United Nations
Chinanews, Mar. 24 - The United Nations made a decision that it would
use simplified Chinese as the only Chinese characters after 2008.
Nowadays the UN accepts two versions of Chinese characters, namely the
traditional Chinese and the simplified Chinese.
Mr. Zhou Youguang, a reputed Chinese linguist, points out that the
future application of simplified Chinese will justify the simplification
of Chinese characters, which has won majority approval throughout the
world. At the same time, as China becomes more influential in the globe,
a larger number of people will learn Chinese. Under this circumstance,
simplified Chinese will gradually become the exclusive standard of
Chinese characters.
Regarding the application of simplified Chinese in other regions
congregating Chinese people except for the mainland, experts indicate
that many schools in Hong Kong have promoted putonghua education. Though
the HK Special Administrative Region government has not made a specific
policy, the public are paying more attention to putonghua education. In
addition, some Taiwanese also use simplified Chinese.
Experts add that based on a survey report of strength of world's major
languages in 2005, Chinese language ranked second on the list. To date,
China has set up 40 Confucius Institutes abroad to promote Chinese
language education among foreigners.
Last Modified: 4-2-2006
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