[中文版本]
On January 26, Zaidao hosted a warm and meaningful annual meeting at Hibachi Sushi Supreme Buffet. More than 20 attendees, including Zaidao members, parents, and judges from the Washington Chinese Cultural Festival Youth Essay Competition, gathered to reflect on past achievements and announce the leadership team for the future.
The meeting began with self-introductions by Zaidao founders Emily and Doris, who recapped the inspiring Chinese essay competition and celebrated Nathan, a Zaidao member who won first place in the high school division! Judges 陈建戈 (Jian-Ge Chen), 李珊英 (Shan-Ying Li), and 张红卫 (Hong-Wei Zhang) shared their experiences as judges.
Mengchen Wang, President of the U.S.-China Economic and Cultural Exchange Association, expressed his organization’s commitment to supporting the growth of Chinese American youth in the Greater Washington community and looked forward to future collaboration. Noted historian and head judge of the essay competition, Jian-Ge Chen, reminisced about the first essay competition held by the Qiao Bao newspaper in the Greater Washington area in 2011, which unfortunately had been discontinued over the years. He acknowledged the challenges Chinese American children face in learning Chinese and commended Zaidao students for successfully reviving the competition for two consecutive years. Emphasizing the importance of cultural heritage, he encouraged everyone to continue their efforts and ensure the competition's continuity.
Judge Shan-Ying Li, a pioneer and founder of Chinese schools in the Washington area, was deeply impressed by this year’s competition. She highlighted that all participants signed an authenticity pledge, leading to a noticeable improvement in the quality of submissions. Witnessing the students' growth brought her great joy.
Judge Hong-Wei Zhang shared her judging experience, noting her long-standing interest in Zaidao’s development. She was delighted to see its vibrancy and enthusiasm. As a first-time judge, she was deeply moved by the competition entries and upheld the principles of fairness and impartiality in selecting the best works.
Zaidao members engaged in friendly discussions with the judges, who were honored with certificates of appreciation.
Following lunch, Zaidao held a work meeting to discuss its new organizational structure and announce its leadership team: Daniel Shen and Hannah Liu were appointed Editors-in-Chief; Sophia Li, Lin Zheng, and Sophie Huang were named Event Managers; Nathan Tian and Angie Shen took on the role of Media Leads; and Allen Du was designated as the Reporting Lead. The team then outlined their respective responsibilities and brainstormed future events.
The gathering concluded with team photos and small gifts in celebration of Lunar New Year!
