Enduring Friendship between the Borders - Confucius Institute in Islamabad Holds Final Round of 9th Chinese Bridge in Pakistan

May, 14th, 2010 - The Pakistani leg of the final round of the 9th Chinese Bridge - Chinese Proficiency Competition for Foreign College Students concluded successfully at National University of Modern Languages. This event, with the theme of “Enduring Friendship between the Borders”, aroused the support of the Culture Office of the Chinese Embassy in Pakistan and gained considerable attention from Pakistani people of various circles as well as local media outlets.

Syed Hassan Javed, assistant minister of Pakistani Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Counselor Yang Linhai from Chinese Embassy in Pakistan, Counselor Zhao Qiaoliang, Kamran Jahangir, NUML Director General and other deans of various departments at NUML appeared at the event and exchanged with an audience  of over 300 in Chinese.

Mr. Syed Hasan Javed gave an address firstly in Chinese. His fluent Chinese caused exclamations of admiration from the audiences. After hearing about his 30 plus years of experience in foreign affairs, half of which he lived in China, the audiences burst into a warm round of applause. Speaking on his own experiences, he stated the importance of learning Chinese for young learners. He stated that mastering Chinese meant acquiring an ability to communicate with a quarter of the world population. Chinese is the most important carrier of Chinese cultural messages and all that is in essence part of culture. He quoted one hadith and made a call for young Pakistani learners to “Seek knowledge even as far as China”. Finally he used the metaphor of “tie buddies” to represent the close relations between Chinese and Pakistan. His good humor caused bursts of laughter with cheering applause from the audiences.

Counselor Yang Linhai and Managing Vice President Kamran gave warm speeches themselves. They introduced the state of organization for this event. They hoped contestants could make every effort and showcase their best for good results.

The event was comprised of three parts, including a talent performance, Chinese skills show and cultural question and answer section. Eight contestants showcased their language and artistic talent through various means, such as singing, poetry recital, a cross talk show, calligraphy, and Kung Fu performance. Their understanding to Chinese culture impressed guests and judges alike. They could not help but exclaim praise. Counselor Yang Linhai and Counselor Zhao Qiaoliang served as leading judges. Together with other chief reporters to Brazil from 5 Chinese media outlets, including Xinhua News Agency, CCTV, People’s Daily, Guangming Daily and CIR, they made up the judiciary panel of this “Chinese Bridge” event and marked contestants according to their performance.

Accompanied with laughter and applause, the event had a strongly Chinese flavor. Contestants showcased their best skills to enthusiastic audiences. The Chinese skills show was the highlight of the event. In that particular session, each of the contestants was required to take a short essay or poem randomly and read the article in a fixed time. They were then asked to paraphrase the article. Their recital and paraphrasing were rated highly by the judiciary panel which passed comment and offered guidance.

Sageer Ahmad from Faisalabad won the first place. Together with other winners, he has qualified for the semi-finals in China.

Assistant Minister of Pakistani Ministry of Foreign Affairs Syed Hassan Javed delivering a speech

Cultural questions and answer session

Counselor Yang Linhai and Counselor Zhao Qiaoliang marking contestants

Judges from media outlets marking contestants

Contestants posing for pictures with guests