Guangzhou to ban long speeches

Culture | FrankF | February 10, 2012 at 9:23 am

So China Car Times is 200% automotive related, but sometimes we have to report on cultural issues as well, this report from Guangzhou via the UK’s Telegraph newspaper is nothing but great news for Automotive journalists across China. It seems that Guangzhou are pioneering the way speeches will be given, and will be cutting them down to reasonable lengths in the future. Any automotive journalist, be they Chinese or Foreign will know that when it comes to speech making time you better make yourself comfortable, as Chinese executives and government ministers (although the two often intertwine in the Chinese auto making business) love to waffle, make big promises (“we will conquer Europe in 5 years!”, “World’s no 1 auto maker by 2025!“) and generally bore their audience into forgetting what they had said.

Wan Qingliang, the city’s mayor, has proposed requiring officials to limit their speeches to under an hour at key meetings and less than 30 minutes in less important gatherings.

“I have already set an example myself by finishing my speech at 58 minutes,” Mr Wan was quoted as saying by the Guangzhou Daily.

Chinese officials often makes speeches that go on for hours, delivered in a monotone. Unsurprisingly, audience members are sometimes caught dozing off – even in big events broadcast live on the nation’s state television CCTV.

An opinion piece published in the state-run Global Times newspaper in 2009 titled “Why are Chinese speeches so boring?” lamented the “dearth of public speech capability” and said it showed a lack of charisma among officials.

It said the cause was a lack of training in schools, adding that “the ‘official’ way of giving speeches – sitting tight and square and sounding lofty and serious – has become a nationwide speech technique by default.”

FrankF

Frank entered the automotive industry via his father's instructions. He grew up with cars around him, especially as his father was a major auto restorer, Frank's childhood was spent passing beers, tools and coffee to his father whilst he explained the ins and outs of engines. Frank now works in the Chinese car industry at a specific manufacturer.