For the first time, Business China held its youth event, C-Quotient Student Forum at a movie theatre, a place popular with youths. The forum themed “Go East, An Insight to Chic China!” took place on 20 August, 1pm, at Shaw Theatres Lido 1.
The response was overwhelming, attracting more than 550 students from secondary schools, junior colleges, polytechnics and universities. Youth participants were treated to an exclusive preview of “Go Lala Go”, a box office hit from China that had never been released in Singapore. The movie gave viewers an insight of modern corporate culture in China today. Participants also had a chance to discover the latest trends in China in this bilingual forum.
Sharing on the objective behind organising the C-Quotient Student Forum, CEO of Business China, Ms Low Yen Ling said, “The C-Quotient is a measure of how well we know and understand China. This goes beyond just sharing a common Chinese language. It’s about how China-savvy we are. Like having a pulse on what’s trending in China and its current social, cultural and business practices. Business China provides our youth members a privileged platform and access to this knowledge. Through forums like this, they gain insights from those with extensive experience in China. They also have a chance to be part of a community that’s well-plugged into China through its network of connections and affiliations.”
Kicking off the forum was Guest-of-Honour Ms Grace Fu, Senior Minister of State for Information, Communications and the Arts & the Environment and Water Resources. She gave an interesting and content-rich presentation, focusing on China’s rapid growth and its latest trends. Quoting SMS Grace Fu,”It doesn’t matter if your future is not in China, but China will definitely be a part of your future.” This clearly demonstrated the importance of China on Singaporean youth’s future.
At the panel discussion, SMS Grace Fu was joined by two other speakers, Ms Christine Ng and Mr Edmund Chua Eng Heng from the advertising and tourism industries respectively. They shared their China experiences and engaged the youths in a dialogue on China’s popular culture and the business/career opportunities there.
Ms Christine Ng, Managing Director, Bartle Bogle Hegarty (BBH China Ltd), had been awarded the Top Ten entrepreneur Award by the government-backed Harmonious Awards in China. She was then given the honour of being the first Advertising Executive to be featured on a Chinese stamp. Mr Edmund Chua Eng Heng Singapore HuaDing (Group) Pte Ltd had more than 20 years of experience in hospitality and had a deep cultural and market insight of China. During his stint with the Singapore Tourism Board, he had successfully spearheaded changes to position Singapore as a compelling, top-of-mind tour destination for Chinese tourists from the Greater China region.
All 3 speakers quoted interesting examples of their experience in China to share with the youths, giving them invaluable tips which they can never obtain from reference books.
During the refreshment break, other than savouring the delicious dishes, it was fun time! The youths earned themselves a Business China thumb drive by answering quiz questions related to Business China or the event correctly. In addition, many youth grabbed the opportunity to get more insights from the 3 China experts, SMS Grace Fu, Ms Christine Ng and Mr Edmund Chua, through intimate chats.
Cheng Liqi from Raffles Institution felt she has learnt a lot from the forum, she said,” The speakers shared about their personal experiences, and also about how they have built relationships and network in China. These tips are very invaluable to us, especially if we decide to venture into China in the future.”
A student from Hwa Chong Institution (College) expressed that she is glad to have attended the Forum, she said:” The content of the Forum is in line with what we have learnt in our Chinese Studies lesson. I like the interactive dialogue session with the three speakers. We gained a lot of insights from the dialogue. From there, we have a more in-depth understanding about China. In conclusion, forums like these are very useful for students who do not have a good understanding of China, because I have a better understanding of China’s development and history now.”
National University of Singapore undergraduate, Wang Sean agreed with the speakers’ views, he said,” China is an enormous market, everyone wants a piece of China. Although people venturing into China now are viewed as latecomers, I feel that there are still plenty of opportunities in China, so it’s better later than never.” Wang Sean has just returned to Singapore from a one-year internship in Shanghai.
The day ended with much excitement when Business China CEO, Ms Low Yenling conducted the lucky draw for the iPad2. Congratulations to Tham Shi Cheng from River Valley High School for being the lucky winner.
For those participants who wish to obtain this IT gadget, there will be another golden opportunity. Simply post the photos taken at the forum on the Business China facebook page, and get their friends to like the photos posted. The photo with the most “likes” by 31 August will be the winner!