The debate on the balance between English and Chinese as media of instruction in Hong Kong schools has a long history, and in many ways resembles the language debates of other countries. En couraged by both the pedagogic arguments in favour of mother- tongue learning and by political forces, the government has recently announced a new policy to promote the place of Chinese. The new policy has inherent contradictions, however, which will limit its ef fectiveness. It will certainly not end the debate.
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