Me trying to sleep during a tournament in my business clothes

I think every debater has been there.

Awesome Time At W University Debating Tournament!!!

So I went to the first debate tournament of the 2014-2015 school year at W University ... and somehow managed not to forget how to debate after a 5 month hiatus XD
My partner SW and I (HL couldn't make it for this tourney so I teamed up with a guy in my grade who's a really great debater) managed to make it to the semi-finals of the tournament and I managed to get 6th speaker award after 5 rounds with speaker points (quarters, semis and finals are not counted in terms of speaker points). It was an amazing tourney.. not solely because I did well in it but also because of the general air of camaraderie and fun (we sang on the bus for a solid one and a half hour coming home XD one of the best memories ever)!
There were so many amazing resolutions at W... most of them all centred on the theme of crime and punishment with resolutions like THW abolish the sex offender registry, THW allow legislation dealing with body rights to be determined through national referendum. Thank goodness I brought my law textbook there and studied between rounds (since I had a quiz a few days after the tourney). Coincidentally and fortunately, the very chapter I was studying for school addressed almost all the resolutions put forth so that was a huge stroke of luck for me and SW since I practically had my study notes on the subject imprinted in my head. I remember that epic moment in the quarter finals in which the opposing side gave a question challenging the validity and modernness of the constitution which I (kind of sassily) responded with a direct quote out of the Privy Council's "Living Tree Doctrine" which stated that the constitution is able to be subject to changes over time that the Fathers of Constitution did not foresee.
Anyways, all the rounds went really great and SW and I went into quarter finals with a 4-1 win to loss ratio. We won quarters but lost in the semi-finals to this team with an astounding LO speech. Oh well... I'm just happy I broke at a legitimate tournament for the first time :)

It wasn't just the debates which made the tournament... since it was overnight, there was an amazing amount of time.
When we got to the hotel, everyone just kinda dumped their stuff in their hotel room and crashed in the guys' room. There were a couple of ...interesting... happenings such as all the girls hogging the guys' bathrooms to put on makeup and guys walking around shirtless (not that I minded that much... SW had a nice chest) and chanting to Chinese wuxia war music to hype themselves up for the upcoming debate rounds (wuxia since everyone, with the exception of one person, was Chinese). And then the teachers came, saw the total party going on and ordered us back into our rooms XD
At nighttime there was this huge prankcalling session going on back and forth - it was mostly my fault as I was the one who dared EX my roommate to call the guys' rooms in a British accent pretending to be a brothel manager. Anyways, she kind of chickened out of the challenge but I did it anyways, saying this in a really posh British accent:
"Hello, this is Mike's Prostitution Brothel, bringing to you <name of town we were in> 's best prostitutes. Now tell me sir, which would you like: blonde, brunette, redhead or exotic Asian?"
I think my greatest achievement that weekend was in preventing myself from erupting in laughter while saying this.
After a long awkward pays in which I heard a muffled "Wtf" coming from the other end, blaring rap music from one of my classmates' friends (who happens to be a hilarious Mandarin wannabe rapper) albums came blasting through.
I hung up and my roommates and I just burst out cackling and rolling on the bed as we imagined the expressions on our hapless victims' faces.
It was a fun tournament.

So Western concluded my three weekend long tenure of madly intense extracurricular activities... and now, on a lovely Friday night of my free weekend, I'm just happy to relive the happy memories and relax.
Until next time! :D

XCCMUN ECTASY!!!

My school's delegation at XCCMUN (name of conference has been changed for privacy purposes).

So I just came back from the best MUN of my life (so far)... XCCMUN had been an amazing conference for me, my fellow delegates and for my whole school because not only did we walk away from Canada's number 1 most prestigious conference (not to mention the school XCC is a really fancy and high class private school which boasts the number one MUN program in all of Canada) with an Honourable Mention in the Millenium Goals Development for RK (one of my Vice Presidents of our club) and a Best Delegate for me in the IAEA (both committees being the two most advanced committees of the conference), we also managed to get the Best Small Delegation award for our school which everyone contributed to!

Sooooo happy now <3 <3 <3

DECA DECA DECA (+Intellectual Withdrawal Syndrome)

So I'm really happy to say that I've expanded my repertoire in public speaking clubs by joining the Marketing Communications DECA category at my school which has this really really great program with a bunch of people making it to ICDC last year in California. My DECA partner is Amy and she's just AMAZING - kinda shy socially yes (rather like me) but still extremely nice with a great sense of humor and a really witty intellect.

I'm still soaring on the euphoria of my very first orals presentation - a practice done in front of Alex, one of my Marketing Communications trainers. Ah.. my first DECA Orals Presentation... how do I describe the happiness that comes from being able to speak assertively and professionally, the delicious act of catharsis in the form of intellectual business strategy and the intricate game of drama that encompasses the amazing 10 minutes in which I finally let loose after months of being intellectually mute?

Nothing compares to the blissful feeling of adrenaline coursing through veins as your mind races to think up strategies and churns up every case study you've ever read in order to build up one's case in a presentation. Nothing compares to the feeling when you can speak assertively and professionally - when you get to ditch your little girl's voice you use in every day life that hides your fierceness inside and that acts as a lambskin over the wolf to make sure people (mostly other girls) don't get intimidated by your strong will and that the image of the perfect girl who is sweet, smart, pretty, and overall NICE is not shattered. Nothing.

I honestly felt like Mulan the moment when she wiped off her makeup in her ancestral shrine and sang "Reflection"... because it is when I'm debating, DECA-ing, MUN-ing, making speeches, acting as attorney in Mock Trials, practising alone in my basement with a video camera making speeches that I feel truly free.

For the entire summer, ever since Debate and MUN season ended in June up until now in early October, I had been 'intellectually mute'. I've absorbed vast quantities of material, obsessively consumed BBC News, Maclean's, TIME, world issues, textbooks, case studies and second hand law textbooks bought at Value Mart and more but had never really gotten a chance to express and let out all that knowledge. My family is fairly conservative in their views and very religious so any dissent that goes against religion isn't really allowed to be aired. Furthermore, I've never been allowed to talk back to my parents regardless of if it was a personal matter or a discussion on world affairs (unless I agree with the viewpoint they are stating) so I've always kept my views and analysis on certain issues to myself. Taiwan was even worse - I wasn't on best terms with the 12 other youths who went volunteer teaching with me (8 of the 12 were girls and I usually got along better with guys in a platonic manner due to my rather direct and assertive manner of speaking, plus everyone there was chosen due to their leadership ability in athletics, an area that I was sadly lacking in - but which I made up for in my leadership positions in MUN, Debate, etc. - and none of them really understood me and my dorm desk filled with books on economics, world issues, social and cultural identities of China and other various nerdy pursuits - my goodness, I felt that I was back in those cheesy 1980s films in which the jocks ruled the world and the nerds got trampled underfoot).
Basically to avoid me having to fish up bad memories of silent treatments and homesickness, I'll just say that I felt as censored there as pro-democratic dissidents feel in mainland China.

