无问西东，知行共振 | 第一届清华附中本部&国际部双语辩论赛圆满落幕!

The final round was held in the morning of December 18th. The claim side consisted of Su Qingyuan and Wang Yuduo from TUHS and Ken He and Robert Zhang from THIS. The counterclaim side was TUHS’s Sheng Qing and Yang Lingchang, and THIS’s Oscar Tsui and Tina Cui. Both sides engaged in heated discussion on “Whether e-sports should be included in the official sports of the Olympic Games”. The claim side discussed the spiritual value of the Olympic Games, the positive effects of E-Sports on young people, the dilemma of the Olympic Games today and its relationship with the young generation – the overall positive value of e-sports to the Olympic Games. On the other side, the counterclaim side discussed, in depth, the essential difference between the Olympic Games and e-sports, arguing that the original meaning of the Olympic Games is to show the physical strength of human beings and how e-sports do not help the body. Based on the requirement of the Olympic Games, it is believed that the entry of e-sports into the Olympic Games will inevitably lead to massive adjustments, which may not be good for e-sports itself. Additionally, the fairness of e-sports is also very worrying influence on youth. Both sides launched a wonderful attack and defense of logic, data and cases on the main arguments, during which the spark of wisdom and youthful passion shone. Ultimately, the claim side won the champion with 9.5 votes to 4.5 votes for the counterclaim side.

Many outstanding debaters emerged from the tournament including Li Miaotong, Wang Yuduo, Yang Lingchang, Su Qingyuan from TUHS and Robert Zhang, Oscar Tsui and Ken He from THIS.

Qingyuan Su, TUHS Debater 

The tournament not only improved my logical thinking skills, but also improved my English and increased my self-confidence. I built a deep friendship with my THIS team members as they discussed the debate topic, looked for information, wrote their arguments and joined hands in the tournament.

Yuduo Wang, TUHS Debater

It was great to get to know many of THIS students and learn about their ideas. Participating in this debate also gave me a deeper understanding of the issues under discussion! I look forward to the next opportunity to interact with each other.

Lingchang Yang, TUHS Debater

I have benefited a lot from this event. First of all, my competence has been greatly improved. The preparation time for this debate was very good, so I was able to have time to watch some very top debaters as well. It broadened my horizons and allowed me to really see what it means to be a good debater. Also, after each round, there were comments from the judges. They would break down each part of the debate in detail and tell us what we could improve on, especially if there were some contradictions or if there was more depth to the arguments. They would suggest ways to improve. Listening to the judges’ detailed comments was a very good way for me to improve my debating skills.

The second is the friendship with THIS students. Previously, I was shy to communicate with THIS students, except for some students who I had a good relationship with before. However, after talking with them, I found that they also have the same mentality, but the students of the two departments have not been able to have in-depth communication opportunities. In this competition, my other two teammates from THIS and I met and discussed arguments together, and we even chatted together for a long time after the meeting one day. They would also give us professional technical guidance on English debating. We cheered each other on during the competition, came up with ideas, and unified together to open the camera. After the tournament, the THIS teachers asked us if we would like to continue to participate in debates with THIS in the future. I have been trying to improve the communication between THIS and TUHS, and now I find that we are all very willing to develop friendship and relationship with each other as long as we open our hearts.

Oscar Tsui, THIS Debater

This is not the first time I have communicated with TUHS students, as I have formed deep friendships with many of them through several previous voluntary teaching trips. I was impressed by their leadership, communication skills, creativity, and openness. I hope that there will be more opportunities for exchange and learning between TUHS and THIS students. Also, the most noteworthy thing is that many of the debaters (even the judges) took part in the competition with illness, and their perseverance and efforts are very admirable!

Michael Wang, THIS Debater

Both our team and the opponent’s debaters were of a high level, and we had a great exchange on the field! Especially, our third debater, Miaotong Li, from TUHS, had a lot of technical moves to learn when she did her questioning. This tournament gave me the opportunity to get to know the best debaters inside the school and I gained a lot from preparing the arguments together with them before the tournament!

