The debate team of Tsinghua University recently won the Chinese Debate World Cup championship, which was held online this year.
The eight-member team gained access to the final after 16 contests and defeated the host school—the University of International Relations -- to win the final victory, standing out from participants from 47 universities from all over the world.
Shi Chenxi, Ren Zehe, Li Xiang and Yu Jianghao, the four debaters at the final, gave their best performance in their Pro arguments that young people should feel free to ride the wind and plough the waves.
At the beginning of the debate, the Tsinghua team focused on both personal and social perspectives, demonstrating that “riding the wind and ploughing the waves” not only helps young people break the limits of traditional competition and better realize their own value with creativity, but also creates new economic growth points for China under its economic transformation.
While their counterparts’ Con arguments believed that "keeping steady in the waves" is a down-to-earth attitude, which can help young people alleviate their anxiety, Yu pointed out such an attitude cannot change the current competition; only taking advantage of “the wind and waves” to expand more opportunities can help young people feel more at ease.
Li then further analyzed the role of innovation and entrepreneurship in economic development.
In the free debate session, Li used social examples and statistical data to point out that the return of "riding the wind and ploughing the waves" lies not only in materials, but also in the spiritual satisfaction and sense of self-worth.
Yu encouraged young people under pressure to embrace challenges with national support to refute his opponent’s argument that young people should ease their anxiety by calming their mind because not everyone can succeed in entrepreneurship.
Founded about a dozen years ago, the debate team of Tsinghua University has provided its members with a platform to express concerns about social issues and realize all-round development. In recent years it has won a group of honors at influential debate events.
The Chinese Debate World Cup was launched in 2012 by the Global People magazine of People’s Daily, the University of International Relations and the organizing committee of the Chinese Debate World Cup. It has grown into one of the most influential debate competitions in the world. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s event was held online for the first time.
Editors: Li Han, Cassandra Ler, John Olbrich
