Opening Statement‍

The first debaters from both sides made their opening statements on the topic. Ken Zhang, the first debater of the pro side clearly made their point that "we have changed the world" and explained how mankind has promoted the advancement of science and technology and thus has changed the world with their initiative and creativity. Ting Yu, the 1st debater of the con side, made their point that "the world has changed us". He emphasized that "human beings can only adapt themselves to the world and explore it, but cannot change the external world" by stating the influence of natural environment, social reality and historical process on human beings. The two debaters started the competition by exchanging sharp words, justifying their arguments sufficiently.

Rebuttal

Next came the rebuttal session. The second debaters from both sides met squarely on the issue in an argument of attack and defense. Tom Wei, the second debater from the pro side, began his talk by stating that the world reflects people’s individual values. He went on to emphasize that human nature is free and cannot be bound by the world. With an interesting analogy, Jason Liu, the second debater from the con side, stated that people are born as "scratch paper", and it is the constant influence and education from the outside world that makes a person unique.

Inquiries

During the inquiries session, the 3rd debaters from both sides challenged the other 3 debaters except the 3rd one from the opposing side. Jerry Song, the 3rd debater from the pro side, took the lead in asking questions such as "What is the world made up of?" and "What steps do we need to take to change the world?" Jerry Qi, the 3rd debater from the con side, raised specific questions by citing some concrete examples, leading the pro side to acknowledge the key opinion held by the con side that "nature cannot be changed".

Free debate

Free debate was the most intense session of the whole competition. Debaters from both sides got into a free and interactive argument. During this session, they gave full play to their debating skills and eloquence. By emphasizing the impact of human values and ideas, the pro side led the audience to think about whether humans have truly changed the world. The con side emphasized the contradiction between history and reality and repeatedly argued that "human beings can always only try to adapt to natural and social trends but cannot change them". Both sides did very well during the free debate session, causing quite a stir among the audience.

Concluding session

During the concluding session, Lee Li, the 4th debater from the con side, and Harry Wang, the 4th debater from the pro side, took turns to make a concluding statement for their own sides. Using romantic and poetic language, they both stated their key points and made an accurate summary for their sides with clear logic and deep passion.

Finally, the con side won the debate competition after judges scored and evaluated both sides. The judges also carefully chose its best debater from each side: Ken Zhang, 1st debater from the pro side, and Jerry Qi, 3rd debater from the con side. Their wonderful performances during the competition added to its brilliance.