Unwelcome tours

Comment on Li Xing's column "Why it is so hard to go to the Great Wall" (August 30, China Daily)

My name is Ian Munro and I am an English teacher in Weifang, Shandong.

I would like to add my voice to the complaints of linked tours which are obviously a financial reward for the tour operators for taking unwilling tourists to these hospitals and other places or restaurants.

We were taken to a Chinese medicine hospital. There is only one way in and one way out. It was the same on another tour which took us to a jade factory.

A doctor told me I had a heart condition, possibly because I was in my 50s. But I had had a heart check before coming to China and I have a very strong heart.

Even the Chinese tourists complained and asked the driver not to stop. The guide told us is was compulsory for them to take us there and she would get into trouble if the bus didn't stop there.

These things must be looked at by the government before the Olympics because foreign visitors will not like to be tricked into these types of side trips which waste their time.

Ian Munro

Weifang Medical University

Via e-mail

Cell phone hassle

Comments on Liu Shinan's column "Hassle over defective cell phone" (China Daily August 22)

Mr Liu, I feel at least a little bit better about my experience now that I know it frustrates Chinese people too.

You know, in my country, Canada, when something is broken, does not fit, or I just do not like it, I can just take it back to the store - generally, there is no question that my money will be refunded (within two weeks).

Imagine my frustration when I came to China and bought a mobile phone, and had the same experience. I even had to beg the technician to agree that the phone had a problem. I also spent a lot of time returning a defective phone.

Consumer

On China Daily website

Evolving languages

Comments on Zou Hanru's column "Warding off the English invasion" (China Daily, August 31)

Guess we cannot stop any language from evolving. If we go back to the 10th century and look at the English language then we can see how much it has changed.

Change is inevitable just as we cannot make time stand still. We need to accept it. Yes, Chinese history and culture are great. However, it too will change.

Progress

On China Daily website

I have watched my first language (French) also suffer the same fate in relation to the English language. Though I would like it not to change, it changes anyways. I do not know where it will end. The shift is beyond cultural or legislative controls.

Eagle

On China Daily website

Language is not static, it continues to evolve. Chinese language is advanced as it is simple and accurate at the same time. No other language can ever replace Chinese even though China adopts some English words in her language.

Nosweat

On China Daily website

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(China Daily 09/05/2007 page11)