We have a dilemma here in the Chinese-English/English-Chinese translation industry. Those who understand the contexts of China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau and overseas Chinese usually do not write good English, but write good Chinese; Those who write good English often lack knowledge on the aforementioned contexts and usually do not write good Chinese.
I have always repeatedly stressed that languages are relatively easy to learn, but the cultural awareness and the understanding of the history and context are just too hard to comprehend without living in the territories for a long period. Yet I am the rare exception. Obviously my Chinese language proficiency is much higher than my English, but as you can see from my writings, my English is not that bad after all. I knew that I will face serious problems in recruitment and training of new staff eventually.
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