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Here is an excellent discussion on the use of the reflexive 3rd-person plural when used as 3rd-person gender-neutral pronoun:

Themself or Themselves? (Disponible en anglais seulement)

Introduction

As discussed in a previous article in Legistics, the plural pronoun “”they”" can be used to represent a singular antecedent that is gender-neutral and indefinite, for example, “”someone”", “”no one”", “”anyone”" or “”a person”". As the article states, the other grammatical forms of the “”singular they”" are “”them”", “”their”" and “”themselves”", and these are used in a sentence to relate to a “”singular they”" subject, along with a plural verb. The question addressed in this article is whether “”themself”" can be used in some cases instead of “”themselves”" with reference to a singular “”they”" or a singular indefinite antecedent.
Recommendations

1. Use themselves as the reflexive/intensive pronoun to refer to an indefinite gender-neutral noun or pronoun that is the subject of the sentence and avoid themself.

2. If a singular indefinite gender-neutral noun is the subject of a sentence, use the “”singular they”" elsewhere in the sentence, especially as the subject of any subordinate clause, to refer to it rather than repeat the noun; this will improve readability. In the following provision, for example, the use of “”they”" as the subject of the subordinate clause, along with a plural verb, instead of “”the person”" and a singular verb, makes themselves sound more natural.

A claim for refugee protection shall be rejected, and a person is not a Convention refugee if they have voluntarily reavailed themselves of the protection of their country of nationality.

3. If themselves sounds awkward, redraft the sentence without using the reflexive/intensive pronoun.

Grammars

According to the rules of grammar, reflexive/intensive pronouns are formed by adding the singular self or the plural selves to the possessive form of the first- and second-person personal pronouns (myself, yourself, ourselves, yourselves), to the objective form of third-person personal pronouns (herself, himself, itself, themselves), and to the impersonal pronoun “”one”" (oneself). Self is chosen if the pronoun to which it is being added is singular, while selves is chosen if the pronoun is plural.

This story is fascinating from a social-linguistic, historical perspective. It demonstrates how powerful language is, and the extent to which individuals, groups, and governments identify with it.

Those who are quick to criticize the PRC government for its linguistic intolerance might keep in mind that the same types of policies once existed in the US and many other parts of the world. Just a few years ago, Taiwanese could not be legally taught or used in the media in Taiwan. This type of heavy-handed linguistic intolerance and fear is a human condition, not just a Chinese one.

Taipei Times – archives

Protesters rally in China, Hong Kong over local dialect

AFP , HONG KONG
Monday, Aug 02, 2010, Page 1
More than 1,000 protesters rallied in Guangzhou and Hong Kong yesterday against what they say is China』s bid to champion the national language, Mandarin, over their local dialect, Cantonese.

Hundreds of mainland police officers were deployed to disperse protesters who gathered in People』s Park in Guangzhou to call on authorities to preserve the Cantonese language and culture, Hong Kong broadcasters RTHK and Cable TV reported.

「Guangzhou people speak the Guangzhou language,」 some angry protesters chanted as the size of the crowd grew to about 1,000, RTHK said.

Videos from Cable TV and YouTube showed that some of the rally participants were forcibly carried away. A number of Hong Kong journalists were taken for questioning, Cable TV reported.

Chinese authorities have been anxious to suppress the growing pro-Cantonese movement, sparked after a political advisory body in Guangzhou proposed last month that local TV stations broadcast their prime-time shows in Mandarin instead of Cantonese ahead of the Asian Games in the province in November.

Adopting China』s official language, also known as Putonghua, would promote unity, 「forge a good language environment」 and cater to non-Cantonese-speaking Chinese visitors at the huge sporting event, authorities were quoted as saying.

Hundreds of Guangzhou residents defied government orders and staged their first demonstration the previous Sunday, but the protest was soon suppressed by the authorities, according to reports.

To echo the Guangzhou campaign, about 200 protesters marched to the government headquarters in Hong Kong yesterday.

「We want to show our support to our Guangzhou friends in their campaign to protect Cantonese against any threat of elimination,」 said Choi Suk-fong, organizer of the rally.

Participants wore white T-shirts with a logo which said: 「You want us to shut up. We will speak louder in Cantonese.」

A number of Guangzhou residents crossed the border to take part in the Hong Kong rally, saying that authorities in Guangzhou were trying to silence the protesters.

「I really regretted not going to the rally in Guangzhou last week. I came to Hong Kong today because I want to protect my own culture. Unlike on the mainland, here I can voice my view more directly,」 said 21-year-old Wyman, who refused to give his family name for fear of retaliation by the Chinese authorities.

Instances of mainland protests spilling over into Hong Kong, which was returned to China in 1997, are rare since China』s the 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre.

Cantonese is the mother tongue for an estimated 70 million people in Hong Kong, Macau and China』s southern Guangdong Province, and is widely spoken in overseas Chinese communities.

China has long been a patchwork of often mutually unintelligible dialects.

Beijing made Mandarin the country』s official language in 1982, leading to bans on other dialects at many radio and television stations.

The dialect has been further promoted in recent years as migrant workers moved to China』s coastal areas to find jobs.

This story has been viewed 219 times.

Can you see what is wrong with this statement?

New oil spill total is bad news for BP, wildlife – Yahoo! News

GRAND ISLE, La. – The astonishing news that the oil leak at the bottom of the sea may be twice as big as previously thought could have major repercussions for both the environment and BP’s financial health, killing more marine life and dramatically increasing the amount the company must pay in fines and damages.