i tested sending chinese short messages to china from rogers. the message could be delivered no problem. but the chinese text was unreadable. you can use english or pinyin though.
i then tested sending chinese short messages to another rogers cell phone user. the chinese text was readable. i called rogers and the answer i got was: they don't know and they don't care as long as the messages are delivered.
but i guess if enough people call them and complain, they probably would have to listen.