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No escaping police language lessons
By Sun Xiaohua (China Daily)
Updated: 2005-06-01 05:37

Police in the capital city held an English-speaking contest yesterday to encourage their colleagues to learn the language in preparation for the 2008 Olympics.

The final round of the competition, organized by the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Public Security, involved 13 performances. The participants were the winners from among 51 performances in the first round. Each performance had to focus on police affairs or the daily life of police officers.

For example, a performance called "A run-in with a thief, a talk with a wife" from Fengtai District branch showed a dispute between a policeman and his wife, who often complained her husband was too busy with work to take much notice of his family.

When the policeman met his wife in a restaurant and asked her to appreciate his difficulties, he brought along the thief he had just caught.

Wang Dongbin, who acted in the piece, said although he entered the police force four years ago, he continued to study English despite the demands of his job. Spectators said his English was quite fluent.

Although not every participant spoke fluently, the judges seemed impressed.

Trevor Metz, from China Radio International, said, "Their pronunciation needs to improve further. But I am still impressed by their English."

It is hoped that if police in Beijing can speak good English, they will be better prepared for the influx of visitors in 2008 for the Olympic Games.

It will also help them co-operate with the international police forces.

The Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau has been carrying out intensive foreign language training. All police staff are required to participate.

The bureau has set up a seven-year training plan.

It says police under the age of 40 must pass a basic oral English test and master at least 600 English words. The bureau has picked out 300 police officers who have excelled in English to receive more extensive training.

Other languages, such as French and Russian, are also included in the training programme.

(China Daily 06/01/2005 page3)



 
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