Bringing US Presidential Debates to a Chinese Audience

The world’s second largest economy is understandably fascinated with the politics and foreign policy of the largest. A high school student in Beijing, Zhou Qianyu, organized the Guojiang Subtitle Group – 70 volunteers across China work as teams to translate and post subtitles for online videos of the US presidential debates. Chinese interest in the debates leading to the November election is described as “frenzy” by Owen Guo for the New York Times. “So far, Chinese officials have largely refrained from commenting publicly on the debates, but the face-offs among the American candidates have made some waves online.” Some viewers describe the debates as entertaining, better than US reality shows; others deplore shallow name-calling, sensationalism and combative styles; and all are keen to pounce on any misstatements about China. Chinese suggest that comments urging containment of China reflect US insecurity. Translators tone down comments particularly critical of China, where it’s suggested that one-third of the young study English and less than 1 percent are proficient. – YaleGlobal