On October 21st, the 5th National University Student Regional Speech Competition concluded at Sun Yat-sen University (Zhuhai Campus). After intense rounds of preliminaries, semi-finals, and finals, students Fan Kaihan and Jin Shangkun from NEFU’s School of Humanities and Law, majoring in Political Science and Public Administration, distinguished themselves by winning the first and second prizes, respectively. Their mentors, Cheng Ming and Wang Xuemei, were honored with Outstanding Instructor Awards.

The University Alliance for Talent Cultivation and Discipline Construction in Regional Country Studies has been organizing this prominent competition since 2019, drawing thousands of participants from across China. The event enjoys widespread reach and influence, receiving coverage from major media outlets, including People’s Daily and Xinhua News Agency. This year’s competition was co-organized by the Ministry of Education’s Secretary for Country and Regional Studies, the alliance mentioned above, and Sun Yat-sen University. The event was managed by Sun Yat-sen University’s School of International Studies and received support from the university’s Institute of “Belt and Road” Studies. From an impressive roster of candidates, 120 students from over 70 leading universities, such as Tsinghua University, Peking University, and Sun Yat-sen University, made it to the semi-finals, with 28 advancing to the finals to vie for the top awards.

In the heat of the competition, the two NEFU contestants demonstrated resilience under pressure and capitalized on their academic expertise. With a solid grounding in China’s real-world context and a global outlook, they provided thorough insights into China’s contributions to global governance, addressing initiatives like the “Belt and Road,” the “Three Major Global Initiatives,” and “Chinese-style Modernization.” Their exceptional performance secured them remarkable accolades.