Asian Debating

[smartarse]

Hey folks, i thought people might be interested in the latest development in Asian debating. For those who don't know, there was a split recently in the Asian debating and there are now effectively two "All Asians IV" (one is called AUDC). Anyway this is a very interesing idea, for a variety of reasons, plus MAD has traditionally had a very good relationship with Asian debating societies, and part of the reason for that is that we're aware of their issues and take and interest.

So in that spirit, this was posted on various Asian-debate e-groups

With all due respect to the AUDC bid from Indonesia and the All Asians bid from Bangladesh. . . .

On behalf of the Korea Debate Association would like to announce Korea's intention to bid for the 1st All Asian University Debating Championship.

Our bid will be unique in a variety of ways:

1) We are bidding for both the All Asian and the AUDC tournaments (thus the name, which we are open to changing should their be objections from either community)

2) We have an adjudication team that represents both sides of the debate community. Our Chief Adjudicator would be Jason Jarvis, previously an AUDC DCA and our appointed DCA would be Dr. Brendan Howe, a DCA at Langkawi Asians (both from Korea). Two remaining spaces are reserved for additional DCA's that will be taken on an application/nomination basis. Jason and Brendan both were breaking adjudicators at the respective Asian championships and both have been breaking adjudicators at the two previous WUDC tournaments (Malaysia and Dublin).

3) An avoidance of Golden Week. We will be bidding to host the competition in May. Official dates will be identified soon, after we have confirmed the Golden Week dates for 2007.

4) Outstanding Socials! We are planning a Gallery Night in the local art district, as well as a kimchi eating contest which we believe will provide an entertaining twist to Culture Night.

The average beer in Seoul can be bought for a $1.50 and soju (korean spirit similar to sake) can be bought for $1.50 a bottle. Suffice it to say that soju is strong and 2 bottles will make even the strongest individual warm and fuzzy!

May is also springtime in Korea with an average temperature range of 15 - 20 degrees. It one of the two best times of the year to visit the Hermit Kingdom (the other is in Fall)!

5) Our bid is Northeast Asian. There has never been a major debate championship held in Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong or China. We believe that this competition could be a watershed event in the history of debate for Northeast Asia. We sincerely hope that all of our brothers and sisters in Asia will support our bid to celebrate the rapid growth of debate in our region as a complete Asian community.

Finally, a note or two about the nature of our bid:

Our bid is a unified Korean bid. Every debating institution (even ones who cannot afford to enter Asians or AUDC) in Korea will have a representative on our organizing committee. All of them express regret at having to choose between the tournaments and want the opportunity to bring everyone together to celebrate the love of debate that we all share.

Our organizing committee has a strong willingness to compromise to accomodate all requirements of both Constitutions.

We will have another announcement after the Asians Council session on Thursday regarding their decision about our bid.

The organizing committee sincerely hopes that the respective Asian tournaments will give the divided peninsula the opportunity to re-unify the house of Asian debate.

Kind regards,

Organizing Committee
1st All Asian University Debating Championship
Korea 2007

[smartarse]

Oh and just for the record, i know Jason Jarvis, as do some other MADdies - he's the guy who looks (and sounds a little) like Vanila Ice! When i was coaching in Korea he took me out for a night of drinking, eating strange foods from unsanitary street vendors and cracking onto impossibly snobby Korean girls. I woke up the next day with the worst hangover i've ever had - soju is pure EVIL

But anyway, he's a nice guy. I don't really know Brendan. I think its smart that they're leaving open 2 more spots on the A-team - they should offer them to the CA's of the other "all asians IVs".

Anyway, i hope they win the bid (i have no idea who they "bid" too) because it would be great for North Asian and Asian debating in general

[Chancellor of the Exchequer]

Wow, I didn't think that re-unification efforts would happen so quickly. The split that happened was quite messy - and as I understand things, it was at least partly due to some of the personalities involved. But still, it's good to see that someone is trying to get things back on track.

[velvet pants]

I love the part that said:

"Our bid is a unified Korean bid"

Sunshine Policy all the way baby!

