LettersHong Kong’s ethnic minority groups should try harder to learn Cantonese before blaming the system
- It is neither rational nor responsible to blame the local community and government for non-Chinese residents’ poor grasp of the local language
This issue has baffled me for quite some time. If I were living in Paris on a long-term basis, I would surely do my utmost to improve my proficiency in French and to accord top priority to this task. That would be for the sake of everyday convenience, as well as economic and social survival. This is a rational and responsible attitude.
If one is not trying hard enough but instead chooses to blame the local people, community, organisations and government, one is being neither rational nor responsible. There are in fact ample channels for learning languages: YouTube, books, newspapers, radio and television, among others. It is time for the minority residents of Hong Kong to motivate themselves for their own good, and for the wellness of our society as a whole.
Francis Lo, North Point