Leonhard Weese of Debattierklub Wien is now doing his master studies in Hong Kong. Inbetween studies he finds time to take part in debating tournaments, for instance in Beijing. This time, he made it to the Hong Kong Open which was staged in Hong Kong for the second time. Read here his exklusive report from China. Being known for their academic achievements as much as their students’ performances in the natural sciences for years, Hong Kong schools look for other fields to distinguish their students. And tiger parents are too. Fully loaded with (almost) untaxed income from the plenty of booming ...

"An amazing experience in culture and debate", the sixth annual tournament in Beijing from December 16 to 18 is being advertised by the International Debate Education Association (IDEA). IDEA and the Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU) are co-organizers of this tournament in the heart of China's capital city. The tournament will feature an English division, a Mandarin division, and a Moot Court division. That means there will be three competitions: one in English, one in Mandarin plus a Moot Court competion. Moot court stands for some practice at law schools where participants simulate court proceedings including oral argument.  IDEA promises ...

In simplified Chinese, the set of letters so strongly supported to replace a much more complex set of characters, the word China is written as 中国. The first sign meaning center, the second meaning country. The second character looks like the sign 王, meaning monarch (and also one of the most common last names), but can be also used to describe something precious, like a crown, that is sheltered by a wall. The translation of China being “The Middle Kingdom” or “Das Reich der Mitte” is an old one, but the introduction of the simplified characters started in 1952 by Mao ...

The german weekly, DER SPIEGEL, reports in its online edition on the FLTRP Cup in Beijing, China. Thanks to Michael Shapira the Achte Minute is able to provide the full set of topics debated in Beijing. Michael Shapira wons this year’s World Universities Debating Championships (WUDC or Worlds) at Gaborone, Botswana in the category “English as a Second Language” (ESL) and judged in Beijing. ...

Are you in for judging in China? Then let’s got to Beijing for the FLTRP Cup from 7 to 14 May this year! FLTRP stands for Foreign Languages Teaching and Research Press, the host of the National English Debating Championship in the People’s Republic to be held for the 15th time. The tournament is open to Chinese students only, but since the British Parliamentary Style has not been introduced before 2010, the convenors want to guarantee a certain standard of parliamentary debate by inviting international judges. Those interested may register on the website of the FLTRP Cup. In 2010, the FLTRP ...

Die Foreign Languages Teaching and Research Press (FLTRP) und die International Debate Education Association (IDEA) laden zum 14. "FLTRP"-Cup nach Peking ein. Der "FLTRP"-Cup wird vom 15. bis 22. Mai stattfinden. Für das chinesische Debattieren ist es eine aufregende Zeit, wie die Anzahl an Turnieren in letzter Zeit beweist. Zum ersten Mal wird der Cup im British Parliamentary Style (BPS) ausgetragen. Der "FLTRP"-Cup ist eines der ältesten, größten und im asiatischen Raum bekanntesten Debattierturniere und möchte durch die Etablierung von BPS die Bande zwischen China und der Debattierwelt weiter stärken. Um den Übergang zu BPS zu erleichtern, bieten die Organisatoren den ...