Lianhe Zaobao recently uploaded an interview video before the former Prime Minister and the current state -owned asset Li Xianlong, who currently settled in the interview, caused some of my reminds of me.
In October 2003, as a joint Zaobao and a Channel reporter, I made an exclusive interview with Li Xianlong, then Deputy Prime Minister.This is the first time he interviewed Chinese in domestic TV in China. He attached great importance to it. He had spent a lot of time discussing with me with the content of the interview.Originally, I just wanted to visit the newspaper. When I talked about it, he felt that we could also put an interview on the TV screen at the same time.In an exclusive interview, he said that he likes to ask him the most in Chinese in Chinese. It is the opportunity to communicate directly with the Chinese society. Only through Chinese can express his "real meaning in his heart."
He has been educated for more than ten years, and he said, "Because with this (Chinese school) background, with Chinese education, this is not only language, but also a world view;Singapore's status, understand the feelings of Singaporeans, and their thoughts.
Like many Chinese school students, Chinese historical figures such as Zhuge Liang, Yue Fei, Wen Tianxiang, and Lin Zexu's patriotic sentiment also left a deep brand in his heart.For him, loyalty to the country is a traditional values he must inherit: "The country needs you, you must serve the country." What he admires is Zhuge Liang the most, and he has not forgotten that what he said is the "bowed all the bolds in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms.The character image of death and after death is different from the historical records of the Three Kingdoms.
At that time, he heard him calmly saying the thoughts in his heart, the orbits were slightly wet in the middle, and the listener was full.At that time, the Deputy Prime Minister said that he was a Chinese school student. At first glance, it seemed that it was natural, but it was very unusual.After I received a call from an audience, the Chinese school student felt very touched: "Even if some Chinese students are successful, in a strong English environment, I don’t want to admit that they are Chinese students, but our future Prime MinisterNo concealment of this, thinking that I am a Chinese school student, and I am proud of this. "
The accuracy of the idiom and allusions he used in an interview really surprised the audience at the time.Many people do not know that when the Prime Minister is in school, he has insisted on studying Chinese literature.This is why in the next 21 years, when ordinary people can continue to see him on many occasions, especially the Chinese interviews, publishing important speeches and parliamentary debate, they all see him "Chinese really has ink".In an exclusive interview with him, he determined that the original intention of communicating with the people directly with the people was inseparable.
In an exclusive interview 21 years ago, he has expressed the attention of Chinese people, especially understanding the older generation of "may be forgotten" in the environment of English.Therefore, he hopes to encourage more ministers and members to explain the government's new policies with the public in Chinese, and this commitment also implements practice within his tenure.After serving as the Prime Minister in 2004, he continued to speak in Chinese in Congress and answer Chinese questions about Chinese language, driving more ministers and members of the Chinese speeches in Congress.The ministers and members of the people mostly communicate with the people have also expanded outside Congress.
Chinese -language Chinese subjects have always been the top priority in the eyes of the Chinese Society.He set a clear goal in an exclusive interview: try to make all Singapore Chinese at least listen and speak Chinese.However, this task is very challenging.When he was interviewed in 2003, he had 44%of the primary school students at home. By 2019, this percentage reached 71%. It can be seen that the difficulty to complete this goal.
21 years have passed, and now the younger Chinese can basically speak and listen to Chinese, including the children born to the Chinese and the children of the traditional "English school" family. Among them, there are also many fluent Chinese. It is difficult to imagine their parents mayIt is difficult to even speak Chinese.When the government decided to make students with weak Chinese ability 20 years ago, the Chinese Society was really worried and felt that this was not good for the inheritance of Chinese Chinese and Chinese.Now it seems that allowing students to learn at their own level is actually helpful for popular Chinese.The decline in the overall level of Chinese language is an indisputable fact, but the government allows more students to take high -level Chinese language, which can still keep us with a certain number of students and have a good Chinese language.
For the difficulty of maintaining mother tongue education in Singapore, he said very white in an exclusive interview: If we do not admit that students who speak English at home are difficult to learn Chinese, politically, our mother tongue education will be difficult to maintain.Sure enough, in 2010, Huang Yonghong, then Minister of Education, revealed that some parents and teachers felt that the evaluation system of mother tongue was needed.
This has caused huge opposition in the people, especially the Chinese News Agency has expressed strong dissatisfaction.He understood the mood of the Chinese society and held a press conference with Huang Yonghong himself, and expressed his determination to maintain the education of mother tongue: the government needs to have political determination and maintain a consistent policy for a long time to achieve the expected goals.In the past 14 years, even if there are still people who complained from time to time on the Internet or other platforms, the proportion of mother tongue results is "too large", but the determination of the Ministry of Education to defend the existing system has not yet shaken.
In the case of Li Xianlong's government, in the case of adverse water, it is deeply grateful to maintain the mother tongue education and support bilingual education without hesitation.At this time of the old and new alternation, the expectations in the hearts of the Chinese Society must be: the fourth -generation leadership team can also pain in political determination and maintain a consistent mother tongue policy for a long time.We believe that the new Prime Minister Huang Xuncai and the members of many fourth -generation leaders are the beneficiaries of the bilingual education system. They will definitely understand the importance of maintaining mother tongue education, and on the basis of the reinforcement of Li Xianlong, the mother tongue education will be blossomed.
The author is a local current affairs commentator
