Yes! South African police learn Chinese

English>>World

Editor's Pick

Yes! South African police learn Chinese

(People's Daily Online) 15:50, August 19, 2013

Email|Print|Comments

twitter

facebook

Sina Microblog

Photo shows the teacher and the assistant are teaching South African police say "I love you" in Chinese. (People's Daily/Zhang Jianbo)

"Hello! How are you?" and "I love you!"…voices reading in Chinese echo from the South African Chinese Community and Police Cooperation Center in Johannesburg.

Yes, a group of South African police are reading Chinese.

With the rapid development of the Chinese economy and the general progress the country is making, more and more students and businessmen are starting to study the Chinese language. Even so, one would hardly expect to find a group of South African police engrossed in the language.

The first South Africa Police Service Chinese training course opened on August 15. It is jointly sponsored by the Chinese Embassy in South Africa and the Chinese Ministry of Public Security. The South African Chinese Community and Police Cooperation Center hosts the class, attended by a total of 18 students.

In recent years, there has been a rapid increase in cases involving Chinese people, partly due to differences in language and culture. In some instances the efficiency of the South African police has been called into question.

"We hope local police who regularly deal with Chinese people can master some Chinese and improve their work performance," Wu Shaokang, director of the center, told the People’s Daily.

"You are the first group of police on the continent to learn Chinese; you are making history", said South African Police Brigadier General at the opening ceremony of the Chinese language class. South Africa is the largest economy in Africa and it plays a leading role in many fields. This now includes studying Chinese, the officer told the People’s Daily reporter during an interview.

Cong Lin, a Chinese lady who came to South Africa in 1992, is the teacher of the class. She told the reporter that the class will help the local police to understand and respect Chinese people. She hopes these officers will not only learn the Chinese language, but also learn something of Chinese culture.

"Sometimes we encounter Chinese people who cannot speak English," said a police officer who works for Johannesburg international airport. "We have to ask the flight attendants for help. We want to master some basic Chinese dialogue in the training class."

The class will benefit both parties, Wang Zhigang, counselor of Chinese Embassy in South Africa told the People’s Daily reporter. With a basic knowledge of Chinese, South African police can better safeguard the lawful rights and interests of the Chinese as well as improve the sense of closeness to Chinese people in South Africa. He plans to open classes in other cities such as Durban and Cape Town. In addition, he revealed that starting this October, the Chinese government will subsidize officials from police headquarters and the immigration office to study Chinese for one year in China.

Read the Chinese version: 第一批学汉语的非洲警察（第一现场）
Source: People's Daily