THE opinion piece by Winton Dong, titled “Keep openness in a protective world,” published March 15 is both excellent and important! Among the brilliant actions taken by Deng Xiaoping was the requirement for English in all schools. While Chinese is decidedly the better, more efficient and mature language, English has been the dominant international language for many years. Several years ago, China became the world’s largest English-speaking nation, beating out both India and the U.S. Admittedly much of the English is lower quality (commonly referred to as “Chinglish”), but is sufficient to ensure quality communication, the ultimate goal of any spoken language. One aspect that is being overlooked in the discussion of inclusion of English in Chinese education is the concept that thinking exists within language. Stated another way, one cannot separate thought from language. The way a person thinks is affected by the language they use for their thinking. By having learned English, the Chinese population has a very real concept of how Westerners think, as distinct from Chinese thinking. In English, I will not say “Am full”; my English way of thinking requires an ego in the statement: “I am full.” In real contrast, the Chinese “吃飽了” (“Am full”) leaves out the ego, and is therefore more modest. Indeed, Chinese people are more modest in their way of thinking, and Westerners are more arrogant and self-centered in their way of thinking. ?Don Rechtman via email | 