Raising their voices

The International Public Speaking Competition brings together students aged 16 to 20 from around the world. To take part in the preselection contest, Chinese contestants must have won the first prize (usually top 12 in the national finals) in the China Daily 21st Century Cup National English Speaking Competition. Yang won the national champion of this competition's college group in 2021.

The 21st Century Cup has served as the national qualifying competition since it was established in 1996, and it aims to provide a stage for Chinese youth to better communicate with the world and tell authentic stories about China.

On a global stage, speakers need to formulate strong and sensible statements to convey that China is engaging in global issues, Yang says, such as issues including the pandemic, the environment, gender equality and people's well-being, and then incorporate Chinese culture or Chinese wisdom into the speech, "to combine a unique perspective from our culture to address the issues".

She attributed her success to her coach, Professor Shi Lina of Fudan University, who has been training students in public speaking for 20 years. Shi stresses three main points to best tell a Chinese story: passion, being genuine and developing the required skills.

As a medical student, Yang's passion lies in that field, and her knowledge helped her to talk about topics related to the medical field in the earlier rounds of the competition. By using her voice for public speaking, she can bring more public attention to people in need of extra care, she says.

Shi says of Yang: "She fits all my expectations for the new generation of Chinese youth and beyond. I believe her performance on the world stage, with a medical student's scientific attitude and humanistic touch, must have inspired the audience and presented a very positive image of China to the world."