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One of top three in international Chinese language competition

Liam Bates, foreground

[Video]Changsha, Hunan Province, China (GenevaLunch.com) – Li-mu, aka Liam Bates in his home country of Switzerland, was handed the special award for eloquence in Chinese during the hugely popular finals of the annual Chinese Bridge competition in Changsha Sunday night 8 August.

The Chinese Bridge final, often called the “American Idol” of Chinese TV, pulls in a viewing audience of 300 million people, in China and overseas as well as on the Internet.

It brings the world’s top university students of Chinese language to Changsha, where they are coached for four weeks in language proficiency and Chinese performance techniques, putting on a series of shows that lead to the final.

Bates, in the Sunday night show, participated in a debate and gave a dramatic performance as a general in “Mulan”, the traditional Chinese story that was made into a Disney film.

The eloquence award covered a series of performances and examinations that are part of the contest and television show.

Bates was one of the top three finalists from six students who were awarded “first places”. Each of the six wins a three-year full scholarship to study in China. The top winner Sunday was Stewart Johnston, a SOAS student in London, who grew up in Singapore, with Tran Thien Tu, a student from Vietnam in second place. The other three students are from Russia, the US (Florida) and Belgium.

Liam Bates completed four years of Chinese studies at the University of British Columbia in May and represented Canada in the contest. He will begin graduate studies at the Communications University of China in Beijing in September.

Chinese Bridge is sponsored by HanBan, which promotes Chinese culture and language overseas. Hunan TV is its partner for the final month of the competition. Students are selected during a series of national competitions for several months before.

Link to: Liam Bates website

Hunan TV, Chinese Bridge Video:

Related story: Swiss student gives Chinese TV crowds a taste of their country