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Ignoring importance of Chinese language carries high cost

While I agree that we should teach the Chinese language differently in school, I have qualms about people dissociating themselves from the language (“Rethink how Mandarin is taught in Singapore”; Feb 22).

While I agree that we should teach the Chinese language differently in school, I have qualms about people dissociating themselves from the language (“Rethink how Mandarin is taught in Singapore”; Feb 22).

Some are quick to boast that they are hopeless at the language. Some have disparaged the Chinese-educated as “helicopters”. Well, the latter are having the last laugh.

A new dawn is breaking: China is developing in leaps and bounds, becoming the second-largest economy — and some say the largest in terms of purchasing power parity.

It has not only caught up but surpassed many who still mock its deficiencies. Millions of its people have been lifted out of poverty, never mind what human rights advocates say.

As both a gigantic producer and consumer, its contribution to world gross domestic product growth is substantial.

It has made strides technologically; Baidu and Alibaba are companies listed abroad. It manufactures cars, electrical appliances and electronics with advanced know-how. It boasts the world’s largest bullet train network. It has put man into space with its own efforts.

Chinese banks top the charts by market capitalisation. China not only exports products that we buy in our shops but also capital in buying companies abroad. Increasingly, its cultural exports find international acclaim — all these within 30-odd years.

Imperceptibly, its influence will hit our shores, if not already. We will be trading with them and working for them. It is thus urgent that we reckon with this sea change and prepare ourselves for it.

Learning Chinese and speaking Mandarin will open doors for us. It strikes up rapport and enables us to understand how the Chinese think. It does not hurt to have another tool in our survival kit.

It is not demeaning or uncool to learn the language well. Holding on to old ways that have worked may make us less relevant in this changed reality. It would be dire if some of us engage in self-mockery and nothing else.

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