by Marvin Andrew Co (11C - STEM) | November 6, 2021
October 26, 2021 -- To jumpstart the 100-day countdown until the start of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, a special lecture was broadcast live from Beijing online via Zoom to over a hundred participating overseas Chinese schools in 40 different countries.
Teachers and students from the various Chinese schools fully experienced the Olympic atmosphere in the event where a presentation about the various preparations for the Winter Olympics was made by Ms. Xu Yanli, Head of Press and Publicity Department of Beijing Winter Olympic Organizing Committee (北京冬奥组委新闻宣传部主管).
Five notable lecturers also shared their Olympic stories. They were Interpreter Liu Chen 刘晨, Dr. Fu Yan 付妍, Snowboarder Zhang Yang Guang Zi 张阳光子, Olympic Torchbearer Liu Chao Ying 刘超英, and Paralympic gold medallist Liu Yu Kun 刘玉坤.
“Rio Olympic Volunteering Journey” 里约奥运志愿行 - Liu Chen 刘晨
Ms. Liu Chen 刘晨 shared her experience of being a volunteer interpreter in the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics due to lack of Russian interpreters at the time. She took up the task and became the interpreter for the Russian Women’s Handball team. Liu's talk centered on how languages could cause both conflict and understanding, as she recalled how she was able to clear up a misunderstanding between the audience and the Olympic committee members.
“How I became a ski slope doctor” 滑雪医生是怎样炼成的 - Dr. Fu Yan 付妍
Dr. Fu Yan 付妍 shared her rigorous journey of becoming a ski slope doctor. Just when she had passed an examination for ski doctors, she got in an accident and broke her shoulder during the practice. This didn’t stop her from pursuing her dreams and she succeeded in the end. Dr. Fu will be a part of the medical team in the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.
“My Ski Dream” 我的滑雪梦 - Zhang Yang Guang Zi 张阳光子
Sixteen-year-old Zhang Yang Guang Zi 张阳光子 is a member of the Beijing snowboarding team. She shared how she had been working hard to chase the Olympic gold medal dream. She wanted to win the Olympic gold as a tribute to her mother, Guo Dan Dan 郭丹丹, who was a prominent freestyle skiing athlete but never got to win an Olympic gold medal.
“Running towards the Olympic Dream” 向着奥林匹克梦想奔跑 - Liu Chao Ying 刘超英
Mr. Liu Chao Ying 刘超英, a torch bearer at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, was known for running at least 10 kilometers everyday bearing the 2008 Beijing Olympic torch with many people young and old joining him. Aside from this, to support China's bid for the 2000 Olympic Games, he started the activity of making Olympic scrolls 奥运长卷 resembling the Great Wall of China and various murals using Olympic postage stamps. He has managed to collect over a million signatures in total from people all around China and the world.
“Raising the Chinese Flag in the Olympic Stadium” 让五星红旗在奥运赛场上高高飘扬 Liu Yu Kun 刘玉坤
Ms. Liu Yu Kun 刘玉坤 is a Paralympic gold medallist who both broke the world record and won gold in the 1992 Barcelona Paralympics Women’s Discus Throwing. She shared her story on how she transformed from losing both of her feet in an accident when she was 19 to becoming a Paralympic gold medallist.
To conclude the event, a compilation of the various videos and pictures from various overseas Chinese groups and compatriots was played and a group photo was taken. As the Beijing Winter Games draws closer, the Chinese contingent and its supporters continue to uphold the Olympic spirit.
The 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games will be the Chinese capital's second time hosting the Olympics, becoming the first city to host both the Summer (back in 2008) and the Winter Olympics.
