Following last year’s success of the first Chinese Speech Competition, on December 1, Confucius Institute at Ritsumeikan successfully held the second Chinese Speech Competition. 33 preliminary winners from across Japan participated in speech competition groups for high school and below and college students. There was a total enrollment of seven students from Rixin High School in Higashi-Osaka, including four that made it to the final.

Competitors’age range in this competition spans greatly, from the 10-year-old pupil to the 70-year-old man. Compared to last year’s competition, competitors of this year show a higher proficiency level of Chinese. During the morning competition for the high school and below group, a pair of young sisters from Yao was especially striking. Their perfect pronunciation and musical performance not only conquered the audience, but also stunned the judges. Finally, the 6th grade primary school sisters Nii Ayaka won one of the most outstanding awards - Ritsumeikan Chief Award, and the 1-year junior high school sisters Misaki won the President Award of Confucius Institute at Ritsumeikan. To commemorate the establishment of Confucius Institute Headquarters in Beijing, it set up a special Confucius Institute Headquarters Award (the highest award), and this year’s award went to Yuki Murakami from Ritsumeikan Uji Junior & High School.