2016年CRI 14-year-old Observer Invited to Shenzhen Two Sessions

 

This is the first time Shenzhen has had youth representatives sit in and listen to the meetings, seen as a way of engaging young people in politics and having their voices heard.

14-year-old Liu Bo was the youngest of ten youth participants and the only student invited to attend this year's sessions in Shenzhen as an observer.

As observers, Liu Bo, with the nine other youth delegates listened to the reports in meetings and the panel discussions between the members of the sessions.

But they didn't have a right to submit proposals.

In the run up to the meetings, however, Liu Bo collected about 100 suggestions from students which he put forward at a symposium¹ a few days before, and which earned him a lot of attention. One idea was about the exam process.

"There is no way that our future is decided² only by a test paper. I hope exams can be used to not only assess our performance but also help improve our all-round capabilities³"

He also spoke⁴ about the so called 'Maker⁵ culture' and innovation-oriented education.

"The word 'Maker' is so popular today, while innovation represents the direction of our country's development. But schools are doing much less than expected when it comes to innovation education. I hope there will be some related courses arranged in the future."

The presence of the young observers has raised concerns over whether they fully⁶ understand what was going on during the meetings.

But the municipal committee of the Communist Youth League in Shenzhen said Liu Bo was highly suitable to represent local students because he was a member of the Chinese Young Pioneers National Working Committee.

The Chinese Young Pioneers is the country's largest children's organization for children aged⁷ between 6 and 14 years. It's run by the Communist Youth League, an organization of older youth that comes under the leadership of the Communist Party of China.

Liu Bo's mother adds that her son has gained a lot of experience from attending student meetings and proposing his ideas on social problems as a student representative.

She said Liu Bo had told her that the meetings had inspired him to think more about how to make the city better rather than just focusing on issues relating to children.

Shenzhen is not the only Chinese city to invite young people to take part in political meetings.

In neighboring Zhuhai, 15 young people attended this year's local "two sessions" meetings.

For CRI, this is Wang Mengzhen.

1 symposium   

n.讨论会，专题报告会；专题论文集

参考例句：

• What have you learned from the symposium?你参加了这次科学讨论会有什么体会？
• The specialists and scholars present at the symposium come from all corners of the country.出席研讨会的专家学者们来自全国各地。

2 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

3 capabilities   

n.能力( capability的名词复数 )；可能；容量；[复数]潜在能力

参考例句：

• He was somewhat pompous and had a high opinion of his own capabilities. 他有点自大，自视甚高。 来自辞典例句
• Some programmers use tabs to break complex product capabilities into smaller chunks. 一些程序员认为，标签可以将复杂的功能分为每个窗格一组简单的功能。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

4 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

5 maker   

n.制造者，制造商

参考例句：

• He is a trouble maker，You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼，你不要跟他在一起。
• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。

6 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

7 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。