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China and the West

I think that freedom of expression is well advanced in this country. The significant difference is that the rule of law applies. I do not know anything about the individual case to which the hon. Lady refers. I tried to google it, and the Google that I use in this country has not been interfered with by the Government. In China, the Google search engine is rather different. I urge the hon. Lady not to be too Liberal Democrat about things in life—on the whole, it will make for a much easier and more sensible life. I think that I have carried the whole Chamber with me on that point. The hon. Lady referred to reform of credit and debt in the UK and there was a bit of interplay about the responsibility of borrowers. My view is that we should already have stopped the use of credit card cheques, guaranteed loans and the rest of it, and I hope that we will move to do so soon. On language skills, the Department for Children, Schools and Families has been conducting a major survey on teaching Chinese in schools in the UK, which is obviously very important. Currently, one in six secondary schools teach Mandarin, but only 1 per cent. of primary schools do so. The Foreign Office and the UK Government believe that Chinese needs to feature more prominently across the curriculum. Chinese history and geography should also be an important part of the curriculum if people are to have a full understanding of the world in which they are growing up. A significant number of Chinese students come to the UK to study, and we are keen to foster that. In my responsibility for consular services, it is one of the areas where we need to do some work to ensure that the visa regime for those who come to study in the UK makes that possible, rather than impossible. That exchange of educational opportunities is important.