China-Quotient Student Forum 2012:
Bilingualism and Biculturalism – Singaporean youths’ unique edge
(English translation, for reference only)
Distinguished Minister of State for Finance and Transport, Mrs Josephine Teo
Chairman of Business China, Mr Chua Thian Poh
Board of Directors, Business China
Principal of Raffles Institution, Mrs Lim Lai Cheng
Guests and Speakers, Teachers and Students,
Good morning!
I am heartened by the overwhelming participation of the “China-Quotient Student Forum” this morning. First of all, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to MOS Josephine Teo and all our speakers for taking time off to share with us today the interesting side of China that many of us may not know. The photos are indeed very precious. More importantly, I would like to thank all the 700 teachers and students who are with us in this Saturday morning.
Through the panel discussion today, it is clear that language skill is the effective key to engage ourselves with China. Secondly, we need to visit the country, be with the locals and experience the culture. Learning Chinese can be interesting and engaging. It is only through personal experience that we will be better attuned to contemporary China, able to keep pace with its developments, and upkeep our “China-Quotient”.
This C-Quotient Student Forum is one of the events rolled out by Business China. Since our inception in 2007, Business China has been striving to nurture an inclusive bilingual and bicultural group of Singaporeans, through extensive use of the Chinese language as the medium of communication, so as to sustain our multi-cultural heritage, and to develop a cultural and economic bridge linking the world and China.
This year, we are celebrating our fifth anniversary and we will be presenting more than 40 events and programmes. Through these diversified activities, we hope that you will get to learn more about China and Chinese culture, to experience the evolving Chinese society, and to upkeep your Chinese language skills. In addition, we update our Facebook and Weibo regularly, providing latest updates on China-related news, from both Chinese and English sources. So, join us at Business China, “Like” us and be our friends!
Last but not least, I would like to thank our co-organiser, Raffles Institution, for the support rendered by Principal Mrs Lim Lai Cheng and teachers, for making this forum a success. We hope that all of you will walk away being inspired to sharpen your unique edge by being bilingual and bicultural.
I wish all of you a pleasant weekend. Thank you!