As the coach of UM’s Mandarin Debating Team who has won six Best Debater Awards himself, Liu Jingjing has watched and participated in many debate contests over the years, and many of these events have stayed in his memory for different reasons. But his first experience of watching a debate contest stayed in his memory for a really interesting reason—because the debaters looked so “cool” on the television to a five-year-old little boy.

“I was only five, and there was something about the way those debaters carried themselves on the stage that fascinated me,” says Liu. “My father was watching that televised debate contest with me, and he said, ‘They are really good.’” Perhaps it was that casual comment that set Liu on the path to becoming a polished debater. Liu’s father is not the only supporter of Liu’s passion for debate though. His mother has unwittingly played an equally important role in his early training. “When I was in middle school, my family used to have this habit of watching news during dinner,” recalls Liu. “And I would often discuss hot topics with my mom, which I think has trained me to respond quickly.”

Over time Liu graduated from his “mock” debates at the dinner table with his mother to real debate contests at college, although those were still just internal events. His first participation in an international contest happened after he joined UM for master’s studies after getting a bachelor’s degree in medicine from Peking University. “I came to Macao, not expecting I could continue to debate. I joined the debate team in 2003, two years after it was founded,” recalls Liu. “Our coach Yin Degang and our team leader worked with us, and gradually we became known in the Chinese debate communities for our sincere debating style without sophistry, and we did very well at several major events.”

So well, in fact, that the team won the championship at the Macao Varsity Debate Contest for five consecutive years. The winning streak didn’t last though. As the competition intensified with the emergence of debate teams from other universities, the team missed the championship at the Macao Varsity Debate Contest 2009 for the first time in six years. Learning the news, Liu, who had completed his master’s studies and was working in Beijing as a journalist for three magazines, wrote a 3,000-word article to encourage the team not to lose heart. In 2010 when he returned to UM to pursue a PhD degree in medicine, he re-joined the debate team, this time as a coach. “During the off season, I mostly help to train their basic debating skills; when there is a major contest coming up, we do mock contests and work on building arguments.” The team’s efforts paid off. Just a month ago, they regained the champion status after a gap of four years.

The year 2014 has just started, but the team already has their event calendar marked until November (Nanjing in March and April, Malaysia in September, and Macao in November). “I hope everyone does their best, so there won’t be any regrets,” says Liu. “I won’t give them too much pressure, but the record set by the old members is definitely something we could look up to.”

Liu Jingjing’s Best Debater Award List

  • Best Debater of the International Varsity Debate Contest 2007
  • Best Debater of the Match at the 2nd Intervarsity Chinese Debate Tournament, Asia-Pacific Open 2006
  • Excellent Debater of the 11th China Famous Universities Debate Contest 2005
  • Best Debater of the Macao, Hong Kong and Mainland China Inter-universities Debate Invitational 2005
  • Best Debater of the 2nd Macao Varsity Debate Contest 2004
  • Best Debater of the Match at the 1st Intervarsity Chinese Debate Tournament, Asia-Pacific Open 2004