Long story short, I didn't utter a peep the entire summer, although debating with HL was my only sanctuary from slowly going insane.

When the school year started, it didn't get much better - I was consumed with judging the new debaters as a Debate Trainer, and now as the President of Model UN, my days with MUN consist of training new delegates (of which we have an astonishingly large number this year due to a very dedicated marketing manager). I haven't gotten a chance to properly debate in 3 months or do a proper speech other than class presentations since the orals in DECA. I can't really describe the feel of, when judging new debaters who didn't model or roadmap, who finished their speeches in 2 minutes while debating this delicious resolution that I almost literally salivated over, of wanting to run up there to the podium, push the newbies aside and launch into a passionate and intense 7 minute speech. Ugh, I feel like a druggie with withdrawal symptoms - except debate, MUN, DECA and Mock Trials happens to be my drug.

So understandably, in the first chance in forever that i get to warm up my long hibernating public speaking skills, I get high off the adrenaline rush.

During my orals presentation, the feeling that encompassed me was so blissful - the intensity of it and the quick thinking that was required freed my mind, the drama required for me to role play a marketing executive was thrilling and I thoroughly enjoyed milking the role for all it was worth, injecting humor and professionality into it.

My partner Amy also did brilliantly and she was calm, composed, utterly professional and sharp throughout.. I felt the sense of synchronicity that I thought I only felt with HL in debate. Omg at that moment I was applauding this partnering arrangement so much.

After the presentation, our trainer Alex gave us feedback and asked if it was our first presentation done together in a rather incredulous voice. After answering yes, he proceeded to tell us that was one of the better first presentations that he had ever seen. I know this probably sounds small to DECA veterans that a newbie like me is positively gushing over her first presentation but honestly... this feeling of freedom after so long, the thrill of doing something well... it's addictive.
So please bear with me as i gush XD

Anyways so Regionals is coming up on Oct 26th and I'm planning on prepping as much as possible over the long weekend.... got to run now!

Happy thanksgiving!!!

What I'm Thankful For (Debate/MUN/DECA/Mock Trials themed)

1. My parents for having me ofc, taking care of me, teaching me, loving me and ofc driving me back and forth to and from tournaments and for picking me up everyday after school after a two hour long club meeting so I can get home fast enough to finish my homework. Also, considering I'm a Chinese girl who happens to be born during the time the one child policy was enacted, I sure as hell am glad they didn't ditch me at an orphanage somewhere and am extremely thankful for them putting up with me for so long.
2. My little sister who always brings light and happiness into my workaholic lifestyle and helping me relax after a stressful tournament. I'm also thankful for her as she is the reason I try so hard to succeed - all the work I do and the end goal for my life I have in mind is for her.
3. Food, shelter, water, medicine, furniture, a bed, clothes (especially my debate suit), and WiFi and my laptop for allowing me to research MUN topics and brush up on background issues to use in debate. Also, keep in mind the stuff i just listed aren't available to more than two thirds of the world population.
4. My school - I owe everything to my school. All the clubs they offer, all the fantastic role models who have inspired me to achieve beyond my wildest dreams before... all that is accredited to my beautiful, wonderful, amazing and talented school and all the teachers and students i have grown to love.
5. All my clubs. I'm so thankful that I'm very involved in the extracurricular activity at school and in being a part of a large variety of clubs - it has allowed me to meet and make friends with such a large variety of people and to explore so many skills that i wouldn't have developed otherwise if I didn't join the clubs I did.
6. Debate - when I was in elementary school and early grade nine, i had next to no friends literally. I guess it was because of how different or weird I was compared to the other kids (I liked arguing and was rather aggressive for a girl, preferring to be results oriented in school work and academics instead of considering other people's feelings thus earning me a lot of nicknames like "know it all" or "nerd" or "loner". The whole clique thing that girls did in elementary school didn't work for me at all since I butted heads constantly with the Queen Bees - this situation only worsened in grades 7 and 8 when the idea of cliques is reinforced further with all the girls in a particular clique wearing a particular brand of clothing like Abercrombie and Fitch -  a brand I was then unable to afford, thus making me the outcast in their eyes since i never fit in. Now, looking back, I'm actually astonished at how brutal and shallow kids are - whoever says children are like little angels is utterly wrong or fooled - children are even more vicious than adults considering their still dominant id and lack of self restraint). So yeah, I entered high school with practically no friends and was basically friendless and hopeless in ever figuring the complex matter of interpersonal relations until i joined debate club and found a group of people like me - intellectual, argumentative and passionate at public speaking. That's when I realized; there is a place for me in the world - I can excel by letting my true self forward - I no longer have to be afraid that every time I open my mouth, I'll be criticised for being me, that people will ostracize me for being different. Debate truly saved me.
It saved me in another way too - I'll admit that I was quite depressed at the time and also obsessive compulsive (I had to always flip my book pages the exact same way and repeat if there was any error, the same recurring thoughts of terrifying scenarios that could befall upon me and my family running through my mind continuously, causing me to always analyse why i had thoght that thought and to repeat the arguments for dissuading me that the thoughts had meaning). I was quite emotionally unhealthy at the time and struggling with a whole bunch of issues - the preteen years of 11 - 13 were tough, long story short.
And all that changed when I got into debate and the schoolwork level in school rose up. My ocd before (my parents knew it existed and never took me to a psychologist due to the stigma against mental illness and the fact that they were scared I would be put on meds. However it was pretty obvious I had it and it was pretty severe, after checking the symptoms on a variety of mental health websites, it was confirmed that I definitely had it) had come through due to lack of busyness - as per the saying "An Idle Mind is the Devil's Workshop". Once I was able to put my overactive mind to good use through something challenging enough like debate, my OCD level dropped dramatically and to this day, I haven't suffered an OCD attack to the level like the ones I used to have back in middle school.
If my depression had gone on and OCD had not subsided and if I didn't join Debate Club and met people I connected with and made friends that didn't make me feel like such a loser, I actually don't think I would be alive today. Had my depression and OCD continued on throughout high school and had the social bullying from middle school extended into my high school career (since the same people in middle school are in my high school and some still continue to be my classmates to this day - for a matter of fact, I've forgiven them but haven't trusted them again) without my protective bubble of the debate family supporting me, I think there was actually a high possibility of me becoming just another statistic for teenage suicide.
So for that, I'm eternally grateful for debate for saving my life.
6. On a lighter note, I'm really thankful for my friends and debate family as well as for my MUN family for being with me through thick and thin and for all the amazing memories made. There were really crazy moments yeah like at debate parties (less nerdy than you think) and at overnight tournaments (especially the ones without teacher supervision in which the debaters just go WILD) and really sweet moments too and despite all the drama that goes on there, I love them all.
7. My debate and Model UN binders (cue Mitt Romney's "binders full of women" comment!)
8. Freedom of internet - thank goodness this isn't China with all the web censoring or I'd never be able to get my research for debate club done. Actually, this blessing that is freedom of internet and net neutrality might not last long unless we do something about it... more info here http://www.forbes.com/sites/frankminiter/2014/09/18/limbaugh-is-right-net-neutrality-is-an-attack-on-free-speech-so-why-is-comcast-for-it/
9. My life :) after countless hours of research for Model UN position papers and prepping for resolutions on world issues for debate, I truly see how blessed my life is in comparison to so many of others. We (at least probably most of you who read this page) are living the life of paradise in comparison to the lives of billions of others around the world. There are wars raging in the Middle East, children too scared to go to sleep because they fear not waking up next morning, famines abounding and dehydration killing in Africa. There are vast slaughters in the Central African Republic right now, people dying from the fighting between the rebels and the government in Syria, women and girls terrorised out of school and the public in so  many other countries. ISIS is rearing it's ugly head and mindlessly massacering thousands, videotaping its gruesome atrocities. Ebola is fraught in Africa and rapidly spreading, people are terrified that they and their loved ones would be the next victims, and the disease just keeps spreading. Girls are sold into sexual slavery all over the world, used and abused just because they have two X chromosomes, they are neglected, left to die, killed off as babies, uneducated, treated as chattel and demeaned simply for being born. There are all these problems in the world and IT. IS. NOT. RIGHT.

