On August 27, the final and closing ceremony of the 2024 Chinese Debate World Cup Invitational Tournament for high schools came to an end at the Sanya Branch School of RDFZ ( RDFZ is short for “The High School Affiliated to Renmin University of China”), Hainan Province. Attending the event were Xie Yifa, Deputy Secretary General of Sanya Municipal People’s Government; Zhong Fengmao, Deputy Director of Sanya Municipal Tourism, Culture, Radio, Television, and Sports Bureau; Hou Xuehua, Deputy Director of Sanya Municipal Education Bureau; Ma Chunlai, Deputy Secretary of Sanya Municipal Committee of the Communist Youth League; Li Liying, Standing Committee Member of the Committee and Director of the Department of Publicity of Haitang District; Mi Qi, Principal of the Sanya Branch School of RDFZ and He Song, General Manager of Sanya Media Film and Television Group Co., Ltd. Zhang Guoheng, chief lecturer of the Chinese Society of Education and CCTV special commentator, Gao Yuan, founder of the Chinese Debate World Cup, and other guests were invited to participate in the closing ceremony. A host of people gathered to watch the competition. Nearly one million people watched online live broadcasting platforms in anticipation of the champion of the Chinese debating world.
After the fierce competitions in the group, knockout, and semi-final stages, Loudi No.1 Middle School of Hunan and Tsun Jin High School of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia made it to the final stage. Debating on the topic of “more opportunities/challenges for young people in the age of AI”, young debaters voiced their standpoints both vividly like the evening sea breeze and sonorously and persuasively like surging waves hitting rocks. The meeting of brilliant minds and convergence of intriguing thoughts added spice and vigor to this tournament as if seawater were rolling up the snow-white spin-drift, which made the youthful voices heard by everyone online and offline.
Invited to the final and serving as the judges were Mr. Wang Weiqing, the best debater of the 1997 International Varsity Debate; Mr. Lin Shengqiang, Professor of the School of Philosophy and Doctoral Supervisor of Sichuan Normal University; Mr. Gao Qingyi, Artificial Intelligence Scholar and Professor of ESCE (École Supérieure du Commerce Extérieur); Mr. Zhang Jiapeng, a media program planner and contributing commentator and Mr. Xu Zhuoyang, a veteran media professional, host and the best debater of the 2008 “Famous Debate League” International Debate Invitational Tournament. The judges analyzed and interpreted the topic from different fields, made though-provoking comments and enlightened all the contestants.
Finally, Tsun Jin High School of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia defeated Loudi No.1 Middle School of Hunan by five to zero and won the championship of the 2024 Chinese Debate World Cup Invitational Tournament for High Schools. Shanghai Pinghe School and Muping No.1 Senior High School in Shandong Province won third place. Wang Taodi from Beijing No.11 School was awarded the best debater. The debaters of the champion team said, “This is the first time that we have come to Sanya, which is very different from my hometown. There are pink sunsets, coconut groves and sea, and winning the Chinese Debate World Cup in such a beautiful city is not only a glory, but also a rare and valuable memory of our academic career.”
Afterward, the closing ceremony of the High School Group of the 2024 Chinese Debate World Cup Famous Schools Invitational Tournament was held. Xie Yifa, Deputy Secretary General of Sanya Municipal People’s Government, welcomed the audience and acknowledged the successful organization of the tournament. He stated that students from elite schools around the world gathered in Sanya to participate in this great event, make friends, and share views. Students came to this coastal city and experienced its unique charm, profound cultural heritage, and vigorous development in person. At the same time, we welcome, with the greatest enthusiasm, outstanding students from all over the world to choose Sanya as an ideal spot for academic studies, career development, starting business, as well as holidays and leisure, to vigorously join in the construction and development of Hainan International Tourism and Consumption Center and the Free Trade Port of Chinese Characteristics; to work together to contribute their wisdom and vitality, and to advance bravely in the tide of the new era, to strive for youthfulness, and build, share, and win together with the beautiful Sanya.
