An Australian academic has called for the adoption of Putonghua as the medium of instruction in secondary schools in Hong Kong.
Professor Liu Tsun-yan, foundation fellow of the Australian Academic of the Humanities and Emeritus professor at the Australian National University, said Putonghua education was inadequate in Hong Kong.
Speaking at a public lecture entitled, Teaching of Chinese in secondary education in Hong Kong, Professor Liu said all subjects other than English should be taught in Putonghua within two years.
'A suitable study environment is the key to success in learning a language,' he said.
'But most secondary schools only offer two Putonghua lessons weekly. If subjects other than English can be taught in Putonghua, I trust the students will be able to speak the language fluently.' Professor Liu also discussed the benefits and drawbacks of learning standard Chinese through a dialect.
He said the use of Cantonese in reading literary Chinese was traditional in the SAR and Guangdong province.