The crucial social statistic to note is that a lot more Chinese households are using English for everyday communication. Education Ministry data show that in 1988, the families of 20 per cent of Chinese Primary 1 pupils spoke mainly English at home. The percentage has risen to 50 per cent. For such a short period, the increase has been startling. The presumption that the percentage will keep rising will be hard to disprove in a country which has English as the working language.

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