The leaders and guests present awarded certificates to the winners of the event, affirmed the wonderful performance of the players during the event, and wished all the players could stretch and enjoy themselves in this debate competition and often gather in Lucheng in the future.
The event was guided by Sanya Municipal People’s Government, co-sponsored by Sanya Municipal Tourism, Culture, Radio, Television and Sports Bureau, Organizing Committee of the Chinese Debate World Cup, and Beijing Xixi Culture Consulting Co., Ltd. It was also co-organized by the Sanya Branch School of RDFZ and Sanya Media Film and Television Group Co., Ltd. The event attracted 18 top debate teams from schools in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, and other mainland cities, as well as Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, and overseas schools to participate. Debate, an ancient and energetic intellectual activity, serves as a vehicle for the exchange of ideas, which helps students achieve success and progress. Sanya, a tropical coastal tourist city located in the southernmost part of China, provided an unparalleled stage for contestants with its unique natural environment and rich cultural heritage. The debaters not only felt the charm of discourse during the event but also enjoyed the world-famous holiday paradise after the event.
Looking back on this year’s event, the event opened on August 23, and during the five days, more than 100 students debated various social issues such as “artificial intelligence,” “youth growth,” “urban development,” and “humanities and arts.” The event was broadcast live on multiple platforms or channels, such as Little Red Book (Xiaohongshu), TikTok, WeChat channels, and TV convergence media, which attracted more than 5 million viewers to watch the live broadcast of the event, listen to the debate of young people, and discuss current hot topics together. Some parents traveled long distances with their children to experience a good atmosphere for the exchange of ideas. Li Qiandong, a parent who watched the final and closing ceremony, said, “I brought my child to this debate event in the summer vacation not just for winning or losing, but also hoping that my child would hone his thinking and oral abilities and improve the teamwork ability through the competition. At the same time, after the tournament, relaxing in the beautiful Sanya holiday is also a wonderful experience.” “Travelling with the tournament” sounds both energetic and passionate as well as poetic and picturesque.
Domestic publicity for the event synchronized with overseas promotion. More publicity channels, including short videos, press releases, tweets, and moments on different social applications, were adopted. The event was reported by more than 300 media outlets, including CCTV, Xinhua News Agency, China Daily, and other national media, so as to transmit the debating voices of the Chinese youth to every corner of the world.
A student from Tsun Jin High School of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia said, “This is the second time I have participated in the Chinese Debate World Cup, and this time I come to Sanya, a famous southern city in China, and feel that it has beautiful scenery and agreeable climate. I feel that it is a very energetic city, and I hope that I will have the opportunity to come to Sanya more often in the future and grow up together with Sanya.” Influenced by the tournament, more international friends gained a better understanding of the changes in Sanya. The event has given international students a window into every aspect of Hainan and a golden opportunity to make Sanya and even Hainan Province well-known all over the world.
At the end of the closing ceremony, Zhong Fengmao, Deputy Director of Sanya Municipal Tourism, Culture, Radio, Television, and Sports Bureau, issued a new invitation to the whole society. By this October, the Chinese Debate World Cup will be joining hands with Sanya once again to bring the university group of the Chinese Debate World Cup Invitational Tournament of Famous Universities to the general public so that more students from all over the world will gather again. “I hope the event could be held in the years to follow, and the locally-held debate tournament is not only audience friendly but also exciting. This new form of event not only attracts more people to pay attention to Sanya, but also greatly enriches the growing cultural needs of the public, providing a new choice beyond the traditional form of cultural events.” citizens attending the event said.
The 2024 Chinese Debate World Cup Invitational Tournament for High Schools has ended successfully. Let us look forward to the upcoming Invitational Tournament of the University Group in October and expect more students at home and abroad to come to Sanya, the beautiful southernmost city of China. Accompanied by coconut shadows, we expect debaters to constantly write youthful chapters of thoughts, cut through the wind and waves and pursue their dreams, building and sharing a vision of “poems and dreams far ahead”.
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