Language mastery in mouth of beholder

Westerners are often daunted by the thought of learning Chinese, mainly because of the perceived complexity of Chinese characters. In fact, if they knew that they'd be able to get by if they had to learn only pinyin, they might not be as tentative.

But how do Chinese feel about using English?

Hezi Jiang, a native of Beijing's Chaoyang district and a China Daily USA reporter in New York, said: "There is a popular joke in China: A Chinese man flies to America. On the plane, the flight attendant approaches him and asks, 'Coffee or tea, sir?'