MTS Xiamen Co-sponsors the First Cross-Strait Interpretation Competition

The Fujian Regional Final of the First Cross-Strait Interpretation Competition was held at Xiamen University on March 14, 2009. The event was sponsored by Xiamen University, co-sponsored by Xiamen Master Translation Service Co., Ltd. and organized by the English Department of Xiamen University´s Foreign Languages College and the Xiamen University Accreditation Center for Interpreters and Translators.

Students of interpretation from universities across the Fujian region battled it out for a place in the grand final. After a grueling five-hour contest that went on well into the evening, five candidates were eventually chosen to participate in the Cross-Strait Final on April 12, where they will face-off against 9 contenders from Taiwan, Hubei and the North-East. The five successful candidates represented Xiamen University and the Xiamen University of Technology.

Xiamen Master Translation Service Co., Ltd. sponsored the event. General Manager Wei Zhonghe was among the judges of the competition and senior translator Graham Faulkner was specially invited to comment on the performances of candidates.

The Fujian Regional Final comprised of three rounds over two sessions. The three rounds included dialogue interpreting, conference interpreting and coping. In the dialogue interpreting round, a dialogue was simulated between two special guests, one Chinese and the other foreign. Each special guest was assigned a candidate to interpret on their behalf. The conference interpreting round involved more challenging material which tested candidates on their vocabulary, short-term memory and integration of information. The judges marked candidates on their conveyance of information, linguistic expression and general competence. At the end of the first round, the difference between the highest and the lowest score was as much as 21.071 points.

After a grueling contest, Xiamen University´s Li Wei and Zhao Xiao came out on top to claim the first prize owing to their ability to keep a cool head in a crisis. Liu Kewei and Huang Ruihua from Xiamen University and Li Li from the Xiamen University of Technology were awarded second prize. Cao Ting from Xiamen University, Hu Ting and Pan Tengfei from Southwest University and Zheng Xun Rong from Fujian Normal University were awarded third prize while the five other candidates, including Chen Binfeng from Fuzhou University, were granted the award of merit.

At present, communication and exchanges across the Taiwan Strait are breaking new ground. The west coast of the Taiwan Strait enjoys special advantages due to its close proximity to Taiwan. The region is continuing to play a unique and essential role in cross-strait relations. Uniquely placed to boost academic exchanges across the strait and boasting significant academic experience in interpreting studies and training, Xiamen University is seeking to promote academic exchanges across the strait by holding the Cross-Strait Interpretation Competition in conjunction with the Taiwan University of Science and Technology. The event is set to become an annual competition whose standard and scope of influence are expected to increase on a constant basis.

The First Cross-Strait Interpretation Competition consisted of two divisions, namely the West Coast (including Fujian Province, Hubei Province and the Northeast Provinces) and the East Coast (Taiwan Region). Influential higher education institutes in each region under the two divisions were invited to select candidates to participate in the competition. Candidates successful in the regional competitions can go on to the grand final.

The grand final of the First Cross-strait Interpretation Competition will be held at Xiamen University on April 12, 2009.