Bilingual Society and Bilingual Education of the Yi Ethnic Minority of the Liangshan Yi Ethnic Minority Autonomous Prefecture in China Amid Cultural Changes—History, Present Situation, Problems, and Analysis

1. This topic is an integral part of the joint research project "Strengthening the Education of Ethnic Minorities in China" of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the State Education Commission (SEdC). Its objective is to provide a theoretical basis for the enactment of bilingual education policies by the central and local governments through on-the-spot investigation of the region where the Yi ethnic minority of Liangshan live in compact communities. It also aims at providing the basis for policy-making by the ADB in its effort to offer financial aid for the education of Chinese ethnic minorities. Its ultimate goal is to help the ethnic minorities to keep their traditional culture on the one hand and to better enter mainstream society and smoothly achieve their own modernization on the other through the enactment of bilingual education policies for ethnic minorities in different lingual environments.