On November 3rd (Sunday) afternoon, the Southern California Chinese Schools Association held a karaoke singing competition at the Taiwan Chinese Language Learning Center (TCML). Five out of the eight TCML schools in Southern California sent eight student groups to participate in the competition. Students from various ethnic backgrounds whose mother tongues are not Chinese spared no effort to interpret songs in fluent Chinese.
President of the Southern California Chinese Schools Association, Che Qingyu, stated that the Overseas Community Affairs Council of the Republic of China has established TCML overseas since 2021, now entering its fourth year. This is the first time the association has organized a karaoke singing competition, aiming for students to apply their Chinese language skills practically, learn with joy, and facilitate cultural exchange and mutual learning among students from different schools.
Each team’s participants excelled in both singing and performance, with a repertoire spanning different eras, including not only lyrical songs but also original rap compositions. The karaoke singing competition was initiated and guided by Director Chen Minyong of the Los Angeles Overseas Chinese Cultural and Educational Center. The process, from collecting equipment for song selection to inviting various Chinese language learning centers to participate, lasted for over a year. Six council members, namely Wen Yuling, Zhao Yunmei, Jiang Ruiying, Lin Guoyan, Chen Yinghuang, and Chen Boyu, served as judges, awarding prizes for melodious voice, best coordination, best performance, rising star, and special recognition.
Among the participating teams were mother-daughter duos singing “Listening to the Sea” by A-Mei, teams performing the classic “Chrysanthemum Terrace,” a team selecting the Taiwanese song “Looking Forward to the Spring Breeze,” as well as excellent renditions of children’s songs and rap.
The schools participating in Southern California’s inaugural karaoke singing competition included the Shengyu Chinese School, the Los Angeles West District Chinese School, the Xiruidu Chinese School, the Saint Thomas Taiwan Chinese Language Center, and the Torrance Chinese School. Wang Jingyi, the preparatory director of the Chinese Schools Association, emphasized that the first karaoke singing competition focused on fun and fostering friendship, proving to be beneficial for learning Chinese. All participants are looking forward to the next friendly game. ◇