Letters

Sympathy for disguised beggars misplaced

Walking down the Nanjing Lu and the Bund, people often become offended by the escorted beggars who repeatedly turn up with new gimmicks, trying to fill their bowls.

Actually, other places like the subway stations and the outdoor grounds of fancy plazas have also seen beggars in various disguises.

However, if anyone gives any amount they feel appropriate out of sympathy, they are committing the crime of conniving with the very wicked con men in Shanghai.

Most of these people are making up their tear-jerking stories, and are professional beggars.

I, for this reason, rarely take a second look at those begging grown-ups. For the under-aged, I, however, feel that they may deserve people's sympathy - not because of their sympathetic appearance, but the fact that they've been spiritually deformed and thus have been deprived of the right to grow into a full human being. They've been taught to cheat, to disguise and to leech on the pity of passers-by at an innocent age.

It is said these children are victims of illegal human traffic; they get beat up often, live in foul accommo-dations. While this could be more a mission urgent for the government, the police, and the law, wearing a convincing nonchalance towards child beggars so far seems to be what we ordinary people can do.

So many times, I want to slip into their hands a coin, just to make sure that they'll, at least, survive today. But I am afraid that my help could turn out to be like some puffs to drug addicts. One coin thrown away may be relieving us of the guilt for not doing anything while a crime is being committed. It's, however, an extension of the suffering for those children and thus an obvious excuse for their merciless "parents" to go on with their felony.
Nora Michelle Lee, Shanghai

Language should serve the purpose of communication

I would like to comment on the heated trend of learning English in China.

The use of language is to help people to communicate. So long as that purpose is well served, I do not see much necessity to trim our "Chinglish" into something exactly the same as that of the native speakers. Not until you are a linguist.

We have all encountered others who speak scarcely understandable English, but we still can figure out what they mean. It does not turn out to be some unconquerable gap.

In fact, English is losing much of its original features to a melded form with speakers from different parts of the world in this time of globalization.

It is more important that we focus on the way of thinking rather than language itself.

I once listened to a lecture on traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) given by a famous German scholar. I could grab every word of his, but I still failed to understand his theory, which was the biggest failure despite the success in getting the meaning of his words. Later I came to the conclusion that the most important use of language is nothing but to serve people and help communication. When people lack the way to understand each other's thinking, lingustic talent makes each a nobody in the attempt to communicate.

All in all, it is not as important to master the so-called authentic English than to grab the true meaning of a language and to pay attention to people's way of thinking. In the latter, the ultimate purpose of a universal language has been reached.
Hu Lijuan, Chengdu