At the same time people have lost touch with the roots of their own culture and are unable to speak or write Chinese. "When many people go overseas, foreigners see that they have black hair and yellow skin, and recognize them for Chinese, to the point of speaking to them in Chinese. Only then do you know what it really means to speak Chinese," says Ho Kah-leong.
丟失了自己文化的根源，口不會說，手不能寫，「許多人到了海外，外國人看他是黑頭髮、黃皮膚，仍然認定他是華人，甚至要跟他說華語，這時才有切身的感受」，何家良說。