[smartarse]

I'm not sure that thats what they mean by "unified", but its still funny.

The big news from All Asians is that Japan (ICU in particular) is KICKING ARSE. MMU A and B broke first and second, but ICU A beat them both and made it to the GF!!! I dont know who won yet, but its an astonishing effort. (i'm taking the credit because 2 of the speakers were my students at IDC5 )

Anyway, here are the topics from All Asians:

practice round i happen to think that these are better than some of the real topics...
Theme: Southeast asia
1. THBT regionalism is the way to go
2. THBT ASEAN has failed with Myanmar
3. THBT the defense of the Strait of Malacca should be shared

[Round 1]
Theme: Science & Technology
1. THW support embryonic stem cell research
2. THW ignore patents to protect lives
3. THBT scientists are more valuable to a country than soldiers

[Round 2]
Theme: Crime & Punishment you could only run these first 2 in Asia... number 2 is hilarious
1. THBT illegal racists should be whipped
2. THBT we should publicly humiliate those who litter
3. THW legalize drugs for personal use

[Round 3]
Theme: Nuclear
1. THBT North Korea has the right to develop nuclear weapon
2. THW bomb Iran
3. THW build more nuclear reactors for the generations of energy

[Round 4] on a personal note, i set the 2nd one for a practice tournament in Japan earlier in the year and people were sceptical about it. why won people just trust me!
Theme: Animal Rights
1. THW eat whales
2. THW ban the fur trade
3. THW commit violence to protect animal rights

[Round 5]
Theme: Immigration Law
1. THW send the illegal immigrants back to where they are from
2. THBT immigrants should adapt to the values of the host country
3. THW accept political refugees

[Round 6] yes they still have a humour round at Asian, and it counts towards breaking! i think topic 2 entials topic 3, but thats just me...
Theme: Humor
1. This House believes in little green men
2. THW take off their bikinis
3. THW encourage spanking

[Round 7]
Theme: Environmental Protection i think the wording of the 1st one has been lost a little in translation - i got this list from a Japanese debater - but you get the idea
1. THBT corporate poachers should be charged with manslaughter
2. THW double taxation on fossil fuels
3. THBT developed nations should pay for the environmental clean-up

Round 8
Theme: International Relations how awesome is that 1st topic?! how quickly would you veto the 3rd one from the aff...
1. TH supports Maoist uprising in Nepal
2. THW pay reparations to the victims of colonization
3. THW create a Southeast Asia super state

[Tom]

Somehow I feel like I should be providing the Asian updates
Actually ICU were knocked out in the semis by RVCE from India. The grand final will start in about four hours. And they beat MMU 2 and 3. MMU 1 are in the grand final agains the Indians.

I adjudicated ICU against MMU 2 in the Octos. Full respect to Tim. They had a good win against a good team, and spoke at a very high level. I was very surprised to hear they lost to RVCE, who are <<Edited for the sake of not offending lurkers>>

[smartarse]

Ops, my mistake, i thought they made the GF. Still, Semis is a fucking great result!!

And while i appreciate the credit, those kids were pretty damn good before i had anything to do with them. Dai is really, really smart. He just soaked up matter and tactics faster than i could say it! I'm really happy for them, i can just imagine the pandemonium that would have broken out amongst the Japanese contingent when ICU made it to through the QF... those speakers are going to be the biggest celebrities in Japanese debating!!

[smartarse]

For those of you not a member of the Australs and/or All Asians e-groups (shame on you) here is an email from Ice-Ice-Jarvis about the "unified Korean bid" for All Asians.

Maybe i'm a bit slow, but i now understand what Jason has been trying to do in terms of re-unifying the Asian debating community. If i understand this email, the Koreans intend to bid for the rights to host BOTH the Asian IVs next year, so that they can end the split. All Asians has already granted them the bid, which is a great start, so if AUDC do the same the war might be over!

Who knew that Koreans were such good peace makers!

Hey Tom did you attend Council? what was the mood like re: unification of Asian debating?

