WHEN Beijing's foreign press corps gathered in the Jianguo Hotel on Tuesday to reconstitute a Foreign Correspondents' Association, the main concern voiced by members was the recent decision of the Chinese Foreign Ministry to dispense with English interpretation at its briefings.
Twice a week reporters gather for a briefing by the Foreign Ministry spokesman, Sheu Guofang, in the upstairs conference room of the International Club. It is a ritual at which, for years, the official line has been made known to the world in English.
The reason given for dropping English is that briefings in Washington are not translated into Chinese, and the same principle should apply in Beijing.
In May this year, the format of the briefings was changed for similar reasons. Where Mr Shen once sat at a table with four officials, he now stands behind a White Housetype lectern before a Chinese flag.
This all coincides with a campaign in the official press for Chinese to be given due respect as a world language. "Because of poverty and weakness over a long period in contemporary China, people have failed to attach due importance to China's culture, history and language," said the People's Daily, the Communist Party newspaper - which publishes an English language edition.
Nationalistic sentiments are being encouraged by the Communist Party. The current number one bestseller in Beijing, China Can Say No, argues that the Middle Kingdom should aspire to its place as a world power and stand up to America.
Most foreign reporters can speak some Chinese, but the language is so complex that only specialists can operate without a first class interpreter. One western diplomat told me that despite 18 months total immersion in Chinese before his posting, he still could not conduct official conversations unaided or read Chinese newspapers.
Even the best Chinese speakers find formal Chinese so flowery and nuanced they often cannot grasp key words. Vagueness and ambiguity is part of the culture in which polite escapes, saving face and expressing feelings take precedence over communicating information.
Chinese is actually a family of languages which are not mutually understandable, including Mandarin, Cantonese, Shanghaiese, Fukienese, Hokkien, Hakka and Chin Chow. Mandarin is the official language and the dialect of Beijing, where it is spoken with hard "r" sounds like a harsh Belfast accent. Its 22 century old writing system is constant throughout China, however, and a great unifying force: a Shanghai visitor can read Beijing newspapers though he might not understand a word he hears on the streets of the capital.
By dropping English (the language of international news, especially in Asia) there are now as many interpretations of potentially sensitive news as there are unofficial interpreters. Mr Shen said the decision to do away with English translation is irreversible, though western diplomats believe the Foreign Ministry was persuaded by others higher up to, in effect, surrender control of the English version of its statements.
But the briefings are sparsely attended now and last for only 10 minutes. A suitably respectful request to go back to the old ways might find the decision not so irreversible after all.