China introduced a sweeping "ethnic unity" law on 1 July 2026 that mandates Mandarin Chinese as the primary language in schools and government offices across the country, while banning acts deemed to incite division among China's 56 officially recognised ethnic groups. The law matters because it intensifies pressure on Tibetans and other minorities, such as Uyghurs in Xinjiang and Mongolians in Inner Mongolia, to prioritise Chinese national identity over their own languages and traditions, with Beijing framing the move as improving educational access while critics see it as forced assimilation.

Despite the restrictions, many Tibetans are quietly working to keep their language and culture alive, learning Tibetan script, speaking the language at home, practising traditional crafts such as weaving, and taking part in Buddhist rituals. One example is Kalsang Lhamo, a 73-year-old retired nurse, who studies Tibetan calligraphy at an elderly care centre, while a student named Qongqiu Quco said preserving the language and culture mattered to her, even though Mandarin remains the language used at school because of regional dialect differences. The article also notes that prominent religious sites, including the Jokhang Temple and the Potala Palace, display no references to the current Dalai Lama, who has lived in exile since 1959, underscoring the broader erosion of Tibetan religious and cultural identity under the new rules.