CE Dodges 'frivolous' Query On Her Mother Tongue
"); jQuery("#212 h3").html("
"); jQuery(document).ready(function() { jwplayer.key='EKOtdBrvhiKxeOU807UIF56TaHWapYjKnFiG7ipl3gw='; var playerInstance = jwplayer("jquery_jwplayer_1"); playerInstance.setup({ file: "http://newsstatic.rthk.hk/audios/mfile_1394425_1_20180503180731.mp3", skin: { url: location.href.split('/', 4).join('/') + '/jwplayer/skin/rthk/five.css', name: 'five' }, hlshtml: true, width: "100%", height: 30, wmode: 'transparent', primary: navigator.userAgent.indexOf("Trident")>-1 ? "flash" : "html5", events: { onPlay: function(event) { dcsMultiTrack('DCS.dcsuri', 'http://news.rthk.hk/rthk/en/component/k2/1394425-20180503.mp3', 'WT.ti', ' Audio at newsfeed', 'WT.cg_n', '#rthknews', 'WT.cg_s', 'Multimedia','WT.es','http://news.rthk.hk/rthk/en/component/k2/1394425-20180503.htm', 'DCS.dcsqry', '' ); } } }); }); });
2018-05-03 HKT 12:55
Share this story
Chief Executive Carrie Lam on Thursday refused to be drawn into a row about the status of Cantonese in Hong Kong, dodging a question in Legco about whether the language – or dialect – is her mother tongue.
Social Welfare sector lawmaker Shiu Ka-chun raised concerns about an Education Bureau document which quotes a mainland official as saying that Cantonese is only a dialect and therefore it cannot be someone's mother tongue.
Shiu asked Lam during a CE question-and-answer session what her mother tongue is. But she refused to give an answer, saying the question was "frivolous".
Lam went on to say that some people have been hyping up the issue by focusing on just two or three lines of a 2013 Education Bureau document.
She said Hong Kong people speak Cantonese every day and therefore the issue is a non-starter and society should not waste time debating it.
The CE added that the government has no plans to change the city’s language policy in schools.
Lam also said that there is room for improvement in English standards in Hong Kong, urging people to read more books in the language.
XTransfer Partners With Bank SinoPac HK To Expand Cross-Border Payment Services
XTransfer has entered into a collaboration with Bank SinoPac, through its Hong Kong Branch, to expand international ope... Read more
Standard Chartered To Launch Bitcoin And Ethereum Custody Services By 2026
Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) participated in Hong Kong Fintech Week 2025 (HKFTW25) as a strategic partner, annou... Read more
HashKey And Kraken Form Partnership On Institutional Tokenised Assets
HashKey and Kraken have announced a strategic partnership to promote institutional adoption of tokenised assets. The co... Read more
Reap Expands Global HQ With New Office In Hong Kong
Reap, a global fintech company providing stablecoin-enabled financial infrastructure, has expanded its global headquart... Read more
HeyMax Debuts In Hong Kong, Partnering With Cathay To Drive Regional Growth
Loyalty and travel rewards platform HeyMax has made its first international launch in Hong Kong, partnering with Cath... Read more