I refer to the letter by Cynthia Sze ('Expat mindset has no place in modern city', August 5). Would she care to say what percentage of the population speaks Putonghua? By couching her argument in terms of 'English v Chinese', Ms Sze is trying to make the issue patriotic. However, the fact is that the majority of the Hong Kong population speaks Cantonese, which is unlikely to become the new language of international business. Hong Kong's heritage includes three main languages - Cantonese, Putonghua and English. Why that happened may be a cause for regret, but it would be foolish to fail to build on it. All of these languages are important for Hong Kong's future. Glossing over the gulf between Cantonese and Putonghua is as short-sighted as ignoring the possibility of Putonghua becoming dominant in business. Allan Dyer, Wong Chuk Hang I am in Hong Kong on holiday and read the letter by Cynthia Sze ('Expat mindset has no place in modern city', August 5). I agree with her feelings on the perceived importance of English to the continued prosperity of Hong Kong. The British expats will always find arguments to protect their privileges. Granted the British colonialists set up a system of Western laws and political stability which allowed peaceful growth of the private sector. But Japan and many other Asian countries flourished without the English language. In the US highly qualified Asian executives are never promoted beyond middle management. We suffer from a glass ceiling. The corporate rationale is that Asians lack leadership abilities because we are quiet and soft spoken. Yet look at the CEOs of Honda, Toyota, Hyundai or Samsung. I congratulate Ms Sze for exploding this ethnocentric nonsense. Hong Kong will continue to flourish with hard work and creative local leaders and even with the diminished use of English. Victor S. Ho, San Francisco, US