So that's why, as a citizen of am Old Core country, I'm grateful for my life, my opportunities and everything that I have. I'm grateful for both my problems and my achievements because I'm glad to have these particular problems and achievements instead of having much bigger problems and smaller achievements if I was one of the havenots.
It's purely through the lottery of birth that we are born privileged today - let's not forget to be thankful for everything given to us. :)

Happy thanksgiving guys!

Model UN Promotional Cover Photo

In the beginning of the year, to get more people to join Model UN, my club launched a publicity blitzkrieg on Facebook with everyone changing their cover photos to the picture attached.
I spent like 30 minutes just slapping it all together on Pixlr so please, appreciate my inner Picasso ;)

DEBATE VIDEO!!! :D :D :D

So I made a debate video for my debate club at school as a promotional tool to get the new debaters to want to join debate... Creds for writing the scenes (except the pickup line scene which I wrote) go towards my amazing debate club members and for the rest (editing, cinematography, directing, etc.)... well I was in charge of all that so I hope I did a fair job XD

Enjoy!! :D

Taiwan Reflection - A Cultural Perspective

Hot humid air, bustling streets filled with the smell of roasted meat, exhaust from mopeds and the beautiful cacophony of everything that makes a city a city - vendors shouting out their wares in Mandarin, the occasional angry beep of a horn from a frustrated driver, the rumble of the train above, strands of Taiwanese pop drifting from various stores... this was my first impression of Taiwan.

As a Canadian who grew up in quiet suburbs and open plains, stepping off the plane was a real shock to me. I had never in my life seen such imposing mountains on the horizon; large lush green giants like sleeping Buddhas that sheltered cities in their valleys and protected from typhoons and wind. Neither had I ever seen so many people so densely packed into a single area. Everywhere I went, there were people, people and people. Young, from the infants strapped to their mother's back, to the old - bent over elderly stooped with age and with wise wisdom and kindness in their eyes. I saw the rich who frequented in the heart of downtown Taipei the high end western malls with brands like Chanel, Gucci, Versace dotting the grand halls and I also saw the poor - probably the most pitiful example was of a tiny old lady, back hunched over at an extreme level with age, face lined with wrinkles and wearing worn and faded clothes, selling sweet smelling flowers to passerbys on a little stool in the middle of the pedestrian pathway. 

Taiwan was a whole new world compared to Canada with amazing sights to be seen, exotic dishes to be tasted and people from all walks of life crossing my path every day. But the one aspect that most attracted attention and held my fascination was in the culture. 

Taiwan's culture was at once foreign yet familiar. Mixed with mainland Chinese culture as well as Korean and Japanese influences (from the colonization era) coupled with Western commercialization, Taiwan was … unique. In a way that beautifully preserved the essence of its Asian roots while welcoming globalization and outside influences.

Perhaps it has something to do with my Chinese heritage, but I felt instantly at home there – I was thrilled at the sights of the distinctly kawaii and Japanese influenced fashions that the young people wore, the songs of Deng Li Jun (a Taiwanese singer) floating from stores, and the way people carried themselves – the old and middle aged with quiet dignity and responsibility, the young adults trendy and cool (there was no other way to describe it) with their k-pop inspired clothes and a sense of purpose in their stride, the schoolchildren in their uniforms giggling with friends. The music and media – large billboards featuring Asian models with flawless skin and doe eyes and hip Korean boy bands with their whimsical hair colors, synchronized dance videos and edgy clothing – brought life and color to the otherwise cold, modern and corporate world of downtown Taipei. In the past month, I had grown to appreciate Taiwan’s unique sense of music and taste with help from my students and my EA and, judging from the amount of Taiwanese style clothing I’ve brought back to Canada, I won’t be losing Taiwan’s influence anytime soon.

The social customs and courtesies such as leaving the priority seats empty for the elderly, pregnant and disabled even when there were no other seats and people were forced to stand as well as the courtesy of always – always – sticking by the right side of an escalator for those going up stationary and leaving the left side for those in a rush all fascinated me and compelled me to abide by those customs as well. I noticed many unfamiliar customs present in day to day life there – people when giving or receiving a gift or purchase always used both hands to take/give the object (when explained by my EA, this was to symbolize their gratitude in that they take/give the object with their complete focus and attention), and also the habit more common in the older folks of how they would slightly bow after meeting someone as a way of saying hello or goodbye. These small gestures all gave the overall impression of extreme politeness and hospitality – an impression that was later proven correct on the numerous occasions that we were greeted and treated with kindness and warmth.

People (including my Chinese and Culture teacher Penny) say that Taiwan is one of the most hospitable and safest places in Asia – I at first took it with a grain of salt as many other countries boast the same thing and I was quite used to a polite public (Canadian raised after all).

But I experienced firsthand how welcoming Taiwan was for foreigners one night when Christine and I were lost after the Shilin Night Market due to faulty instructions from confused street vendors that led us to the Jiantan MRT station instead of the meeting place at Shilin MRT station. It was dark and rather late into the night, the road we were taking in an attempt to get back on track was dimly lit and nearly deserted save for the cars whizzing past us on a nearby road and the occasional sketchy looking person passing us by. Needless to say, I was quite unnerved and had thought to myself that wandering lost in a foreign city at night time was exactly the way how every horror anime started. We were walking along that path underneath the highway bridge as per Ms. Pratt’s phone instructions (we had called her to inform that we were lost a little while earlier) but the path seemed dark, dangerous and endless and I was wondering if the instructions were correct or not as there was no progress made in finding familiar sights.

