Beijing pushes for language victory from the guardian.co.uk that gives some tidbits about how English was taught in China in the past. After the revolution English was seen as the language of the imperialists. Before that there were a lot of American business people and missionaries (Roosevelts were merchants in China).

An interesting quote:

You still find people, in their late 50s, who know the English words for "hammer" and "sickle" but very little else.

Labels: Chinese History