Xinhua (March 5) reported that Chinese President Xi Jinping took part in deliberation with his fellow deputies from the delegation of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region on March 5, at the fourth session of the 13th National People's Congress. Chinese President Xi Jinping instructed delegates to the NPC from the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region to popularise the use of Mandarin in schools and resolve ethnic tensions. Xinhua quoted him as telling the delegates that “Cultural identity is the deepest form of identity. It is also the root and soul of ethnic unity and harmony.” He told them to use “solid and meticulous efforts” to achieve ethnic unity and ensure that standard Chinese and state-compiled textbooks are unwaveringly adopted. He said all young people in Inner Mongolia should gain a comprehensive understanding of the CCP’s policies and its revolutionary heritage.

(Comment: The Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region has been witness the past many months to protests and rioting sparked by the decision of the authorities to replace the ethnic Mongol language with Putonghua (Mandarin).