And then, it seemed like an angel had come down and helped us and showed us the truly selfless and kind side of Taiwan people.

She wasn’t a conventional angel – no wings, no glowing aura, no graceful presence and certainly wasn’t someone to stand out in a crowd.

She was quite old, tiny and hunched with age and shuffling with small footsteps in front of us, appearing not to notice us at first. Spurred on by the overall unease of wandering an unfamiliar area and feeling unthreatened by her tiny form, I approached her and asked her for instructions on how to reach Shilin station, half expecting her to shy away from two foreigners like us. On the contrary to my expectations, the lady grinned in a grandmotherly type of way, greeted me kindly in Mandarin and surprisingly, in choppy words of English, and told us that she would walk with us to the station together, going out of her way (literally) to help people she had never met before. And thus we walked and talked, sharing and comparing our different cultures, talking about our lives and yes, even comparing the weather, for a good while before finally reaching the brightly lit area of the MRT station where we regretfully had to part ways. We thanked her profusely, she thanked us back although she had no reason to – we were after all saved by her – and then after a considerable amount of bowing and thanking and blessing, she retreated, shuffling into the night. I doubt I would ever meet her again but that night, she provided comfort and a sense of safety and she changed my entire perception on Taiwan for the better. I was astounded by the lengths she was willing to go to help us out – most people would be content to simply give instructions to the station, not offer to show the way there as well – and I still feel blessed to be graced by her presence and to be aided through Taiwanese hospitability.

In addition to the signature Taiwanese welcome to foreigners, I’ve also experienced the depths to which they express gratitude and friendship in their culture – I will never forget the looks on my students’ faces as I said goodbye for the last time on the last day of class. I will never forget their hugs, their tears and their earnest pleads for me never to forget them and I won’t forget the feeling of my heart breaking as I realize that, once I am back halfway around the world, I most likely will never encounter these bright and brilliant individuals again. I was at once shocked and heart warmed by the numerous gifts they gave to me reflecting Confucian values of gratitude to one’s teacher – various trinkets, snacks, cards, a dress, jewellery that they bought or made themselves as well as an unforgettable notebook that they made for me filled with notes addressed to me from everyone in the class – as well as the lifelong lessons and memories instilled; all the times we’ve laughed together, learned together, explored the world together. All the times where each party’s horizons were expanded upon, when vocabulary was learned and when we all discovered how big and beautiful the world truly is.

This month has changed me… Taiwanese culture has changed me and now, I stare in culture shock at my own Canadian bubble, unable to ever see it as the stationary benchmark in which to measure up other cultures up against again. I’ve learned so much about Taiwanese culture, so much about how differently but also similarly people act, dress, express themselves, eat, communicate and more. I’ve learned so much about how big the world is… and on how much Taiwanese culture has changed me in return.

This is a journey not only of teaching and sightseeing, but of personal growth, a broadening of the mind and of horizons and an intrinsic shift in one’s own perspectives. This is a journey of a lifetime, and one that I am glad to have undertook.

The Moment When Your Debate Partner is More Fashionable Than You Are

Me at a tournament:
- 1980s black lint-ridden blazer borrowed from my mom back in the days when she worked in China
- 1980s leather heels with square fronts borrowed from my mom as well
- Old Navy simple white blouse
- Walmart formal pencil skirt
- Walmart black sheer tights
- Hair up in a ponytail that regularly falls down halfway through a round (I have no idea why my hair is so resistant to ponytails and updos)
- Glasses (enough said... although I admit they are quite stylish looking)
- Silver chain necklace with a jade ring around it as a pendant (my lucky charm)
- Minimal makeup (just some grey pencil eye liner, a bit of mascara and lip gloss and sometimes concealer under the eyes when I was up late prepping last night)

HL at a tournament:
- J Crew navy silk knit tie (uber-classy and costing about $25 - it took him like a whole week to agonize on whether to buy that one or this dog patterned tie - it's better looking than it sounds - with him finally dragging me into the decision and getting me to rate every single tie option he brought forth in an attempt to find the perfect tie for him. Oh my goodness, I spent less time buying my semi-formal dress than he did with this tie)
- Zara dress shirt
- Designer navy blazer fitted and tailored
- Designer navy slim cut trousers
- Silver cufflinks
- Really nice looking leather shoes which I don't know the cost to
- Skin care products which make his skin look flawless (he refuses to share the secret to perfect skin with me)
- Hair spiked up and swept over in this pretty trendy looking hairstyle, further adding to the k-pop air

All I can say about this is: "I'm supposed to be the dressed up one here" -_-

Oh well, if I have no chance of winning the fashion parade then at least I have my brains to rely on and hope for a judge who won't judge me too hard on my extremely outdated clothes. HL can more than make up for my lack of photogenic-ism with his K-pop star looks. XD

Debate Skit Script

So as an exec on my school's debate team, I have to write a short script on debate life as promo material for niner recruitment. My topic is on Debate Crushes and also on bad debate pickup lines... enjoy! 

DEBATE CRUSHES & BAD PICKUP LINES (Debate Skit)

Setting: Classroom just before a round starts.
Characters:

Love Struck Debater:

Object of Affection:

Judge:

Partner of LSD:

Partner of OoA:
Props:

-        Desks & Chairs

-        Notes and Debate binders

-        Gavel

-        Debate wear

Scene starts at the end of prep time: two debaters are madly prepping at their desks - or at least one of them is madly prepping - the other one is gazing out into the side, jaw slack and eyes dreamy. The object of his affections is a rival debater who is oblivious to his affections (cue the dreamy music and the instagram filter effects).

The judge calls the round to order with a bang of his gavel and the love struck debater snaps out of his trance.

Judge:          I now call the house to order. May the Prime Minister stand up to give

her speech.

Object of affection walks up to the podium. (Dreamy music, slow motion walking, instagram filters, etc. Love struck debater ogles at OOA)

OOA:           Today as the house we present to you the resolution THBT -"

LSD stands up abruptly in a POI and interrupts.

LSD:            THBT you and I belong together.

OOA:           I - excuse me - what?

LSD:            Girl, my love for you is more deep than my constructive.

OOA:           (angrily) AS I was saying, we propose the resolution -

LSD:            I propose to you.

Judge:          Order! (Bangs on gavel)

LSD:            I wish I was the gavel and you were the judge so you can bang me just as

hard.

OOA :          (gasps)

LSD:            You're like the tabs and the trophy - everyone wants you.

OOA:           And you're like the fourth place in BP, no one wants you.

