Chinese professor sparks debate by calling for English to be removed as graded core subject

In China, a mathematics professor's call to strip English of its status as a graded core subject has ignited a debate that reaches far beyond classroom policy. At its heart, the question is one every rising civilization must eventually confront: when does learning the world's language empower a people, and when does it diminish them? The answer China chooses will quietly determine how its next generation of scientists, citizens, and thinkers engage with — or withdraw from — the wider human conversation.