Proficient English and Cantonese will remain bedrock of Hong Kong’s culture, say lawmakers

Proficient English and Cantonese will remain the cornerstone of the city’s competitiveness and culture, lawmakers from both sides of the political divide say in response to a new study that found Hongkongers were becoming increasingly trilingual.

But only a quarter of respondents could write English “quite well” and 27 per cent could speak it “quite well”. By comparison, 30 per cent of respondents could use simplified Chinese characters and 68 per cent could speak Putonghua, the study, commissioned by the government’s Central Policy Unit, found.

Michael Tien Puk-sun, a former chairman of the Standing Committee on Language Education and Research, which advises the government on language education issues, said English speaking and writing levels were falling because there was less need for its use in everyday life.

“As the saying goes, if you don’t use it, you lose it,” the New People’s Party lawmaker said. “The reality is that we don’t need to write or speak as much English compared to the colonial days. People are more exposed to Putonghua now due to tourism and commerce.”

Tien said it was even more important to maintain and improve standards of English reading for personal self-improvement.