It's not an either or situation though. No one is saying that sharing a common language prevents fracturing, only that it helps promote national unity. In a n

It's not an either or situation though. No one is saying that sharing a common language prevents fracturing, only that it helps promote national unity. In a nation as large and diverse as China, linguistic unity can act as a powerful unifying force. Canada and Belgium have struggled in recent years with bilingualism. Prosperity minimizes the tension caused by multilingualism, but in times of economic hardship these tensions can become magnified.