On October 20, the 10th Cross-Strait Interpreting Competition (South China Division) was successfully held at South China University of Technology. The competition was jointly organized by South China University of Technology and Xiamen University, with the School of Foreign Languages at South China University of Technology serving as the host. The event attracted the enthusiastic participation of numerous universities in the South China region. Elite contestants gathered together, showcasing their exceptional language proficiency and interpreting skills, and delivered an extraordinary competition for the audience. The top three contestants will represent the South China Division in the mainland final of the 10th Cross-Strait Interpreting Competition.

At the opening ceremony, Professor Zhu Xianlong, Dean of the School of Foreign Languages, delivered a speech, warmly welcoming the judges, contestants, and audience. He emphasized the significance of interpreting as a crucial bridge for international exchange, promoting cultural communication and driving social progress. Professor Zhu highly commended the contestants for their efforts and dedication, encouraging them to perform at their best and demonstrate their unique style. He also expressed his wishes for the event's success.

The competition invited several authoritative experts in the field to serve as judges, including Professor Zhan Cheng from the School of Foreign Languages at Sun Yat-sen University, Zhang Mi, a first-class principal staff member of the Foreign Affairs Translation Office of the Guangzhou Municipal Foreign Affairs Office, Tang Yu, a third-level leading professional and technical expert at Southern Power Grid International Company, as well as Xu Yangzi, Director of the Professional Graduate Department of the School of Foreign Languages, and Du Kejun, Deputy Director of the department.

The competition consisted of two sessions: the gist interpreting session in the morning and the conference interpreting session in the afternoon. In the gist interpreting session, contestants needed to quickly comprehend and accurately convey the core information of Chinese and English materials within a short time, demonstrating strong memory and information distillation skills. The top 15 contestants advanced to the conference interpreting session in the afternoon. The conference interpreting session further challenged the contestants' on-the-spot reactions and discourse cohesion abilities. Contestants were required to quickly organize their thoughts and perform consecutive interpreting with notes after listening to the designated materials. The contestants impressed the audience with their fluent language, accurate information, and steady stage presence, earning rounds of applause.

After the competition, Professor Zhan Cheng, on behalf of the judging panel, provided insightful comments. He highly praised the outstanding performance of the contestants, pointed out issues that require special attention in gist interpreting and conference interpreting, and offered valuable suggestions based on the competition content. Professor Zhan encouraged everyone to cherish every opportunity for interpreting practice and continuously enhance their professional competence and comprehensive abilities.

The Cross-Strait Interpreting Competition is a nationally recognized academic competition initiated and hosted by Xiamen University, with broad participation from universities across the strait. It holds significant influence in the higher education field of the Chinese mainland, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau. The competition aims to deepen educational and cultural exchanges between the two sides of the strait, showcase the talents of interpreters from both sides, and promote the cultivation of interpreting professionals. It provides an excellent platform for contestants from various universities to learn from each other and exchange ideas. The successful conclusion of the 10th Cross-Strait Interpreting Competition (South China Division) showcased the contestants' solid foundation, fluent language, and composed performance, delivering an extraordinary event and fully demonstrating the interpreting capabilities of university students in the South China region.

Attached: List of Winners

First Prize 

Zheng Shenghao, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies

Second Prize 

Tang Zhiyu, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies

Ding Yi, Guangxi University

Third Prize 

Zi Junting, Guangzhou University

Zhang Chi, Shenzhen University

Zhang Xinyue, Southern Medical University

Yan Huiting, The Chinese University of Hong Kong (Shenzhen)

Li Yifang, Sun Yat-sen University