With his sharp wit and moving speech calling on today's youth to aim for loftier aspirations, Tso Fung, a law school student from Tsinghua University, was crowned on Saturday the grand champion of the "11th 21st Century Macao Star Cup" National English Speaking Competition.

Tso, a 19-year-old Hong Kong native, was one of the 24 Chinese contestants addressing a 2,000-strong audience on the topic "Our future: dreams vs reality" at the grand final of the competition in the Macao Culture Centre Grand Auditorium in Macao.

Tso expressed his concerns about today's young people, who he said give up their dreams by "surrendering" to the materialistic reality. He called on the younger generation to stop being mediocre and to aim for higher aspirations to eliminate poverty and foster cultural coexistence.

"These goals may sound unrealistic to some, but it's my honest feelings," said Tso, who decided to study in Beijing after a successful alumna told him about his experience in the mainland.

Wu Xiangchen, 22, from Tianjin Normal University, won the audience's hearts with humour. He said that he dreamed of teaching young children as well as adults to speak their mind rather than suppressing their true intentions. Wu placed as first runner up.

Xu Hongda, 22, from China Foreign Affairs University, snatched third place with a speech in which he expressed his wish that the new technologies would become as user-friendly for his parents as they were for him.

"The contestants do not only have excellent language skills but also show a wide range of concern over issues like peace and humanity," said Michael O'Sullivan, who works for the British Embassy.

This was the first time that the 11-year-old national competition organized by China Daily was held outside the mainland and also one part of the celebration of the newspaper's 25th birthday. To capitalize on the idea of cultural exchanges, guest speakers from South Korea and Thailand were invited to share their visions of the future with their Chinese peers.

"It's very important for the young people to have dreams. It's the motivation of our life. China's economic boom and opening-up to the world provide so many opportunities for the youth. We should encourage them to aim high," said Lei Heong Iok, president of Macao Polytechnic Institute, the title sponsor of the competition this year.

Lei said that using the English language can help young people seize more international opportunities and fulfil their dreams. "That's why we've put all the efforts with China Daily to promote this competition."

Lenovo the title sponsor of the 12th competition in 2007, which will be held in Chinese University of Hong Kong has also offered to award the top three winners international job opportunities.

(China Daily April 10, 2006)