BSS 2023 SUGGESTED ANSWERS & LORMS

2023 PHSS 4E5N SOCIAL STUDIES PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION MARK SCHEME 4E5N Prelim Section A Suggested Answer (Bartley Secondary School) 1 Study Source A. Why did President Xi make this speech? Explain your answer. [6] Suggested Answer Take note: Good answers should link to concepts of fostering social cohesion and common identity OR increasing social stability as a safeguard against extremist ideology as mentioned in BI. Success Criteria President Xi made the speech to convince government officials of the importance of building common identity amongst the diverse ethnic groups to safeguard social stability against extremist ideas, so that the government officials will work with all ethnic groups for the mutual benefit of the Chinese nation, and each ethnic group. He made this speech in August 2021, one month before the removal of traditional language in schools, over which ethnic Mongolians had staged a protest the year before. President Xi said “Fostering a strong sense of community for the Chinese nation is a critical element of safeguarding the fundamental interests of all ethnic groups. Only when all ethnic groups jointly safeguard national security and social stability can extremist and separatist thoughts be resisted and the aspirations of the people of all ethnic groups for a better life be fulfilled.” This implies that the ethnic groups must feel like they have a common stake in the peace and stability of the county as a whole, which will also benefit them, so the officials must work with them to build that trust. ● Powerful Verb ● Audience ● Message ● Feeling ● Action ● Situation ● Evidence 1 best line ● Explanation 2 Study Source B and C. Would the columnist (in Source C) agree with the published report (in Source B)? Explain your answer. [6] Suggested Answer Note: - Answers using similar / different → 0 - When disagreeing / refuting, always use opposite meaning words Success Criteria The columnist would agree with the published report [A] on the fact that Tibetan children are learning Mandarin Chinese in schools [CC]. This is evident in Source B where it says “... equally key is the universalisation of Mandarin Chinese” [Ev] which implies that the Mandarin language is learn throughout China regardless of your ethnic background, which would ● ATQ ● Common Criteria ● Comparison word

2023 PHSS 4E5N SOCIAL STUDIES PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION MARK SCHEME include Tibetan children [Ex]. Likewise [CW], Source C says that “the realistic motivation for Tibetan children to learn Mandarin is great because it is the common language in China and the largest language carrier for the functioning of Chinese society” [Ev] which implies that many Tibetan children would learn Mandarin because of the benefits of being able to use Mandarin while living in China [Ex]. ● Evidence x2 1 best line ● Explanation x2 The columnist would disagree with the published report [A] on the impact of learning Mandarin on the preservation of Tibetan language and identity [CC]. This is evident in Source B where it says “many struggle to communicate in their native tongue” [Ev] wh ich implies that learning Mandarin instead means they stop learning their traditional Tibetan language leading them to lose their ability to communicate in it fluently [Ex]. However [CW], Source C says that “leaning Mandarin does not mean giving up learning Tiberan” [Ev] which implies that the learning of Mandarin Chinese can go hand in hand with learning their traditional language in a complementary way [Ex]. ● ATQ ● Common Criteria ● Comparison word ● Evidence 1 best line ● Explanation Using the position and context of creators of the sources. (L5/6) The columnist in Source C would never agree with report in Source B because the columnist writes for the official newspaper of the Chinese Communist Party, which would always defend the par ty’s policy as the government of China when criticised by a foreign publication. Even if there might be elements of truth in Source B’s criticism of the Chinese government, the TIME magazine article’s one -sided and biased view paints the situation as one t hat is forced on Tibetans by the Chinese government. As such, as an employee of the Chinese government’s newspaper, the columnist is obligated to correct [P] the wrong characterisation that the Tibetans themselves are wholly against the learning of Mandar in Chinese [M], so that local Chinese, or international readers [A] will reconsider their perspective on the issue [F], and be more willing to understand the Chinese government’s rationale for the policy [A]. The columnist published this article in 2023 after the implementation of the policy to stop teaching local languages in schools, while Source B was written before it, in July 2021. It is more likely that the policy does achieve some beneficial outcomes, rather than be as terrible as the biased characterisation that TIME magazine made in 2021, so the columnist must correct the unfair characterisation of the Chinese government’s policy. [Exp] ● ATQ ● PAMFASEE of C ● Explanation of why columnist will not agree with report of B, taking into consideration: -What is said -When it is said -Who is he addressing 3 Study Source D. How useful is Source D in helping you understand people’s attitudes towards China’s ethnic policy? Explain your answer. [6] Suggested Answer Note: Success Criteria

2023 PHSS 4E5N SOCIAL STUDIES PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION MARK SCHEME -Always begin with USEFUL -Infer state of social mixing -Successful Cross referencing (CR) requires reliability therefore useful / unreliability therefore less useful. Source D is useful in helping us understand people’s attitudes towards China’s ethnic policy [A] as it is reliable as it is supported by Source E [LOR]. Both [CW] suggest that China’s ethnic policy is more assimilative than integrative because they adopt t he approach of sinicization (CC). This can be seen from Source D which shows President Xi painting each ethnic individual with the red paint of Sinicization [Ev], which implies that their ethnic identity are now covered over by the red colour of Han Chines e ethnicity [Ex]. Similarly, [CW] Source E says “China tries to speed up the process of cultural assimilation by increasing the number of Han people” [Ev] which implies that the Chinese government attempts to sinicise Xinjiang by increasing the proportion of Han Chinese so that their cultures and practices will become the dominant culture of the region, relegating tradition Uyghur culture as a minority cultural practice in the traditionally Uyghur dominant region [Ex]. ● ATQ + LOR ● Common Criteria ● Comparison word ● Evidence x2 1 best line ● Explanation x2 Source D is less useful in helping us understand people’s attitudes towards China’s ethnic policy [A] as it is unreliable as it is refuted by Source F [LOR]. Source D suggests that China’s ethnic policy is more assimilative than integrative because they a dopt the approach of sinicization (CC), but Source A suggests that China’s ethnic policy is more integrative than assimilative. This can be seen from Source D which shows President Xi painting each ethnic individual with the red paint of Sinicization [Ev], which implies that their ethnic identity are now covered over by the red colour of Han Chinese ethnicity [Ex]. However [CW], Source A says “Neither Han chauvinism nor local ethnic chauvinism is conducive to the development of a community for the Chinese n ation” [Ev] which implies that the Chinese government’s approach is not to destroy or suppress local ethnic culture while imposing the dominant Han Chinese culture, but to integrate both together in building a Chinese national community [Ex]. ● ATQ + LOR ● Common Criteria ● Comparison word ● Evidence 1 best