Chinese language, culture organization launched in South Africa

CAPE TOWN, Nov. 26 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese Bridge Club in Cape Town, a non-profit organization aimed at providing a platform for learning, communicating and sharing among South Africans who love the Chinese language and culture, has been launched in Cape Town.

Chinese Ambassador to South Africa Chen Xiaodong, who attended the organization's unveiling ceremony online Thursday, said the Chinese Bridge Club in Cape Town, the first of its kind in sub-Saharan Africa, will not only "further unite and serve Chinese Bridge stakeholders and Chinese language lovers in South Africa, but also build a bridge for South African friends to understand China and make friends."

The Chinese Bridge Club will make greater contributions to promoting people-to-people exchanges between China and South Africa and to building a closer China-South Africa and China-Africa community with a shared future, he said.

Cedric Thomas Frolick, house chairperson for committees at the National Assembly of South Africa, said the Chinese bridge Club will provide the two countries a platform to carry forward traditional friendship, cooperation and mutual understanding, promote people-to-people warmth under the Belt and Road framework, and contribute to building closer a China-African, and in particular China-South African, community with a shared future and shared benefits.

Ma Jianfei, director-general of the Center for Language Education and Cooperation at the Ministry of Education of China, said in her video speech that the Chinese Bridge Club, through organizing diverse activities and events, will provide a platform for language learning and cultural exchanges and also serve as a window into the Chinese culture and contemporary China for the South African people.

Iris Wu, chairperson of Chinese Bridge Club in Cape Town, said the club will further promote language teaching and learning, bring more opportunities for internships, research and collaboration, and organize more forums, workshops, exhibitions, and competitions.

In recent years, more and more South Africans have taken up the Chinese language to better understand Chinese culture. The six Confucius Institutes and three Confucius Classrooms in the country have enrolled more than 10,000 students in various programs.

The South African government has formally incorporated Chinese language teaching into the national curriculum, and the "Chinese Bridge" Chinese Proficiency Competition, known as the "Olympics" of the international Chinese learning community, has become a featured event, where South African contestants were crowned the African champion in last year's Global Finals.