From now on, new public servants must take the Putonghua -- standard Chinese pronunciation -- test first, according to the sources from the State Language and Script Committee. The test, which is oriented to existing civil servants, is to be carried out soon at the state level. The Ministry of Education, among the central government departments, took the lead in launching such a test on August 26.
Vice ministers and section chiefs of the Ministry of Education, along with ordinary employees, took the test. The test includes reading 100 monosyllabic words, 50 disyllabic words and one short article as well as making a three-minute presentation on a given topic.
According to Chinese Law on Use of Language and Script, the civil servants? Putonghua speaking level should be up to a stipulated level, which is no less than class A of third grade.
It is learned that the Putonghua test on civil servants requires those who were born after January 1, 1954 to be at a level of class A, third grade. For those born before that date, there is no such requirement, but they are encouraged to improve their Putonghua speaking level.
It is reported that all broadcasters and many teachers have taken the Putonghua test. Such testing is being carried out among public servants in many places, including Shanghai. The State Language and Script Committee has set the Putonghua test for more than 9,000 teachers in Hong Kong and Macao. Up to now, more than 7 million people have taken it.
(china.org.cn by Wang Zhiyong, August 29, 2002)
