Chinese proficiency competition for Irish college students held in Dublin

DUBLIN, April 24 (Xinhua) -- The 21st "Chinese Bridge" Chinese Proficiency Competition for Irish College Students was held here at the Confucius Institute of University College Dublin (UCD) in the Irish capital on Sunday.

This is the first competition of its kind ever held offline in Ireland since the COVID-19 pandemic, said organizers.

A total of 19 college students from Dublin, Cork and other parts of Ireland took part in the one-day competition which was held inside the auditorium of the teaching building of the UCD Confucius Institute.

Due to public health concerns, a limited number of audiences including family members and teachers of the contestants were invited to the event.

The competition, which is open to all college students in Ireland except Chinese nationals or those whose parents speak Chinese, comprised two rounds of matches, a preliminary one in the morning session and a final one in the afternoon.

In the final competition, eight contestants, selected by a five-member jury, were each given a two-minute time for a speech in Chinese centering on the theme of "One World One Family" followed by questions and answers.

They were also given a five-minute time to demonstrate their Chinese cultural skills such as singing Chinese songs or performing martial arts or preparing Chinese tea.

Anna Roth, a 22-year-old student of foreign applied languages from University College Cork, beat all her competitors to become the first prize winner of the competition. She will represent Ireland in competing with college students from other parts of the world in China later this year.

Each of the eight finalists was awarded with a nice gift and a certificate.

Huang He, political counsellor of the Chinese embassy in Ireland, and Dolores O'Riordan, vice president for Global Engagement of UCD, among other guests attended the event.

Earlier on Saturday, a similar competition for secondary school students in Ireland was held in Cork.

Katie Lawrence, a 17-year-old student from Confey College in County Kildare, beat the 11 other finalists from across Ireland to claim the top title of the 15th "Chinese Bridge" Chinese Proficiency Competition for Foreign Secondary School Students in Ireland.

She will also represent Ireland in competing with secondary school students from other countries and regions in a match to be held in China.

Chinese ambassador to Ireland He Xiangdong delivered a video speech to the competition.

Senior officials from Cork City Council and Cork County Council as well as the Irish Department of Education attended the event.

Both the above-mentioned competitions were organized by the Chinese embassy in Ireland in collaboration with the Confucius institutes in Dublin and Cork.