Simplified Chinese characters account for around 5% of the broadly accepted total number (roughly 50,000) of Chinese characters, but more like a third of the most commonly used 5,000 or so. Most readers can infer the meaning of a simplified character from context. It is also easy, using a Chinese word processing app, to convert text between traditional and simplified characters at the touch of a button; each simplified character has just one traditional counterpart.
The nearest equivalent in English would be attempts to strip spelling down to the basics. In both cases, the reformed method of writing is probably easier to learn. But remove etymology from words. And to many, it just looks ugly. This is the sort of change that has to be imposed.
A Hong Kong school says it will accept simplified Chinese in examinations. Local parents are unhappy, and local officials also voice their disagreement. And then, a (perhaps predictable) twist: Beijing’s local representatives and media contradict them, and hint that simplified will be the way to go in the future. They seem especially upset because traditional characters remind them of Taiwan…
The [Ta Kung Pao] article ends with a call for the city to “face reality and adjust its mindset” to deepen the city’s integration with the rest of China. While this piece is not a formal order from Beijing, it still suggests that China may be issuing orders for Hong Kong to follow.
Watch local officials change their tune on simplified characters.
Another feature of Mainland life is the use of young women as official or corporate decoration. Airlines and government bodies recruit female ancillary staff for their nubile looks and demeanour. They must be the same height and have the same general appearance. They are trained to walk a certain way, smile a certain way and serve food and drinks with choreographed precision. There are ornamental male assistants as well, but the most famous example is the tea ladies at the NPC (the synchronized figures in crimson).
And now, the practice comes to Hong Kong…
The SCMP reports…
For months, Kristin Ngai has been practising smiling while biting onto a chopstick at home, ensuring she shows six to eight teeth – the standard required to be one of the 75 volunteer prize presentation assistants from Hong Kong for the National Games this month.
In addition to smiling, the 30-year-old bank clerk said they were also trained for three days to stand, sit and walk in specific ways, as they would be under the spotlight, helping with the presentation of medals as well as guiding athletes onto the stage.
…She also said that, ahead of the Games, volunteers were told to not gain weight so they could fit into the pink gowns that had been tailor-made for them and they should not wear nail polish or have visible tattoos.
“There is also an interesting request,” Ngai said. “We shouldn’t be too tanned, to achieve a more ‘oriental beauty’ complexion. The hair should also be kept quite dark.”
Through two rounds of interviewing, Ngai said she had to introduce herself in Mandarin and was tested on how she would carry trays with bottled water while she walked.
Presumably no South Asians need apply.