A boy stamps a Chinese character during an exhibition in Taipei. Taiwan, Macau and Hong Kong are the few places where traditional characters are widely used when writing Chinese. Photo: AFP A boy stamps a Chinese character during an exhibition in Taipei. Taiwan, Macau and Hong Kong are the few places where traditional characters are widely used when writing Chinese. Photo: AFP
A boy stamps a Chinese character during an exhibition in Taipei. Taiwan, Macau and Hong Kong are the few places where traditional characters are widely used when writing Chinese. Photo: AFP
Paul Stapleton
Opinion

Opinion

Paul Stapleton

Traditional or simplified? Debate on Chinese characters should be decided by pragmatics, not politics

Paul Stapleton says it is understandable that Hongkongers want to preserve traditional Chinese characters but the writing on the wall is in favour of the simplified script

Paul Stapleton
Paul Stapleton

Updated: 7:33pm, 12 Jun, 2018

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A boy stamps a Chinese character during an exhibition in Taipei. Taiwan, Macau and Hong Kong are the few places where traditional characters are widely used when writing Chinese. Photo: AFP A boy stamps a Chinese character during an exhibition in Taipei. Taiwan, Macau and Hong Kong are the few places where traditional characters are widely used when writing Chinese. Photo: AFP
A boy stamps a Chinese character during an exhibition in Taipei. Taiwan, Macau and Hong Kong are the few places where traditional characters are widely used when writing Chinese. Photo: AFP
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Paul Stapleton

Paul Stapleton

Paul Stapleton is a long-time resident of several countries in Asia, where he has been teaching and researching at various universities. He writes about environmental, social and educational issues. In his op-eds, Paul's goal is to shed some light on issues of interest as well as generate a bit of heat.