Qualification Round of 2018 “Chinese Bridge” Chinese Proficiency Competition For Foreign Students in Jakarta, Indonesia, Closes

On April 29th, the selection round of the 11th “Chinese Bridge” Chinese Proficiency Competition for Foreign Secondary School Students and the 17th “Chinese Bridge” Chinese Proficiency Competition for Foreign College Students in Indonesia, co-hosted by the Board of Mandarin Education Coordination in Jakarta and Pusat Bahasa Mandarin at Universitas Al Azhar Indonesia and co-organized by Tarumanagara University, dropped the curtain at Tarumanagara University.

The selection round, lasting for two days, was themed on “Learn Chinese, Double Your World” in the secondary school group and “One World, One Family” in the college group. 37 contestants from Jakarta competed through speeches, impromptu Q&A and traditional Chinese talent show, demonstrating their Chinese and traditional Chinese talents to all present.

A contestant making a speech

A contestant making a speech

At the speech session, some competitors shared their joy of “Learn Chinese, Double Your World” with their own experience in the learning process, while others combined their speeches with reality, expressing beautiful wishes for “Cherish Different Culture” and “One world, One family”. The judges and the audience were impressed by their fluency in Chinese and expressions full of individuality. The competitors were confident in the impromptu Q&A session, winning applause from the audience. They also excelled in the traditional Chinese talent show by presenting all kinds of talents such as calligraphy, traditional Chinese painting, Chinese opera, Chinese cross talk, traditional Chinese dancing, Chinese songs, traditional Chinese instruments, Kungfu Tea.

A contestant playing guzheng

A contestant making Kungfu tea

A contestant performing fan dancing

A contestant playing the Jingdong Drum

A contestant performing Taichi Kungfu Fan dancing

After fierce competition, Elsa Annisa from Universitas Al Azhar Indonesia and YOHANES from Universitas Bunda Mulia won the non-Chinese-Indonesian champion and the Chinese-Indonesian champion in the college group. Grace Elysia from Universitas Methodist Indonesia and Liana Anggraeni from Sekolah Kemurnian were awarded the non-Chinese-Indonesian champion and the Chinese-Indonesian champion respectively in the secondary school group.

Prize winners

Yudil Chatim, Representative of the Ministry of Education and Culture of Indonesia, Zheng Nianjin, General Chair of the Board of Mandarin Education Coordination in Jakarta, Teripena Jonatan, Member of the Board of Mandarin Education Coordination in Jakarta, Cai Changjie, Executive Chair of the Board of Mandarin Education Coordination in Jakarta, Asep Saefuddin, President of Universitas Al Azhar Indonesia and Director of the Pusat Bahasa Mandarin, Faisal Hendra, M.Ed, Director of College of Liberal Arts and Board Member of the Pusat Bahasa Mandarin, Feri Ansori, Director of Department of Chinese Language and Literature and Foreign Director of the Pusat Bahasa Mandarin, Xiao Xiangzhong, Chinese Director of the Pusat Bahasa Mandarin, Meiske Yunithree Suparman, M.Psi, , and Guo Meihua, President of Jakarta Chinese Language Teacher Association, attended both the closing and the awarding ceremonies.

Xiao Xiangzhong was the first to deliver a speech, extending his heartfelt gratitude to people from all walks of life and competitors who have supported, promoted and participated in the “Chinese Bridge” activities. He said that it was pleasing and encouraging that over the years, more and more young people in Indonesia have enhanced understanding about China and grown fond of Chinese language and culture. He hoped that apart from showing their brilliance in the “Chinese Bridge” competition, the competitors could also help boost the friendly exchanges between China and Indonesia in the future.

Xiao Xiangzhong delivering a speech

Yudil Chatim praised the performance of the competitors and hoped they could become the “bridge” that connects the two countries through the competition. Taking himself as an example, he encouraged students to study in China, where they could experience the charm of Chinese culture themselves while learning Chinese better, so as to become a messenger of the cultural exchanges between the two cultures.

Yudil Chatim delivering a speech

Asep Saefuddin gave high praise to the competitors and encouraged Indonesian youth to learn more from China. He hoped that more young Indonesian people could know about China and study in China through the platform offered by the “Chinese Bridge”. He also sang the Chinese song The Moon Represents My Heart.

Asep Saefuddin delivering a speech

Cai Changjie expressed in his speech that the “Chinese Bridge” is a platform using language as a bridge to improve friendly relations among countries as well as to examine learning achievements of students and teaching proficiency of Chinese teachers in Indonesia. He extended his good wishes to the “Chinese Bridge”, hoping it could make greater contributions to the friendly relations between the two countries.

Yudil Chatim taking a photo with the champions of the college group

Asep Saefuddin presenting the award to the Chinese-Indonesian champion of the secondary school group

All the attendees in the closing ceremony

On behalf of Tarumanagara University, Meiske showed his full support to the “Chinese Bridge” activities and related Chinese programs, and encouraged students to enhance their self-worth in learning Chinese and assisting Indonesia to raise international profile.