I wanted to send a quick note out congratulating
everyone from Northeast Asia on their success at the
13th All Asians in Langkawi:

U of Tokyo (EFL Finalist)
International Christian University (Semi Finalist!!)
Debate Association of Ewha (EFL Semi Finalist)
Ewha Dept. of Int'l Studies (Octo Finalist)

I also would like to applaud the South Asian (particularly Indian) teams for an amazing tournament.


It is clear from the success of non-Southeast Asian teams that there is no longer a defined center of power in Asia. All 3 regions: Northeast Asia, South Asia and Southeast Asia have strong teams that cannot be overlooked in the future.

I want to personally thank the Council for embracing Korea as the host for the next competition, and for endorsing our bid to bring the AUDC to Korea for a joint competition.

With the 2007 WUDC coming to Bangkok, I sincerely hope that the AUDC Council will earnestly consider our bid as I believe it is an essential step for ensuring maximum success by Asian teams in Bangkok. I also believe that we are going to offer a tremendous competition. No matter what happens in the Philippines next week, I hope that many of you consider joining us next May in Korea.

Kind regards,

Jason L. Jarvis

[Tom]

Yeah I went to council. The Koreans bid against the Bangladeshis, and both bids were very impressive indeed.

As far as reunification goes, I didn't speak to anyone at Asians who didn't want it. However they're all pretty pessimistic about the other side. It would be a surprise to most of them if Korea won the AUDC bid.

Jason is a pretty smart operator however, and from talking to him I think he has a good understanding of how to use the Korean bid to bring Asia together.

As for ICU, Dai is an absolute gun. He ripped MMU 2 apart as first neg on an open motion, but did it so politely and calmly they didn't even realise until the debate was over. Any Monash team that hits ICU at Australs should be very careful indeed.

[panda666]

From what I've been reading online through Asian e-groups, there's a good chance of Jason pulling that off, and all the better for Asian Debating! Now they've got the other big rift to deal with...

Tom, hope you've got lots of good stories from All-Asians!

[smartarse]

Thats so good to hear Tom - on all counts, but especially the stuff about Dai. You're so right about how disarming his manner is - really polite, but so sharp. He's got a really solid understanding of first principles and good instincts on tactics - as much as i love the MMU crowd, i'm really, really glad to hear that Dai diced and sliced them!

Go ICU!!!

[smartarse]

Here's the latest twist and turn in the saga of Korea's bid for All Asians. Peejay is a kind of 'elder statesman' of Asian debating - a tremendously nice guy and a very talented coach and adjudicator. His opinion should carry considerable weight in some parts of Asia.

Dear AUDC friends,

I am writing this letter to endorse the Korean bid for AUDC 2007. I believe that there are many great reasons to have the tournament in Seoul next year, and that all of you will have a wonderful time, should you choose to accept this bid.

First of all, I believe that the Korean bid has the most efficient and most fair system of adjudicator allocation that I’ve ever seen. “Mutual Preference” judging, a system I came to be familiar with in 2004, as DCA of the 1st Northeast Asian Open Debate Championships, is a tremendously objective system of adjudicator allocation that allows teams to have total control over their adjudicators. Jason will undoubtedly explain the nuances of this system during the formal bid, but suffice to say that elements such as “judging philosophies,” where ALL judges must provide a written document telling everyone how they adjudicate (ex. what their particular likes and dislikes are, etc.), and “striking out,” where ALL teams get the opportunity to guarantee they will not be judged by certain judges, are going to be very welcome changes to those of you who are tired of systems which rely on subjective, human allocations of judges during rounds. The system is also extremely fast, and the Korean bid will include details about the software that runs this entire system. I honestly feel that this is going to be a revelation to all of you, once you get to experience just how good this system can be.