LSD:            I guess I'll iron man then - but you know what else is as hard as iron?

LSD's

partner:        (head in arms groans)

OOA:           (deadly whisper) I. Am. So. Going. To. Kill. You.

LSD:            You wouldn’t want to kill such an amazing master debater.

OOA:           (growls, fist clenched)

Scene cuts. 

Last scene is of LSD being kicked out of the room by a high heeled leg.

Last Day of Taiwan

So I know this isn't debate related but tonight's my last night in Taiwan before I head back to Canada.

It's been a long, fun but also arduous month due to all the students I've taught and befriended as well as all the sights seen, memories made, the souvenirs bought and friends made. It's also been painful and hard too due to homesickness, missing my family and some quite rude and downright antagonistic  co-teach assistants. But I won't focus on the negative stuff here... it's my last night and I might as well enjoy all the good memories and lessons learned in the past four weeks.

In the duration of my stay in Taiwan, I've fully realized how big and diverse the world is and how one culture can be both at the same time so familiar and so foreign. I've met wonderful wonderful people and seen the world from a new perspective as well as experiences exactly how cruel people can be. The sights seen- from YangMingShan Mountain and Shilin Night Market to Beitou and Taipei 101 - have shown me how beautiful the world is and how deep the culture is in Taiwan and the people of Taiwan I've observed during bored moments waiting at the bus stop have fully ingrained in me how everyone has a hidden story and how rich their lives are in history and in their hopes, dreams and ambitions.

This place feels almost like home to me - mostly due to the fact that their culture resonated deeply with mine and the traditions, superstitions, festivals, behaviour and way of life are so similar to my normal way of living (since I have Chinese heritage) and I feel that I've spent infinity in this place and that I truly belong here. I recall the moment when I said to myself: "Someday I will live here" when walking the bustling streets of downtown Taipei filled with flashing billboards, people of all ages and classes streaming by and sleek glass buildings shining by me. I truly meant that.
Once I get the language down (I'm fluent in Mandarins but my reading and writing could use a bit of work) and the necessary qualifications/degrees/job skills down, I do intend to work at Taipei.

In the four weeks here, I feel that Taipei is more of my home than Canada - I fit in with the people more, the traditions and sense of cultural identity are stronger not to mention the ridiculously cheap food, clothing and transportation - and for a few days, I thought that I never wanted to leave.

I know it sounds so silly, wanting to stay in a country for the rest of one's life just from a few days of tourism there but truly, everything resonated.
I felt that I was in manga or anime in Taiwan - perhaps it's the Asian atmosphere which is reminiscent of the Japanese setting in most animes - with the bustling streets and vibrant nightlife of Shilin similar to Ikebukuro in Durarara and the modern but sterile urban setting like in Steins;gate similar to daytime Taipei and the private school environment and urban ordinariness of Canton in Death Note. Given that those animes are my absolute favourite (as well as Shingeki No Kyojin) and the settings in Taiwan are strangely similar - of course I'd like to live here as it is akin to living in an anime.

Before I'm taken as some sort of impractical star struck dreamer, I'd like to add that the anime and culture aspect isn't the only reason for me wanting to live in Taiwan. There are the obvious low cost living benefits as well as the higher status that Western educated graduates get in the job market and also the fact that soon, businesses  and the economy will be turned in the favour of Eastern countries and that as China, India and etc. grows in economic prospects and political power, one can be wise to invest in Chinese lessons in preparation for future business prospects.

I know I'm ranting about how awesome Taiwan is and all that but truth be told, I miss my family and Canada a bit too much to stay.
The past four weeks have had me skyping them almost every night for hours at a time and I feel that I couldn't leave them behind. When my dad showed me a video of what my house looked like and what the view outside of my house was like (he was showing me the weather) I almost teared up from the familiar sight of white walls, airy space and calm and peaceful suburbs.

I've always thought my Canadian lifestyle was slightly boring due to the middle class suburbs thing and the difficulty in getting access to malls, libraries and in using public transport (it takes me about 30 minutes to commute to school and almost 45 to get to the closest library) as well as the lack of excitement in mg rather sleepy and tranquil neighbourhood and continued that judgment of my Canadian life in the first few weeks of the hustle bustle of urban Taipei life but now, I've kind of grown tired to the neverstopping noise and the constant busyness of everything. I want back my calm afternoons at home, my airy room where I don't have to share with two other people, my parents' amazing cooking and lazy days spent with my sister and sleeping in until noon (we get up at 6 in the morning each day in Taiwan).

I miss having information at my fingertips, an intellectual challenge at every turn when debating with HP, solving brain teasers, studying for next year's courses and planning the club strategy for MUN. Here in my teaching job at Taiwan, it's amazingly fun and all due to the new experiences but there is no intellectual challenge at all and as a result, I was mind numbingly bored for a majority of my time here. As a teaching assistant, yes I do teach a portion of the lessons and also go around translating and help in the students during projects and all but a large portion of my time is also doing menial labour such as handing out classroom supplies and turning on and off the lights whenever there's a presentation. I don't mind the work but at the same time, I've never been less intellectually stimulated before in my life unless you count that pointless summer in an inner city summer camp back in elementary school where everyday consisted of playing boring games in the blazing sun. As a result of my boredom and the feeling of depression I was starting to get due to lack of meaningful conversation and learning - I've grown slightly obsessed with playing Chinese chess on my phone and in solving brain teasers on the web as well as learning trouble shooting and IT. During break times I'd end up composing debate resolutions in my head and mentally debating the round while flowing my notes and reading ip on world issues for MUN but even with all that, oh goodness, I was SO bored. And there's the guilt too of being counter productive. I had meant to study for my SATS during this period and review my math for next year but due to the amount of time everyone is dragged out to go hiking in the mountains, I've never gotten enough time.

Argh, in the last two weeks before school I have to accomplish these goals:
- Study SATS
- Study Math both 10 and 11
- Study Biology and Physics for grade 11
- Make a promotional video for MUN
- Make a promotional video for Filmmaking Society
- Get MUN stuff for next year ready and set up the orientation day booths
- Get Filmmaking stuff ready and set up orientation day booths
- Get History Council stuff ready and set up orientation day booths
- Get in touch with and create mind map for my position as Social Media Specialist at a feminist organization (sorry can't name it for privacy reasons) 
- Spend time with my family
- Back to School shopping (I think I've done enough shopping in Taipei to last a lifetime... I might have acquired a whole new kawaii wardrobe here)
- Finish my debate seminar
- Train in Debate with HP
- Train in MUN with my MUN family
- Relax (how am I supposed to do this with all this stuff piled on me??? I'm feeling stressed just writing this list)

So yeah.
I have a busy two weeks ahead of me.

Anyways, it's about time to go to sleep now and recharge from all the activity and stuff gained in the past month.

