How subtitles get it wrong

CHINESE subtitles in various foreign productions, whether on TV or in cinemas, play a vital role. Yet I frequently come across numerous misinterpretations.

To a certain extent unintentional mistakes are acceptable for light entertainment programmes. However, not for serious broadcasts, such as Thatcher: The Downing Street Years.

Baroness Dunn's comment on Mrs Thatcher and Hong Kong about ''six million people whom she admires . . .'' read as ''six million people admire her'' in the Chinese subtitles. (Something like this could cause serious consequences during wartime.) From this careless case, I hope the education department and the media will strive to remedy this situation.

SIM SUK-FAN Causeway Bay