Fifteen Philippine students participated on Saturday in the 19th "Chinese Bridge" Chinese Proficiency Competition in the Philippines finals.

This was the first time the "Chinese Bridge" contest finals in the Philippines, organized by the Confucius Institute at Angeles University Foundation (AUF), has been held virtually.

The contest on Saturday afternoon was divided into four parts, including a knowledge quiz about China, a speech about the topic "One world, one family," performances by participants to show their different talents using Chinese language or arts and freestyle final. 

Inspired by her outstanding performances, the 14 online judges gave the highest point scores to Jessa Bugarin, whose Chinese name is Bi Yuechen, a student of the host Confucius Institute at AUF.

"'Chinese Bridge' contest gives me a platform to showcase my talent," she said, adding that she hoped to communicate with more friends who love China as well as the Chinese language in the future.

"Affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, this year's competition was held online, which caused many difficulties for the organizers and participants. However, the online contest is also a meaningful attempt, and may become the 'new normal' of overseas Chinese teaching and learning activities in the future," said Huang Xilian, China's ambassador to the Philippines, in the opening remarks.

"I hope that all Filipinos who are interested in learning Chinese can take the Chinese language as a bridge to better understand China and strive to promote the friendship between the two countries," Huang added.

The "Chinese Bridge" is an annual competition aimed at arousing the enthusiasm of students in various countries to learn Chinese and strengthen the world's understanding of the Chinese language as well as culture.

Joseph Angeles, president of AUF, said in the finals that the "Chinese Bridge" contest is evidence of the friendship between the Philippine and Chinese peoples, which helps bring up more talents devoted to cultural exchanges between the two countries.

The contest in the Philippines has become important as it builds a communication bridge between young Chinese and Filipinos, according to the Confucius Institute at AUF, which has been holding the finals of the "Chinese Bridge" contest for three years.