Good night and I'm praying for a safe flight back to Canada tomorrow.

THIS HOUSE BELIEVES IN THE RIGHT TO BE FORGOTTEN (Notes for a Practice Round)

THIS HOUSE BELIEVES IN THE RIGHT TO BE FORGOTTEN

GOV

Model:

House: USA & Canada

Right to be Forgotten: right to have one's digital footprint erased from the internet. This   consists of erasing information about oneself and about one's activity from the internet, including photos, videos, blogposts, comments, internet searches etc. Not applicable for reasons of police investigation, medical records and etc. 

Nothing posted on the Internet in the status quo disappears completely forever.

1. Past mistakes shouldn't shame someone's reputation later

      A. People make silly mistakes, the digital world is an easy world to make mistakes in. 

Ex: foolish posts from middle school haunting university graduates years later. 

Angry posts about someone's boss causing lots of trouble years later and affecting employment prospects. 

Drunken photos and pictures of partying hard affecting someone's image later

      B. Past silly mistakes and unflattering portrayals on the digital world present an one sided view of a person. 

Ex: many people make videos of them partying or being silly. Not so many post stuff of them working hard or being extremely diligent for fear of appearing arrogant. One sided unflattering media from the past can negatively affect someone's reputation later when searched up. 

       C. People change. 

Just because one went through a partying hard phase in their university years mean that they still party hard at the current moment. The digital world however finds it hard to forget past events and holds on to everything you have ever posted, liked, commented on, shared and got tagged in in your entire digital life. Anyone can search things up from years before and get the one sided view of a person and still assume that the person more or less is still the way they were, thus people are not granted second chances and are forever judged for past mistakes. 

What people are now is what matters and who they were in the past shouldn't affect them now so drastically. What's in the past is in the past and everyone deserves a fresh start, granted to them by the removal of past material from the internet. 

2. Unwanted digital exposure removal

     A. Sabotage - others may purposely post things that defame, slander and ruin other's reputation on the internet, leading to serious real life consequences for the victim. 

Ex: Revenge porn. Angry exes post pornography of their former partners alongside with their partner's names, addresses, email, telephone and etc. on public sites for revenge. Extremely damaging to one's reputation, causes emotional problems and also leads to cyber bullying and viral sex tapes all of which are not consented to by the victim. Consequences may leak to people familiar with the victim and causes job insecurity and loss of reputation. The right to be forgotten in that case should be granted for the victim's safety. 

     B. Legal Issues - Lawsuits launched often leave a digital footprint which can be traced by others and which may reveal details of one's past that people don't want others to know about. The legal records don't necessarily indicate that one is in the wrong or one has done a grave misdeed - but they can lead others to judge someone based upon their past. As well, personal information and private information such as address, health issues, etc may also be on the digital footprint and can lead to loss of privacy as well as potential identity theft. 

     C. Witness Protection Programs - People under the program have their lives endangered if they can be tracked digitally back to their old identities. The right to be forgotten deserves to be bestowed upon them for the sake of their safety. 

3. Disproportionate punishment 

     People are punished disproportionally and also in retrospect for their actions which at the time may or may not have been acceptable. Never the less, the consequences for their digital footprint far outweigh their own fault in making the mistakes.

Consequences: loss of job, employment instability, slut shaming, loss of reputation, lowered self esteem, cyber bullying, unwanted fame, loss of friends/partners, judgement by others. 

-Unlike in real life, you can't take back a mistake and apologise as easily to patch things up because the Internet has the potential to make an embarrassing moment viral to millions of people around the world. 

-Therefore, the punishment cannot be revoked or mitigated through personal actions because personal action is impossible to make millions forget what they have seen and to judge someone again. 

-As well, unlike the just legal system punishments which last for a determined period of time and are proportionate to the lawbreaking, online punishment lasts infinitely and stays on forever. 

-The amount of punishment is also uncontrollable and variable depending on the audience and how vicious they are and the most innocent of actions (Case study: Light Sabre Boy) can yield the most ferocious backlash. 

Long Time No Debate

Oookay, so sorry I haven't updated in a long while - stuff has caught up to me (exams, debate competitions, Model UN stuff, school applications, projects and whatever society throws upon the young shoulders of teenagers nowadays) and I was sadly unable to update on what was happening.

In case you're wondering now, "Hey, how come she can finally (FINALLY) update now?", I'm currently in Taiwan teaching English to Taiwanese high school students and in between all the tours we've been on and the whirlwind of teaching that ensued, I've finally got some free time. For 10 minutes.

Kind of sad how even my summer is loaded with activity.

Anyway, I'd love to chronicle all of you with my tales of being lost in Taiwanese alleyways with vendors selling whatever humankind can sell and seeing the Pacific Ocean for the first time but I'll cut it short and just tell you about my first debate in about 1 month.

Dang, it was PAINFUL.

Okay, from the beginning.

So I've been teaching in Taiwan for about a week now (having landed on July 15th) and so far, the past several days has been nonstop - we were swept on a tour of Taiwan the morning (5 a.m!!) we left the airport and were driven first to our dorms in the high school we are teaching at (cannot disclose name, sorry). After about 30 minutes to unpack and settle down, we went on crazy crazy tours to basically everywhere in Taiwan. The Gu Gong (National Palace Museum, one of the top museums in the world), Ningxia Night Market, XiangShan Mountains, Taipei 101, the C.W.S. Memorial, shopping in countless Taiwanese malls (the food is extremely good and cheap but the clothes are pretty expensive) and more.  Then there was the teaching. I was teaching about 50 really adorable grade 8 girls from the school (split into 2 classes, one morning and one afternoon) and although I was rather tired at the end of each day due to way too much personal interaction, it was so rewarding to help them and mentor them.

I can gush about my amazing and talented students in another post so I'll just get back onto topic - Debate.

So yes, the past days have been super busy but just two nights ago, I finally got the chance to Skype my long time debate partner HL.

Short introduction on HL.

We're both in the same grade (10 going on to 11 in September), the same age and with the same birthday (which was really freaky when we both found out). He's amazingly talented especially in oratory and speaking style and incredibly driven (he wants to go to University of Pennsylvania and has dedicated basically all his energy towards that goal, including skipping debate meetings at times to my chagrin) and, luckily for me, extremely smart. HL's career goal is to do something in business and finance hence his participation in DECA and his efforts to get me into DECA too (unfortunately I can't due to History Council being on the same day and me being an exec of that club) and his refutation is heavenly. I'll admit that I wouldn't sound half as good nor get the speaks I get without him there to back up my points and shoot down the opponents'. Nor, I'll also admit, that he'd be the level he's at right now without my constructive to build our case. Both times when we went to tournaments with another partner, we both failed miserably. Ugh, bad memories.
But, when we were the PD Team (composed of our last names which cannot be revealed here), we ROCKED. :)

Oh and did I mention that he just started Debate in September 2013 and that I had a year's debate experience on him? Now we're almost the same level. Pretty damn impressive. I couldn't believe it myself if it wasn't for me who was the one training him through gruelling sessions on Skype over winter break and March break.

