Patron Former Minister Mentor, Singapore
Mr Lee Kuan Yew
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MM: English skills will give China the edge
The Straits Times
2010-07-13
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But creation of an English-speaking environment a challenge
 
THE ability to understand the world without translation is a skill Singapore can impart to China, said Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew.

But for China to attain this skill will involve creating an English-speaking environment alongside their Chinese-speaking one – a difficult challenge he does not know how to overcome.

"If the Chinese can master English, it will give them a very powerful weapon for economic growth," he said.

China is currently at a "disadvantage" in a world where English is the lingua franca, he said. In finance, for instance, all bank annual reports are in English, regardless of their countries of origin.

Mr Lee was speaking to an audience of 300 at a dialogue during the FutureChina forum yesterday. A participant had asked what China could learn from Singapore and vice versa.

Mr Lee said that 10 to 20per cent of Chinese must become proficient in English before an English-speaking environment can develop.

At the moment, there are those who go overseas to the US or the UK who are fluent in English – but this is only 0.001per cent of the population, he estimated.
For the remaining Chinese who attempt to hone their English skills in China, standards remain woefully low.

"If you learn (English) in China, just like the Koreans, you speak to each other in incorrect English, and you won't make much progress," he said.

"Now they're learning English from primary school. But who teaches them? Teachers who do not speak standard English, and use Chinese to teach (English)... the result is less than perfect."

Singapore's advantage is a historical tradition of two distinct language environments, each complete with its own infrastructure of schools, television and radio stations and community networks: "We can switch from Chinese speaking to English speaking... you want to learn Chinese, just move. And you get a Chinese-speaking group and you pick up Chinese."

This bilingualism stands Singaporeans in good stead when it comes to doing business in China and establishing "guanxi" (Mandarin for connections).

"Without the double languages, you can't make links," he said, in response to another question about what advice he would give to young Singaporeans wanting to "come out on top" in China.
 
"If our government to government relations are good, then businessmen have plenty of opportunities – (they have) the language ability, they try to understand China's environment, and they have guanxi," Mr Lee said.

As for what China can impart to Singapore, Mr Lee said that Singaporeans were already in the midst of imbibing the lesson.

"We have quite a number of mainland Chinese immigrants," he said. "They are very hardworking, very serious. Their children do well in schools, giving our children enormous competition.

"That's already a good incentive for our children to do better."

 
Courtesy of The Straits Times, 13 July 2010.
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