China doesn't want you to say 'Tibet' anymore

Chinese officials are increasingly using the term "Xizang,” the official English spelling of the name that China's ethnic Han majority applies to the Tibetan homeland on the country's far western frontier. The shift dovetails with a broad assimilation drive targeted at China's ethnic minorities and outlying regions that has intensified under Chinese leader Xi Jinping, who has sought to forge a singular national identity—one centered on the Han majority and loyalty to the Communist Party. Amid these efforts, Beijing has also been stepping up preparations for a fight over the choice of successor to the current Dalai Lama, the spiritual…