Ken He, THIS Debater

Overall, this bilingual debate tournament was a very enjoyable experience. The two students from TUHS were very enthusiastic and friendly, and took the competition more seriously than I expected. As we got to know each other better, we shared our lives outside of the debate, such as the World Cup, games, and the daily life of our respective schools. On the day of the finals, three of the team members were sick, but we all kept going, which was also an interesting experience. One more thing I have to say is that although I have known for a long time that the Chinese language skills of TUHS students are excellent, I was still surprised to see that our first defense could write the first defense about an hour after the end of the discussion every time!

Judge—Ms.Yujie Li, 

TUHS English Teacher 

As the first TUHS&THIS Bilingual Debate Tournament, the “No Questions Asked” online debate tournament was well organized and clearly structured, giving a platform for the contestants from TUHS and THIS to showcase themselves. All the debaters were well prepared, and they showed their bilingual debating ability and discernment in both the argument and questioning sessions, as well as in the confrontation and closing arguments. I believe that this competition has really achieved the purpose of “co-inspire”, which is undoubtedly a successful pioneering attempt. I hope that there will be more cooperation between TUHS and THIS in the future, so as to promote the interaction between students and help both sides make progress together!

Judge—Tianyi Zhang, 

TUHS Outstanding Graduate

It is lucky for me to be a listener and to enjoy a great exchange of ideas brought to me by the students. I could hear that the students wanted to show off their arguments on the field, but is the value of the debate really in the points that are ultimately proven on the field? In fact, in my opinion, not really. I think debates require us to enter the other side’s context based on understanding, discuss calmly and sincerely, compare rationally and objectively, and finally reach a conclusion. After we put aside our prejudices and obsessions, and let go of winning and losing, the debate field is finally left with the collision of ideas, so that we can really achieve co-inspiration.

Judge—Winston Qian, 

THIS Outstanding Debater

As a judge, it was a truly extraordinary experience to see the melding of many different styles, mindsets, cultures and languages into a fully formed debate, and I could feel that our debaters were starting to feel increasingly comfortable in each other’s presence, especially as the debate became more intense and passionate. I think all the debaters performed wonderfully as the first people ever to participate in such an event, especially considering the fact that we were online and some debaters were suffering COVID symptoms, and showed both intellect and respect in this event. I am very optimistic that the Co-Inspire Bilingual Debate will grow bigger and better in the future, and the bond between THIS and Tsinghua High School will only become stronger.

Judge—Mr. Andrew Gatewood, 

THIS ELS Teacher

I was impressed by the great bilingual competence of both TUHS and THIS students! The talent and poise they showed on the debate floor made it a pleasure to listen to them play! I look forward to next year’s Bilingual Debate Tournament, and I will definitely support it!

Chairman—Kevin Wang, 

Member of THIS Chinese Debate Club

I have participated in Chinese debates before, but this was a bilingual tournament. I moderated and watched the whole game, and I felt that the debaters played very well. The arguments and the play on the spot all made the tournament quite exciting. Of course, it may be because of the debating experience and preparation time. In fact, from my point of view, some arguments could be better and leave less angles for the opponents to attack. I hope this event can continue, no matter it is for the international department or the main office, it is a process of getting to know each other, and it is also a process of getting familiar with different environments and different ways of thinking. Winning and losing are not so important. If there is another session, I will definitely try to play the game myself!

Judge—Tianyi Wang, 

THIS Outstanding Graduate

The idea of a bilingual debate was tossed around a few times during my senior year at THIS, but it never was fully thought out and executed. As a former Debate club exec — partially my fault. Coming back after three years and seeing that idea take the form of an actual debate tournament that not only included our students but also Fuzhong students was a very pleasant surprise. It’s always great to know that THIS is getting better and better every year. I look forward to the many new and innovative ideas that are to come.

Judge—Bill Xi, 

THIS Outstanding Debater

As the judge who first proposed the topic, I have played and heard this topic many times myself, but the arguments and exchanges between the two sides on the field often made me feel brighter. With such a short preparation period, the impact of the pendemic, the high demands of the bilingual system, and the fact that TUHS members and THIS members did not know each other very well before, I was still able to present a very interesting competition with a high sense of communication. As a experienced member of THIS Chinese Debate Club, this competition also gave me some new inspirations and ideas. I sincerely hope that this kind of activities will continue, and that the debaters from TUHS and THIS will continue to learn from each other, grow together, and enjoy the fun of debating. I look forward to the upcoming events!