Tsinghua student wins English title

By David Bartram (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-04-11 09:51

SHANGHAI: The country's brightest anglophiles gathered in Shanghai on Friday to contest the 14th "21st Century Lenovo Cup" sponsored by China Daily.

Tsinghua student wins English title
Zhao Qizheng, director of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative conference, presents the "21st Lenovo Cup" to champion Jin Lu from Tsinghua University. [Wang Zi]

Around 500 people crammed into the Crowne Plaza hotel to watch the 26 finalists compete for the title of grand champion and a chance to study in the United Kingdom. Contestants delivered a prepared speech, an impromptu speech and faced a Q&A session in front of a panel of judges.

"They all show great poise under pressure, have excellent delivery and a high technical proficiency. The best students seem just like politicians," said Stephen Lucas, professor of Communication Arts at the University of Wisconsin, and one of the question masters at the contest.

The theme of this year's competition was: "Our changing way of living with the times: Initiative versus Convenience". Students tackled the topic in a number of ways, with some speaking in favor of technological advances, and others longing for a simpler way of life.

The winner of the competition was Jin Lu, a 20-year-old English major from Tsinghua University. Jin will represent China in the International Public Speaking Competition in London in May. Her speech discussed the importance of maintaining personal contact with friends and relatives in spite of technology.

"I am too happy, and feel like one in a billion," she told China Daily after winning. "I'm excited to go to London and I want to share my story with people all over the world."

Jin triumphed over an estimated 100,000 participants from 800 universities around China in this year's competition. Over 11 months, they were whittled down to Friday's final 26 through a series of online, campus and regional rounds.

Chen Xudong, vice-president of Lenovo Group, which sponsored the competition, said: "On behalf of Lenovo I want to express our warmest congratulations to all the finalists. These events help boost the influence of China around the world."

And special guest Zhao Qizheng, head of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, who presented Jin with her trophy, was keen to emphasize the importance of foreign languages.

"To be a qualified modern citizen it is important to learn a foreign language," he said. "I hope some of the contestants today will dedicate themselves to being translators."

Huang Qing, managing editor of China Daily and one of the judges, noted how much of an improvement she has seen in the contestants since the competition began in 1996.

"The standard has improved enormously since we started the competition. When we began we wanted young Chinese students to be comfortable speaking English in front of an audience. Now they are able to stand up and be confident."