Singapore, 29 April 2015 – Some 600 students from Junior Colleges, IP Schools, Polytechnics and Universities participated in the China-Quotient Student Forum held at Temasek Junior College this afternoon. Guest speaker Dr Martin Jacques, author of the global best-seller “When China Rules the World: the End of the Western World and the Birth of a New Global Order”, shared his candid views and unique perspective of the global impact of the imminent rise of China and ways in which Singaporean youths can better adapt to ride the waves of a possible new world order.
Dr Jacques proposed that China, being fundamentally different from the West, will progress and rise to global dominance in her own unique manner. Citing historical statistics and illustrations, Dr Jacques spoke of the East’s and the West’s contrasting approaches and attitudes with regards economic, military, historical and cultural expansion and methods of engagements.
Jointly organised by Business China and Temasek Junior College, the Forum conducted in English and themed ‘When China Rules the World’, aims to reiterate the importance for Singaporean youths to strengthen their bilingualism and biculturalism advantage, in light of the global economic shift to the East.
General Manager of Business China, Ms Veronica Xiong, highlighted the necessity to promote bilingualism and biculturalism in her address. “China’s rapid growth offers abundant opportunities on many fronts, be it in terms of internships, career advancements or business opportunities, hence it is important that you, as the leaders of tomorrow, are able to seize these opportunities and ride the China wave. As China’s society is constantly evolving, it is necessary for us to always keep abreast of her developments and understand its relevance to Singapore.”
Principal of Temasek Junior College, Ms Susan Leong, said in her welcome remarks that Singapore, with the bilingual language policy, has been preparing its youth for the opportunities brought about by the re-emergence of China as a global power. She also remarked that the school has been at the forefront of developing students who are well verse with China since the introduction of the Chinese Language Elective Programme in 1990 and the China Studies module in 2007.
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For more information, please contact:
Deng Shiying (Ms)
Associate (Corporate Communications)
Business China
Email: shiying@businesschina.org.sg
About Business China
Launched in November 2007 by Founding Patron and Singapore’s Founding Prime Minister Mr Lee Kuan Yew, Business China’s mission is 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.
For more information, visit www.businesschina.org.sg/en.
About Temasek Junior College
Founded in 1977, Temasek Junior College is the second government junior college in Singapore, and has earned for herself the reputation of being a fine academic institution that focuses on the all-round development of its students. Currently a full-fledged 6-year Integrated Programme institution, her mission is to broaden the minds, touch the hearts and enrich the lives of her students.
For more information, visit temasekjc.moe.edu.sg.
About China-Quotient Forum Series
As part of the efforts to engage youths, Business China has been striving towards promoting bilingualism and biculturalism in Singapore to better prepare Singaporean youths for global development in the future. China had become the world’s largest economy in Sept 2014. It is hence imperative that our youths have the means to effectively engage with China now and in years to come.
Launched in 2010, the China-Quotient (CQ) Forum Series aims to upkeep the bilingual and bicultural quotient of Singaporean youths. Through panel discussions, outstanding speakers from areas such as technology, lifestyle, popular culture, volunteerism and social entrepreneurship will share how Singaporean youths can leverage on their unique edge as bilingual and bicultural individuals in an increasingly competitive global market place.