Twenty-four students vied for the first prize in the prestigious Eighth National English Speaking Competition, sponsored by China Daily and Ericsson (China) Co Ltd.

Gu Qiubei, a fourth-year non-English major from Shanghai International Studies University, scooped the top honors.

Gu and runner-up Wang Yuan from Nanjing University won a two-week study tour in Britain.

The topic of this year's competition was "Tourism and Ecology: Learning through Travel."

Gu said: "Like many young people of my age in China, I am concerned about the impact of tourism on ecology and hope China can achieve a balanced development of economy and environment."

Liang Meng, from the Beijing-based prestigious Tsinghua University, took third place and the "Most Promising Speaker" award. She was selected to travel to London to compete in the International Public Speaking Competition later this year.

"This contest is not only a stage for college students to demonstrate their English skills, it also prompts China's younger generation to consider their roles in the social development of the country," commented Huang Qing, managing editor of China Daily.

The annual event is aimed at further improving China's English-language learning environment and providing young people with more opportunities to communicate with their international counterparts.

Initiated in 1996, it is now the highest level contest of its kind in China.

This year's competition was organized by 21st Century with support from the English-Speaking Union, Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, Educational Testing Service, University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations, Cambridge University Press, Bell Language School, Macquarie University, Times Publishing Group, Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press and Jiangsu Radio and Television Station.

(China Daily April 11, 2003)