Now I know this sounds like some fangirl gushing over her celebrity crush or something but it's not like that. Although he almost literally has his own fangirl club at my school (I don't know how since he rarely talks to girls... must be the looks) and that his fangirl club kind of hated me when we first started becoming debate partners (everyone assumed at first that we were more than debuddies if you know what I mean... they even got a ship name for us and for a few months I had to live with catcalls everytime I started a practice round), we're very much platonic. Like yeah, I'll admit that I had a tiny crush on him in the beginning (c'mon, he looks like a K-Pop star) but that soon stopped when I realized that our personalities just didn't work out in ways other than just a friendship or debate partnership.

For example, he's the quiet type. Like really really quiet type. As in the sit in the corner looking cool and aloof type. As in sit in the corner looking cool, aloof, unapproachable and damn marble statue type DURING periods in between debate rounds during tournaments while I go around buzzing among different groups of people and making connections with other schools while being super hyper even when not on coffee or tea.

Yeah.

Now let's guess who's the one freaking out and having a nervous breakdown before a tough round and who's the one all calm and composed and trying and failing to calm me down.
That pretty much describes our partnership.

Anyways, back to the debate practice.

Since I'm in Taiwan and he's in Canada, there's a 12 hour time difference between us and we ended up debating at 10 in the morning for him and at night for me. Which works out amazingly since he's a morning bird and I'm a night owl, with both of us on extreme ends of the spectrum. Back in Canada, he'd drag me up at a bloody early time during summer vacation (9 am can you believe it?? I usually wake up at 2 pm during the holidays) to practice with the results of me being high on lack of sleep during the entire round and I'd in return force him to stay up to 11 pm at night to practice with me (he sleeps at 10 on the dot every single day). Practice times didn't really work out otherwise since we had stuff to do during the daytime.

Thankfully in Taiwan it's all working out great except I keep getting late to practices because I often only get back to the school dorms at like 9:30 after a long day of hiking and touring and also have to set up my laptop in another room so I don't disrupt my roommates. 

So anyways, for this debate, HL chose two resolutions: THW never have children and THW allow the usage of torture obtain information on terrorist organizations. I personally leaned a bit more to the terrorist resolution mostly due to my MUN background but HL thought it a good idea to start off light and do the Children round. He flipped a coin, I got Opposition and he got Government.

The way we practice when we're practicing with only the two of us is that we go against each other on opposite sides and fulfill all the roles on each side by ourselves while still limiting our prep time to the standard 15 minutes given to partnered pairs. This forces us to think faster and also more independently and to make up for our own shortcomings without having to rely on our partner to patch things up.

It's also a great way to teach HL themes and the whip speech.

So we got prepping and for 15 minutes, it was intense brainpower, constructive material construction (no pun intended) and digging up old news article analysis and facts in my mind. And then, the rounds starts.

As the Prime Minister, HL defined the House as a modern day average American couple with no medical issues or extreme outside circumstances and who didn't wish to have any children - biological or adopted. It's a very fair model considering that he was the one arguing against having children and didn't give me an unfair burden and he defined it so that it was like the gov was the spouse that was against the idea and the opp (my side) was the spouse wanting children.

Kind of flipped in real life though since we both knew that I never wanted kids and that he wanted three and to raise them with a parenting style akin to the Asian tiger mom.

Anyways, with the model down, he proceeded onto elaborating his three main constructives.

Note: the following points are extremely paraphrased and summarized and basically only outlines the basic ideas.

1) Burden
A. Physical - thousands of hours dedicated to taking care of children and thus the lack of a social life or any other life outside of work and taking care of kids. Causes parents to be physically tired and is a detriment to yourself and your health.
B. Emotional - Your life is not about you anymore with so many constraints and furthermore, emotional harm may occur if certain circumstances were to happen to your child and also if the child doesn't love the parents back.
C. Financial - huge expenses for raising a child and more difficulty bringing back student loans of the parents while raising a child. Financial difficulties will hinder healthy childhood development and parental parenting techniques.

2) Risk of no payback - children may not love their parents back and may simply just abandon their parents once they're adults thus leading to no payback for all the sacrifices that parents have given their children.

3) Environmental concerns - with 7 billion people and more coming, bringing more humans onto the planet may just cause even more strain on resources.

I was pretty impressed at his use of subpoints for the first constructive since he rarely used them before.

After the PM speech, it was my turn.

Now I'll just say here and now that I rather half-assed my points. Be prepared to cringe.

1) Later regret
A. Elderly care - When in old age, you'll be insecure without children who share strong familial, legal and etc. ties with you. There's the possibility of being stuck in nursing homes and retirement homes which have the risk of being exploited and abused if no one else is on your side. The alternatives to children could be social services or friends and other close family but I also closed that loophole by saying that social services and the government while they do put regulations in, sometimes one needs more personal attention and care. Also, although friends and other family members may also be able to fulfill the child's role, the connections and the debt owed by a child to this parent is unequaled in the case of friends and other relations since friends and other relations may choose to on a whim to drop out of taking care of the elderly while children have a lifelong debt and connection to their parents which often compels them to pay more attention to elderly parents than simply a friend or other relation.
B. Inability to fit in with mainstream society - With middle aged mainstream society mostly focused on family (as shown by all the celebrity tabloids awarding baby bumps, the family sized grocery stocks, family activities which centre largely around kids and basically many venues of social interaction for the middle ages centred around children, never having children will put a social distance between us and the rest of society. There will be less social venues which are no child/family centred, less common ground with others to start a new friendship and also the unfortunate stigma that childless couples face these days.
C. Legacy - everyone wants to leave a legacy to the world and that although many careers just disappear and don't leave much of a personal mark once one leaves the physical world behind, memories of someone as a person - from someone who grew up with one - will definitely stay and become a legacy through memories, family stories and family legend.

2. Emotional fulfillment

I had a third point but since a large portion of my time was refutation, I decided to hold it for my LO speech.

I refuted HL's points with:

1. Burden
A. Physical - instead of making parents less healthy, children can be an incentive for parents to get more healthy by giving adults a reason to buy healthier foods and get exercising more for the sake of their kids, thus refuting the whole physical detriment and tiredness of parents that HL brought up.
B. Emotional - HL said that there was a big emotional toll on parents if children act up, don't love their parents anymore and etc. I refuted that by saying that the reason many couples decided to have children was for the happiness that children brought. Children brought emotional fulfillment to ones life by giving them a reason to keep going on not only for their own sake but also for the children's sake and that some of the greatest joys of life as demonstrated by generations of parents were that of their children being happy. I recognized that the emotional toll might be big during hard times but I stated that the end result of happiness and a sense of purpose in life as well as that of familial love was the worth the tolls. Basically I said "No pain, no gain."
C. HL said it was a financial burden to take care of children but I refuted that with long term investment both emotionally and financially since children could take care of their parents in the parents elderly age and thus save money later on.