Secondly, I feel that the Korean bid will serve to really jumpstart debating in Northeast Asia, especially for our friends from Korea, Japan and China, many of whom have never had the opportunity to participate in debates in their home region. I was Chief Adjudicator of the very first Worlds in Asia, and I remember how it felt to finally get a tournament that Asians could proudly call their own. It was a tremendous boost to debating in the Philippines, and to the rest of Asia, and it signaled the first time that Asian countries were able to have more than one team break at a World Championship, a trend that has continued, for the most part, since. I feel that countries such as Korea, Japan and China deserve an international tournament that will boost debating in their region, and I feel that the AUDC will provide them with the best tournament experience they could possibly get.

Lastly, I recognize that we have had a rift in the Asian debate community over the past year, and that we have not had a true Asian debating champion in that time. I have supported the AUDC from the start, but even I accept that not all the top teams participate in both tournaments. It would be a great opportunity for all of us to find out, the year before the Assumption Worlds, just who the best in Asia really is, and to have that competitive tournament in a region of Asia that, frankly, deserves to see the very best that Asia has to offer.

As Jason will point out in his bid, this is not an attempt to try to force any kind of reconciliation between the two separate debating camps in Asia; it is, rather, a request to allow Northeast Asia the opportunity, after 14 years of participation in Asian debating, to finally get to see all of Asia’s best in its own home region.

Whoever wins this gets to be crowned as the undisputed champion of all of Asia. I know many of you have opinions regarding who that may be, but this bid will allow you to finally prove it in front of a region of people that deserves to see it.

There you go. There are important reasons to have the AUDC in Korea in 2007: the best, and fairest, adjudication allocation system; the chance to jumpstart debate in a region that has never had that kind of opportunity; and the opportunity to show which competition really does have the best teams. Add to these all the other benefits that Jason will focus on, and this promises to be an exceptional tournament for those of you who choose to attend.

Please do consider this bid carefully. I urge you to vote for Korea’s bid, for all the good reasons I mentioned above, even as I express my most profound respect for all my friends who are helping with the Indonesian bid. Regardless of who wins this bidding process, I am sure that the AUDC will be in very good hands indeed.

May the best bid win!

Sincerely,
Peejay Garcia

[Old Man Sashi]

on a related note, UT Mara officially announced their bid for Australs 07.

as below:

Dear all,

We would like to announce UT MARA's intention to bid for the Australasian
Intervarsity Debating Championship in 2007.

It has been 3 years since this prestigious tournament has visited this
part of Australasia and we miss it...and since the 'summer australs' didnt fair
well with many people, we will now be offering the 'monsoon australs' as our
theme. If this doesn't work out, we might just move it to the antartic.

We have confirmed the support from our Vice-Chancellor and the
Student Council, and we are proud to announce our bid for 2007 in
Malaysia. Full support has been pledged by the university, which will encompass
everything from logistical supprt to monetary support.

We will put you up in a 5 Star Hotel, located strategically between the main
city and our Shah Alam Campus.

Debating Rounds will be held in our City Campus in Shah Alam which
is renowned for being one of the more beautiful cities in Malaysia.
An extensive socials plan has been drawn up by our panel of alcohol afficianados
and night club revellers. We will also be providing clean fun aside from the
drinking as part of our freeday and socials program.

The Grand Finals will be held in eilther the Petronas Philharmonic Hall or the
Istana Budaya (Palace of Culture), both of which are world reknowned as
excellent event venues.We have also spoken to Malaysian Airlines and are
negotiating a
discounted air fare rate for those who are traveling from within the
Australasian Region within the span of the competition.

Our Bidding Website will be out soon where more details would be
available; in the meantime, you can contact me for details, at
utmara_australs07@...


Have a nice week.


Danial Amir
Convenor
UTMARA Australs 2007 (Monsoon Australs!) .

[Tom]

Unfortunately, it seems Korea lost the bid for AUDC to Indonesia.

While I obviously don't know the reasons for the vote by council, I want to make the point that what I saw of the Korean bid looked fantastic, and the little I know I about the Indonesian bid seemed pretty weak. I can only assume that this was largely a political decision by the council not to have a unified tournament.

This is very, very disappointing.

[Old Man Sashi]

thats unfortunate - a true pity