Upgrade firefighting system

The death of two young firemen in a fire in Shanghai on May 1 is not only a tragedy, but also a wakeup call to the authorities to introduce real professionalism among firefighters and upgrade the management, says an article in Beijing News. Excerpts:

Two firemen, Qian Lingyun, 23, and Liu Jie, 20, died while battling a blaze in a residential building in Xuhui district of Shanghai on May 1. They were holding hands - ostensibly to help each other - after a strong backdraught pushed them out of a window on the 13th floor.

Many firefighters have died on duty in recent years and quite a few of them were very young. According to a report in Chinese-language magazine People's Police last year, the average age of the firefighters who died on duty in China since 2006 was 24, with the youngest being only 18.

Many blame the high number of deaths on the lack of professionalism among firefighters. Firefighting is a risky profession, but that does not necessarily mean a high death rate of firefighters - at least, that is not the case in many developed countries.

To safeguard firefighters against the obvious dangers, the authorities have to upgrade the management and training systems and raise their salaries. For example, the annual salary of a firefighter with five years' experience in New York City could be more than $99,000, not including other benefits such as lifelong health insurance for him and his family.

In contrast, active duty soldiers form the majority of firefighters in China and most of them are only temporarily employed as firefighters. Besides, many of them have to quit their job after their two-year service as firefighters, signifying the high risk and low pay in this profession in China.

Professionalization of the firefighting system can enhance the efficiency of firefighters and thus reduce the number of casualties. To prevent the death of more firefighters, the authorities should allocate more funds for the professionalization of firefighting departments across the country.

Sound semantic suggestion

A recent newspaper commentary that the "Chinese language should be kept clean and pure by eradicating English words" has created a controversy. On one hand, English words are bound to enter the Chinese language in these times of globalization. On the other, proper and correct use of the Chinese language is indeed necessary to safeguard Chinese culture, says an article in Zhejiang Daily. Excerpts:

As China gets more deeply involved in economic globalization, it is understandable that English words will enter the Chinese language. The problem, however, is the excessive use of English words in the Chinese context without even the minimum effort to translate them. This is precisely what has been worrying propurity academics.

One cannot wish away their worries as cynicism, because somehow we might have lost the ability of creatively Sinicize foreign words. There are plenty of examples of English words being Sinicized in the past, such as sofa (sha fa) and hardware (ying jian). But nowadays, we tend to use foreign words without even attempting to translate them - for instance, CEO and iPhone.

People who view language purity with sarcasm may be unaware of cultural erosion. It is highly likely that the proper use of the Chinese language will diminish if we absorb Western words without translating them into Chinese and if Chinese people continue to be influenced by Western culture.

To protect and promote the Chinese language, Chinese people should stick to its proper and standard use, and the Chinese government should make more efforts to increase its soft power in cultural communications with the rest of the world.

The opinions expressed on this page do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.

(China Daily USA 05/07/2014 page12)