Monday we held a debate in British parliamentary style on the motion that American factories in China should be held to the same standards to those in the U.S. in terms of the working environment. I was happy to be one of the three judges. Though everyone presented some interesting facts, several of the debaters were phenomenal, including Nathan who was chosen as the best debater due to the fact that he presented new information and a sharp summary. Sarah, however, made exceptional rebuttals and raised a POI (point of information) at least five times during Nathan’s speech.
In the afternoon, the sustainability class visited us. They presented a Power Point on China’s “green” innovations. Then a guest speaker, Ms. Pang Lin, taught us several folk songs that were good representations of Chinese culture. In addition to singing, she also showed us a slide-show of the 56 ethnic groups in China, including one of the bigger minorities, Zhuang, which has a population of 15 million. Many of the minorities communicated by singing to each other. Liu Sanjie, a fictitious character in an iconic movie in 1961, made this a famous part of minority culture. Liu Sanjie sang everything she wanted to say and expressed herself very effectively to promote justice in her community, which is what made it so popular in the lifestyles of minorities.
— Kimberlyn