Collaborating for the first time, Business China and Raffles Institution (RI) jointly organised the China-Quotient Student Forum on 28 July (Sat) at RI. This half-day forum was themed ‘Bilingualism and Biculturalism – Singaporean youths’ unique edge’ and conducted mainly in Mandarin.
The China-Quotient (CQ) Student Forum series is conceptualised by Business China to keep students and youths abreast of the changes in the rapidly morphing China society, to up their China-quotient, so that they can better prepare themselves for the emerging opportunities.
The Guest-of-Honour was Minister of State for Finance and Transport, and Business China board member, Mrs Josephine Teo. She is also an alumnus of Raffles Junior College (RJC), having graduated in 1986 after completing her ‘A’ levels there. MOS Josephine Teo, together with two young and equally qualified speakers Ms Sim Chi Yin and Mr Cheng Chek Lim, shared with the 700 strong audience of students from RI and other schools, the ways in which being bilingual and bicultural had benefited their careers in China.
Ms Sim was formerly Straits Times China correspondent and is now a professional photojournalist based in Beijing. Even though her parents speak mostly Mandarin with her, the former SCGS student admitted that she is a ‘jiak kentang’ (literally ‘eat potato’ – connotes a person who is better verse in English than mother tongue) girl who “lived with the guilt of knowing more Shakespeare than Lu Xun”. She only gained interest in China and its culture later in life when she was assigned to Beijing for five years. During the forum, she showcased some of her photographs documenting China’s ‘Rat Tribe’ – migrant workers living in tiny, box-like dormitories in the basements of Beijing office buildings and old air raid tunnels, accentuating her speech with impeccable ‘Beijing accent’ Mandarin.
The other speaker, Mr Cheng, was a graduand of Peking University and Manager with Singapore Tourism Board. He recently completed a secondment stint in China with leading travel site TripAdvisor. Through a presentation of photos taken whilst studying and traveling in China, Mr Cheng talked about his experiences participating in international events, such as the 2008 Beijing Olympics and Peking University Model United Nations. He also shared his interaction with international students studying Chinese in Beijing through church activities and foreign student carnivals; as well as the culture shock when he experienced first-hand the fierce competition amongst businesses in China.
Distinguished guests including Business China’s Chairman Mr Chua Thian Poh, a few board members, and CEO Ms Low Yen Ling, were also present to interact with the students. Ms Low in her closing address reiterated that: “Through the panel discussion today, it is obvious that language skill is the single most important key to opening up a world of opportunities in China.”
Addressing participants’ concerns about the perceived erosion of Singaporeans’ bilingual advantage as the Chinese are also becoming increasingly bilingual, MOS Josephine Teo encouraged young Singaporeans to travel, and urged them to aspire to “be like travel adaptors that can be plugged into any electrical socket abroad”.
Students interviewed reflected that they were able to gain some rare personal insights not usually available on mainstream media about China by attending this forum and this had helped them formulate a more updated and holistic picture of contemporary China. Putting the speakers’ experiences in perspective, the students also realised how fortunate and well placed they are, being in Singapore.
As guest speakers and students stayed and interacted well after the forum was over, the co-organisers looked forward to yet other enriching sessions in time to come.