The 'Red Scare' in Washington

President Trump's granddaughter Arabella sang Mandarin songs and recited the Three Character Classic for President Xi and First Lady Peng Liyuan during their visit to Mar-a-Lago, Florida, in 2017. — Xinhua

THE "Red Scare" seems to be spreading fast in the United States after US President Donald Trump said last month that if he is not re-elected in November,"you're going to have to learn to speak Chinese".

But wouldn't that be a good thing? The more people across the world speak each other's mother language, the better an understanding they will develop.