An outstanding Chinese Malaysian studying in Singapore

When you meet Liu Ziqi at the first sight, there is a high possibility that you would think she is a typical Chinese student. However, Liu Ziqi is a Malaysian exchange student in HUST who comes from the National University of Singapore. Her ancestors, dating back to more than three generations, dwelled in Fujian province in China. Chinese expatriates, which make up of about 30% of the population in Malaysia, are still adhering to their traditional culture and civilization, and Liu Ziqi’s family is no exception. They speak Chinese at home, go to Chinese schools and eat Chinese food. Driven by the motivation of broadening her mind and intellectual horizon, she applied for the National University of Singapore and got admitted thanks to her excellent performance in high school.

Singapore and Chinese education 

When Liu Ziqi first arrived in Singapore, she received a warm welcome from her Malaysian host, and that friendly gesture was followed by a series of welcoming gatherings, which made her feel more than at home. Once inside the gate of one of the Chinese top-ranking universities, she got emotional with HUST’s hospitality. “I appreciate SICA members’ help when I first arrived in HUST, and I want to express my sincere thanks to the staff of the International Student Office for the meticulous care it has shown for foreign students. They even paid for our taxi fees from the railway station to the campus. How considerate of them!” Liu said.

In terms of education, Singapore put great emphasis on the cultivation and development of students’critical thinking.’ “We do not really have the concept of give-and-take class in Singapore, burning discussions are part of the curriculum.

Singapore is a garden city indeed, but it is also a competitive country. Talents from all over the world gather in that city, which puts many students like Liu Ziqi under the pressure of working hard academically. “I would easily fail if my score is lower than the average. That’s one reason accounting for my visit to China,” she said.  While in China, Liu Ziqi is surprised that Economics could have so many subjects. “I always think that my major is too broad to do a specific job and I prefer your Chinese way of detailed learning,” she uttered with sincerity. Apart from that, she also spoke highly of the free learning atmosphere in HUST and the special teaching approaches used by its professors. “What impressed me most is the Model used in “Business Negotiation” classes by one of my teachers called Professor Wei. It really promotes my understanding of that subject.”

Wuhan --an epitome of Chinese development

“Before I came to China, Wuhan was just like a huge village in my mind. However, China has seen tremendous changes over the last 30 years and many people including me see that Wuhan is the epitome of China in terms its economic growth and development. In this big city, it is quite convenient for me to buy daily necessities on campus and I can access all kinds of entertainment facilities, just like it is Singapore. Metros and light railways are under construction together with a modernized transportation and infrastructure system,” she explained. During the five months she spent in Wuhan, Liu Ziqi has also traveled to other cities in China. She has visited Wu Yuan in Jiangxi, Feng Huang in Changsha and Guangzhou. The weather, landscape and custom vary from place to place in China, which give her a full picture of the great country. “I grew up in Malaysia so I have never experienced winter before. It is not until I leave for China that I get to know such an amazing climate!” 

My future: serving the people with my own effort

“I am going to finish my undergraduate studies when I get back to Singapore. I prefer to devote myself to serving the society, more specifically, to the better construction of Singapore,” she mentioned with a firm determination. Every foreign student in Singapore has to stay in the country for three years before they come back to their own country. “In the near future, I am going to be a tour guide in Singapore. I speak Chinese, English and Malay. In addition to the three languages, I do some personal studies in Japanese and Korean. I can make full use of my language abilities and skills in doing this job and I want to serve the foreign tourists with my own effort.”