Congratulation: LI Jiaming from HSS won the 1st award in the simultaneous interpretation invitational tournament of the 8th All China Interpreting Contest

The ACIC has been organized by Translators Association of China since 2010. It is the biggest and most influential professional interpreting contest in China. This national interpreting contest had a four-level competition system from March to October, lasting more than six months.

The competition adopts invitational mode. Sixteen students from Beijing Foreign Studies University, University of International Business and Economics, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, China Foreign Affairs University and other universities across the country took part in the competition. In the end, a master graduate of 2019 class from The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, who majored in simultaneous interpreting, was praised by the judges for his solid language skills and calm performance. Meanwhile, Dr ZHANG Liwen won the National Interpretation Contest Outstanding Instructor Prize.

Dr. ZHANG Liwen (first from the right) and LI Jiaming (middle) go on stage to accept the award

During the competition, the contestants would hear two pieces of material, one in English and the other in Chinese. 15 minutes for each material, 30 minutes total. The English material, whose topic was on Belt and Road and green development, was delivered by an Australian professor at a forum. The Chinese material was about the digital economy, from a session of the Dialogue, whose speakers included Secretary of the CPC Hangzhou Municipal Committee, Alibaba CEO ZHANG Yong and Netease CEO DING Lei.

It is the second time that The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen has been invited to participate in Simultaneous Interpretation Invitational Competition for the final of ACIC(English). When first invited in 2018, LUO Kangte, the master graduate of 2018 class of simultaneous interpretation, was the runner-up of the first prize in the simultaneous interpretation invitational. At present, LUO Kangte is pursuing a doctorate in translation at the City University of Hong Kong.

The master programs in CUHKSZ Translation (translating/interpreting) and simultaneous interpretation began in 2015, with one year for translation and two years for simultaneous interpretation. Students who have completed their studies and have met the requirements for graduation will be awarded a master's degree from the Chinese University of Hong Kong. The curriculum aims at developing students' practical skills to meet the needs of bilingual interpretation and translation in the workplace.

Photo of LI Jiaming during the simultaneous interpretation program at The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen

During the two-year interpreting course, LI Jiaming studied diligently. While improving his language skills, he expanded his knowledge in various fields. After he entered the second year of graduate, he also tried conference interpretation practice selectively. It not only honed his interpretation skills, but also improved his on-the-spot psychological quality.

Looking back at the contest, he said, “It is an honor to represent our school in this competition and win the honor for our school. I took the competition as another classroom exercise, focusing on how to do translation without too much external pressure. This competition embodies the translation instinct formed by a great deal of practice during my graduate study. It is also the summary of my master's study in the past two years.”

“When I came out of the booth, I felt like I was in the classroom and just finished practice. I thought I heard the comments from Prof. SUI, Dr ZHANG and Mrs TANG once again. It is because of two years of careful guidance by teachers and my solid training, so that I can stand on this stage, and fortunately won the first place.”

The study is endless, today's results for my master's degree to draw a perfect end, and I still need to continue to work hard, constantly improve myself, to have ample space to achieve more significant results.

Teacher Comments

LI Jiaming's outstanding performance in this competition is due to his untiring efforts in daily life. Usually, he never slackened on the simultaneous interpretation course, no matter how much pressure and homework, he never gave up. Sometimes clients asked him to do translation, he would not hesitate to refuse if it was conflict with his class time. He told me that while a day out would bring in some financial income to supplement his tuition, it was not worth compared to the teacher's course. He wanted to take the course, which would allow him to systematically acquire knowledge and go further.

It is because of his correct study attitude and the spirit of hard work that he can achieve such results today. Upon learning of his award, I am proud of our translation program and even more happy with his achievements. Yesterday I said to him, "every success is a ticket to the next one". I look forward to his next success. Also hope that our student would achieve more!

-- School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Professor of simultaneous interpretation, Prof. SUI Yun

In the course of the game, while listening to Li's interpretation, I recalled his changes over the last two years. At that time, I typed this sentence into my mobile phone: no matter what happens in the competition, he wins the first prize in my heart, not only he, but also his classmates. Li said, "I have never seen your unhide smile like this in these years". In my opinion, this result is a recognition of Li's ability and validation to our university, to the Master of Arts in translation and Master of Arts in simultaneous interpretation which was founded in 2015, and to the teachers and staff who have been working behind the scenes for five years.

If there is a sentence to describe Li's postgraduate career, I think it should be: he used all efforts to prove himself in the first year; in the second year, with the help of Professor SUI's guidance, he was ready to shine. The award also marks the end of his Master's program.

-- School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Senior Lecturer, Director of the Master of Translation Program, Dr ZHANG Liwen

We hope that with the help of the teachers, more students from The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen will shine on larger stages in the future.