The contestants pose for a photo?at the 8th China Cup Chinese speech contest?in Japan. [Photo/Xinhua]

The eighth annual China Cup Chinese speech contest for overseas Chinese children and youngsters in Japan was held in Kobe, western Japan on Tuesday, with 44 Japanese Chinese students taking part.

The contestants gave speeches in Mandarin on bridge, a theme set beforehand. Most of them were born and grew up in Japan and some of them started to learn Chinese only a couple of years ago. Yet they speak Chinese fluently and told the audience about their understandings of bridge.

"Bridge signifies communication between people. I hope I can build a bridge of friendship between the Japanese and Chinese people in the future, and promote relationship between the two countries." said Li, a contestant aged ten from Kobe.

"Language is a bridge. My mother came from China and I was born in Japan. I can speak both Chinese and Japanese, and I would like to tell my Japanese friends about Chinese culture and Chinese friends about Japan, and help them to know each other better," said another contestant Hirano.

"The contest aims to provide a platform for young Chinese in Japan to exhibit their Chinese-speaking skills and encourage them to learn the Chinese language better, in the hope that they could become envoys of friendship between the two countries in the future." said Hu Shiyun, one of the organizers of the contest and head of Overseas Chinese Association in Western Japan.

China Cup Chinese speech contest for overseas Chinese children and youngsters in Japan has been held annually since 2007, and are cosponsored by Chinese Educators' Association in Western Japan and Kansai Chinese Teachers' Association.