Rudd wows students in Chinese speech

In a speech at Beijing University, Rudd impressed students with his flawless Chinese — a talent unheard of among non Chinese world leaders — while leaving the audience laughing over quick witticisms on China’s history and culture.

Although Rudd’s comments about “significant human rights problems in Tibet,” might draw ire from his hosts Premier Wen Jiabao and President Hu Jintao, China’s top students appeared unfazed.

Many went so far as to agree with Rudd that handling ongoing unrest in Tibet peacefully and through dialogue was the best way to resolve the issue that has placed China’s communist leaders under the global spotlight for nearly a month.

“I agreed with what he said,” Li Yang, a graduate student in environmental sciences, told AFP following the speech.

“The Tibetan issue should be resolved without violence and through dialogue, this is correct.”

Although Rudd’s speech touched on many such sensitive issues, he also received praise for voicing intentions to become a friend in the true Chinese tradition, who can “offer unflinching advice and counsels restraint.”

“His Chinese is very good, he speaks Chinese very well,” said Hong Ziyun, a first year law student. “He really understands Chinese history and culture.”

At university, Rudd majored in Chinese language, history and literature and later served as an Australian diplomat posted in Beijing in the 1980s.

He left the audience laughing over his “ugly” Chinese calligraphy and his acknowledgement that the Maoist theories of “class struggle” played an early part in his Chinese language education.

“I enjoyed his discussion on how China needs to integrate with the world, this was very important,” said a computer science graduate student who only gave his surname, Chen.

“As the world globalises, we need more politicians that better understand how the East and the West can integrate. His message was that everyone needs to deepen understanding and the first step is through language learning.”

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