Colonialism would better explain the basis of current Chinese language policy. The system was established to achieve specific objectives that included the improvement of national unity, economic development and the reduction of illiteracy levels.
In particular, prior to the 20th century, Chinese governments were unaware of the language challenges that were a source of economic decline for China. Later, in 1949, the communist government promoted language policies that supported only Báihuà as a common language. Also, the Putonghua language declined at the same time. In the mid-1950s, minor actions were taken to reform the language. In October 1955, the National Script Reform Congress discussed modifications, simplification of the ancient logographic script, and ways to further national language studies. The common language was described as putonghua.
In 1956, the Chinese state mandated the teaching of Mandarin Chinese in educational institutions. In fact, he provided clear examples of how this would be implemented effectively. Such an effort was unsuccessful as it was halted during the start of the Cultural Revolution. The variation of the writing system was the main concern of the Script Reform Committee, where the initial step was taken in 1956 that ensured the publication of 515 characters. It needed simplification, literacy or Latinization.
According to DeFrancis, language policy in China has been identified by dimensions of state, corpus, and acquisition planning. It should be noted that the state plan describes the strategies that assign the functions of the language for a community discourse. On the other hand, corpus planning deals with the availability of forms of literacy, while acquisition planning illustrates creating opportunities and incentives for learners to acquire new languages. The situation offers appropriate interaction between the Chinese and foreign countries effectively.
Significantly, Liu illustrates that interest in using a different language arose from bullies in the 19th century by Westerners. Therefore, the government began to advocate the importance of learning and understanding different languages despite resistance to change. In fact, conservationists thought it would result in the dilution of their culture. The Chinese government improved adequate resources to boost the knowledge of foreign languages where the Chinese accessed the modern innovations necessary to maintain their territories. The reformers followed Western cultures and the conservationists wanted to keep their values and language.
In fact, the social, political and ideological contexts have an impact on existing multilingual cultures in China. Linguistic ideologies have contributed significantly to language policy, prioritizing the languages to be selected. The circumstance greatly benefits China’s economy. Chinese national policy promotes both regional and cultural sovereignty, and everyone has the right to use the language they prefer.
Foreign Language Education Planning (FLEP) has been a victim of political turmoil related to economic reforms in China for more than six decades. The process began in 1949 when the Western imperial powers intimidated the Qing government. The government decided to adopt modern diplomacy to improve interactions with more foreign nations. The idea of opening up to the world was important but threatened the culture of the Chinese people. A proposal by reformer Zhang Zhidong insisted on Chinese values education and Western learning for practical uses.
According to Liu, (2015) FLEP has gone through a politicized era (1949-1976) characterized by political turmoil that influenced the elections held. FLEP wanted to improve communism in the nation to prevent the loss of the Chinese language. FLEP was criticized for changes to the curriculum and qualified teaching forces. That led to the expansion of Russian languages which had strong teaching systems.