Wednesday, February 13, 1974
Mr. Cheong-Leen also asked for consideration to be given to
giving Mandarin equal status with Cantonese, in due course, as Mandarin is the national dialect of the Chinese people.
As both English and Chinese were now official languages, he said, the question now would centre on whether the Chinese language is being effectively used as a medium of communication in the government's relations with the Chinese speaking members of the community.
"In the years to come it will be even more fully realised than it is today that the Official Languages Bill will have done much to reaffirm the cultural dignity and pride of the Chinese residents of Hong Kong," he said.
Commenting on the bill, the Senior Unofficial Member, the Hon. Woo Pak-chuen, asked for an assurance that in the courts the parties and witnesses would be permitted to speak in Cantonese or any other Chinese dialect they wished to."
He welcomed the bill in that it demonstrated the government's earnest intention that the language problem shall no longer of itself present any difficulty in communication between the government and the people.
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