Cambodia holds Chinese proficiency contest for college students

The Confucius Institute of the Royal Academy of Cambodia on Tuesday hosted the 14th Chinese Bridge Chinese proficiency competition for Cambodian college students.

Twelve contestants, including seven females, who have been shortlisted from dozens of candidates, were competed in the final stage on Tuesday afternoon at the Asia-Euro University.

Each candidate was allowed to talk on the topic "My Chinese Dream" combined with their own understanding of Chinese culture, and they were also required to show their talents in mastering Chinese music and arts.

As a result, the winner was awarded to Kep Paly, a male-student at the Asia-Euro University.

Chea Monirith, director of the Confucius Institute of the Royal Academy of Cambodia, said the winner will represent Cambodia to join a competition in China with other candidates from different countries around the world.

Tan Qingsheng, political counselor of the Chinese Embassy to Cambodia, said Chinese language is not only the identity of Chinese culture, but also the bridge for communication between China and the rest of the world.

"It is estimated that besides the Chinese people, there are about 100 million people in different countries around the world have studied and used Chinese language," he said.

Tan said the Chinese government has paid high attention to the promotion of Chinese language education overseas.

Som Sokhun, secretary of state of the Cambodian Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts, said the contestants had not only showed their knowledge in Chinese language, history and culture, but also demonstrated their courage and wish to compete on an international arena.

"I believe that the Chinese Bridge program will contribute to encouraging more Cambodian students to learn Chinese language," he said. Endi