December 22, 2011

Beijing's Controversial "English-language Town" Abandoned

From http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/china/2011-12/19/c_131315757.htm

Beijing's controversial "English-language town" abandoned
Editor: Deng Shasha
December 19, 2011

The controversial "English-language town" project in Miyun, a county in the northeast suburbs of Beijing, has not been approved by the local government, sources said Monday.

As the projected largest European-style town in Beijing, a private enterprise invested in the "English-language town" and planned to have it built within five years, hoping to attract fans of the English language and tourists from across the country who enjoy promoting the learning of English, local media have said.

However, some people said the rule forbidding visitors from speaking Chinese in the town demonstrated a worship of foreigners and discrimination against Chinese.

"'English-language town?' It sounds like the foreign concessions in old Shanghai that forbid Chinese people from entering," wrote Chua Kai, a user of Sina Weibo, China's biggest Twitter-like microblogging site.

Read the full article at http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/china/2011-12/19/c_131315757.htm

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.