Singaporean parents are putting more effort into getting their children to read Chinese, and publishers are responding by releasing more Chinese-language books. These books were showcased at a major book fair over the past two weekends.
According to a survey involving 10,000 respondents in 2004 by the Chinese Language Curriculum and Pedagogy Review Committee set up by Singapore's Ministry of Education, most parents wanted their children to learn the Chinese language for cultural as well as economic reasons.
Even parents in predominantly English-speaking homes agreed about the importance of learning Chinese - 92 per cent of them to be precise.
Teachers, on the other hand, point out the problem for students is that many don't like studying Chinese because it is difficult.
During the Bookfest@Singapore - the biggest book fair in Southeast Asia - which wound up on Sunday, parents and their children stocked up on Chinese books.
Janice Chan, a Singaporean mother of two, brought her two sons along and splurged more than S$300 (HK$1,520) on Chinese books, mostly Chinese-language versions of comics such as Doraemon.
Mrs Chan said comics were an easier way of stimulating children's interest in Chinese than novels.