Saudi Twitter has been taken by storm over the latest announcement to add Mandarin Chinese language courses to school and university curriculum starting from next year.
The decision coincides with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s visit to China where he signed agreements to strengthen relations and enhance the cultural diversity among the two nations.
The plan is to include the Chinese standard language, Mandarin, in the curriculum of all educational stages around the Kingdom in a bid to open new academic horizons for the students of Saudi Arabia in China.
Just a few hours after the news was announced, Saudi Twitter was rowing over the news.
Many hailed the decision as a step toward opening wider horizons for the Saudi youth.
It is also believed by many Saudis to be another step toward achieving the Kingdom’s Vision 2030.
The debate is still ongoing on social media, four days after it all sparked and Saudis are still debating over it using hashtag #ادراج_اللغه_الصينيه_في_المناهج [Inclusion of Chinese Language in Curriculum].
Some students had also gone to their schools to celebrate the decision by hanging up welcoming banners in the Chinese language.
Translation: “Coinciding with the decision to include the Chinese language in the curriculum, a boy draws a welcoming banner in Chinese letters in his school.”
Yet, not all Saudis were in awe of the decision.
Some argued the Saudi government should focus more on improving their English language teaching methods before entering a new language.
Translation: “Let us first improve our English language teaching in schools and then will begin with the Chinese.”
On Friday, the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met with President Xi Jinping in Beijing, where both parties signed agreements related to energy production and the chemical industry.
At a time when expectations were split whether Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, aka MBS, will turn a blind eye to the plight of China’s Uyghur Muslims or raise the issue to China’s President Xi Jinping in Beijing, MBS adopted an unexpected position.
China’s state-run news agency, Xinhua, quoted Bin Salman as suggesting support for Chinese domestic attempts to 'contain terrorism' in what in effect are concentration camps for Chinese ethnic Muslims.
Read More: 'Gatekeeper' of Islam? MBS Defends Chinese Concentration Camps for Uyghur Muslims
