Department of Information and Tourism, Taipei City Government

The 2009 National Language Contests kicked off with a press conference at city hall on December 1. Mayor Hau Lung-bin, the head of the host city, remarked that the Chinese language is becoming more and more important in the world today, and Taiwan has a competitive advantage in this field.
According to the mayor, the contest plays a key role in preserving the finest of Chinese culture.
He added that communication skills are extremely important in the modern world, citing Winston Churchill and Barrack Obama as examples of individuals with outstanding abilities in this area.
During the ceremony, five student performers from Yongchun Elementary School each held an item (a pencil, a brush, a dictionary, a microphone, and a piece of writing paper) representing the competition categories, including composition, Chinese character writing, recital, speech, and dictation.
The mayor presented certificates of gratitude to the sponsors of the competition, thanking them for their support. The sponsors include Mandarin Daily News, Kuo Hsi-liu Foundation, Lin Hsiung-chen Memorial Scholarship Foundation, Kuo Yuan-ye Foundation, and books.com.tw.
This year’s event attracted 1,754 participants – the largest number in the history of the competition.
Both the opening and closing ceremony will take place at city hall on December 7 and 9, respectively. All competitions will be conducted at Neihu Vocational High School and Xihu Junior High School on December 8.