Lei Chan U wants to boost Mandarin language for national identity

In a spoken inquiry to the government, lawmaker Lei Chan U called on the authorities to redouble the use of the Mandarin language in Macau to increase the general sense of national identity.

Speaking at the Legislative Assembly (AL) during the period before the agenda of a plenary session, Lei cited the conclusions of a report recently issued by the State Council of the People’s Republic of China. The report stated that it is necessary to strengthen language-related services in the Greater Bay Area (GBA), and provide support to Hong Kong and Macau to promote the learning and broader use of Mandarin.

The lawmaker noted that, with its plans for the development of the GBA, Macau “is taking the express lane [towards] its integration [with] the global development of the country,” and as such the recommendations should prompt swift action from the government.

“The report recommends that Macau should, in the context of social education and teaching in schools, emphasize the strengthening of Chinese writing skills and the regulation of written expression, so that their improvement can in turn drive the continuous improvement of the Chinese language – namely on Mandarin oral expression,” Lei said. He went on to say that, “In [his] opinion, promoting the learning of Mandarin is not only a necessity to promote Macau’s integration into national development, but also an important link to reinforce the national identity of the residents. Mandarin is the country’s common language and its in-depth command contributes not only to increasing the individual competitiveness of residents but also to the creation of great development opportunities.”

For the lawmaker, the current level of local students’ command of the language is “not bad.” However, “to maintain a good development trend, it is suggested that the government continue to consolidate the capacity of Mandarin teachers, increasing the level of teaching of these teachers and the level of application of students in Mandarin.”