> It is possible to have an extended conversation in Chinese about a person who is not present without ever specifying whether that person is male or female, and indeed for the participants in that conversation to not actually know that person’s gender. This perfectly ordinary experience in Chinese can only be achieved in English by the deliberate use of unusual literary techniques.

Yeah, right. I mean if he compared Chinese with French or German he might have a point. But in English you also have to read half of page to determine the "gender" of the subject.