I WOULD like to respond to Ernest Ho's letter headlined, 'Putonghua lessons - let students choose' (South China Morning Post, October 25).
Putonghua is a popular language which is spoken by more than 1.2 billion people.
Although it isn't an international language, it is the lingua franca of Chinese people. As 1997 approaches, the use of Putonghua is becoming increasingly popular.
So it must become more important than English or other languages. In other words, Putonghua should be made compulsory in schools.
In his letter, Ernest Ho says that students should have the chance to choose. I do not think that is a good idea. There are subjects which students don't like, but they must study them. Otherwise, they would be expelled from schools. All mainland students learn Putonghua in school. Do we not want to communicate with them? LIN NGAAI-YUNG Kowloon
