Character not in need of cosmetic change

It would be unfair to say that the Ministry of Education didn't conduct thorough research before issuing a list of 8,300 standardized Chinese characters on Aug 12 to solicit public opinion before regulating the way we write.

Thousands of scholars from home and abroad spent eight good years researching and deliberating on the list, and revising it as many as 90 times. But surprisingly, the public doesn't seem interested in their effort, and the ministry must be wondering why.

Polls show that people, who have been given till the end of this month to express their opinion, are especially unhappy with the changes to 44 characters. Officials and scholars are trying to put the public at ease by saying that the changes will be restricted to 44 characters alone and won't affect the lives of ordinary people. However, an online survey by Sina.com shows 91 percent of the more than 520,000 respondents (till yesterday) are against the revision, with only 4.2 percent in favor.