There's room for the peaceful coexistence of dialects
Many people in Hong Kong see Putonghua and Cantonese as adversaries. In fact they can co-exist peacefully, as does Putonghua with many other Chinese dialects.
I went from Hong Kong to serve as a voluntary English teacher in Xiamen in Southern China and Dalian in Northern China. People in both places speak very different local dialects which are hardly comprehensible to me. But I have no difficulty communicating with them in Putonghua which is the language on TV, radio, and in schools all over China.
But local dialects are never discouraged or prohibited and are widely used in everyday life. In fact many operas in various Chinese dialects are preserved and encouraged. People in various parts of China have become bilingual. So have the Taiwanese and Singaporeans, who are even tri-lingual. I really don't see the harm of introducing Putonghua as the teaching medium if we have enough qualified Putonghua teachers.
BENEDICT NG, Dalian
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