China supports Portuguese as a working language of the United Nations

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

From here in Portuguese. This isn't a surprising position to take, since China is certainly interested in less linguistic hegemony for English, as well as a stronger position for a language to which it has a strategic gateway (Macau).

China will support Portuguese as a working language in the United Nations, one of the conclusions from Minister of Foreign Affairs Luís Amado's visit to China. He announced that they would have China's support for the recognition of Portuguese as a working language in the United Nations, after a meeting with Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi (杨洁篪). Amado said that "there is a large demand for learning Portuguese throughout China, not just in Macau but also in Beijing and other regions." Just one decade ago the teaching of Portuguese was confined to three universities (Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou), but now is taught in a dozen (or ten - unsure how precise the word 'dezena' intends to be here). In the capital alone there are five universities that grant degrees in Portuguese.

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