2. Risk of no payback - I refuted by saying it was only a risk and all dependent on how the parent parents the children and if they treat their kids well or not. I stated that it was side Government's assumption that all children were ungrateful brats and I said that if the couple raised their kids well, then the risk for no payback was very small indeed while if one didn't have children at all, the payback is even more non-existent. 

3. I refuted the environmental detriment argument by saying that if we raise the kids well, then the children could become pro active about social issues the environment included and thus make much more of an impact on the environment on a healthier way than if we simply reduced the number of diapers which land in landfills. I stressed the proactive approach as being more effective than simply the reduction approach but looking back now, I can see that there were huge flaws in my refutation - namely in proving why one cannot be proactive in protecting the environment while childless all the while reducing resource strain by not having kids. Thankfully for me, HL didn't call me out on that since he ran out of time later but if it was a more advanced debater I would have been screwed. Argh. I have to watch out for these loopholes in future debates. 

So basically I finished my MO speech and HL started on his MC speech but since I'm rather short on time (I'm off to Taipei 101 in about 10 minutes), I'll just say that his refutation was amazing as always, with plenty of examples and somehow managed to make me sound dumb although he forgot to set his timer again and went over time by about 1 minute. Well, we'll work on that. 

Anyways, a basic sum up of my LO speech was ... well... rusty. I haven't debated Opp in a long time and my theme speech was whipped up literally in the last minute of HL's MC speech because I somehow forgot that the LO needed themes so.. basically I was pretty hectic and I don't have the time to recount all of the details. 

Basically my themes were Impact on Society (since my third point which I didn't elaborate on here was the positive impact on society) and Selfishness vs. Selflessness both which I did in my standard way of doing themes; state the opponent's side first and refute and then bring about my points as a better alternative. It wasn't my best theme speech either since I ran out of time but it wasn't my worst. 

Unfortunately, HL somehow completely forgot how to do themes so instead of ending off with the 3 minute PM speech, he did and redid his theme speech with me giving tips, advice and etc. until he got it pretty much perfect. And then he vowed to keep working on it at home. Yeah that's the perfectionist right there. 

With the round over, we just did a few refutation exercises and then I was sooo tired due to the hike on the mountains (3 hour long hike!!) so we ended the practice. Normally debate practices energize me but heck, I was tired after that round. So it was adios until the next time (next practice date and time to be determined) and I signed off. 

I have to say, it was a relief to finally talk with HL again after almost a month of no activity (due to exams, projects, Taiwan, busy summer etc.) and it was even more of a relief to find that I didn't lose all my debate ability. 

There's still room for improvement though but I'll definitely practice more later. :)

Until next time!

POSITION PAPER : Libyan Arab Jamahiriya on CAR Crisis, Drones and Child Soldiers

So I went to this really really really wonderful MUN just about a month ago named CHAMUN (whose full name I shall not disclose for privacy reasons) and was the delegate of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya for those 2 days - just 2 days after the Prime Minister of my country fled to Germany and a civil insurrection by militia groups seemed imminent. Guess who's representing the de-legitimized government?

Anyways, my situation was pretty precarious considering the topics which were of child soldiers (Libya has used them in the past during Gaddafi's reign but has renounced the use however still has a problem considering that many of the pro and anti-government militias have little to no regulation on the ages of soldiers), the use of drones and the Central African Republic crisis. I half expected the Western liberal democracies to pounce on me when I went up on the stage to present my resolution because my country's faltering stability!

Thankfully none of them did but a bunch of other really interesting and dramatic stuff happened which I won't elaborate on now due to lack of time and the fact that this particular post is supposed to be about my position paper (which was written in one full 9 hour block in a caffeine fueled haze) so I'll just cut to the chase and present MAH LOVELY PRECIOUSSSSSSSS!!!

(Disclaimer: I don't claim to be an expert in any of these issues so if there are any changes in foreign policy since then and now and if there are any mistakes in my position paper, please excuse me)

Committee: General Assembly

Country: Libya Arab Jamahiriya

The topics before the General Assembly today are: the Military Use of Children, the Humanitarian Crisis in the Central African Republic and the Implication for the Uses of Drones.

1.  Military Use of Children

In almost every armed conflict that has and is happening around the world, there was and still is the presence of frightened children clutching weapons, committing acts and witnessing atrocities far beyond their age level. With the current battle strategies which centre heavily on urban warfare and the highly unregulated actions of rebel fighters, the battle lines are blurry and children are at even more risk of becoming child soldiers. Libya recognizes that we have used child soldiers in the past in the Libyan civil war during Muammar Gaddafi’s reign but as the current democratically elected government, we disapprove of the use of child soldiers as shown by our signing and ratification of OPAC and numerous other anti-child soldier resolutions. However, with internal conflict seeming imminent due to the federalist militia rebels currently blockading our oil ports, we cannot guarantee that child soldiers will not be used by the rebels although we strive to keep our own government led forces free from underage soldiers. Unfortunately we as the government have very limited control on whether irregular paramilitaries and self-defence groups on our side but not under the government’s payroll use teens as soldiers.

With an imminent threat to further use of child soldiers from the rebel militias in Libya, and lack of government resources to restrict child soldier use due to preoccupation with rebels factions, Libya fears that the use of child soldiers will be quite rampant should civil conflict begin due to lack of regulation, the nature of rebel groups, and the current vulnerable situations of children which allows for recruitment by rebel forces. This is of international concern not only because of the human rights violations and the various physical/psychological effects on a generation but also because the use of child soldiers may help the federalist rebels, some of which are backed by radical Islamist groups and could provide enough military power to topple government forces, prompting internationally felt impacts. The historical origin of Libyan child soldiers comes from the Libyan civil war in 2011, which resulted in a deeply unstable aftermath with children living in highly vulnerable situations away from family and home thus making them susceptible to military recruitment. Children and teens were used during the civil war on both sides, and child soldiers in Libya has been so normalized that there is no longer a cultural taboo against it.

Past actions to combat the use of child soldiers by the UN include the creation of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of Child (OPAC) which was signed and ratified by Libya and which provided a strong foundation for the long term prevention of unlawful recruitment of children for military use as well as providing assistance to current child soldiers. Although OPAC member states are required to take all necessary actions for national implementation, enforcement is rather poor. The Security Council Resolution 2143 (2014) and SCR 1998 (2011) both take measures to protect children; the former by providing framework to protect children in conflict zones and the latter by affirming the right to education and strengthening protection of schools against military use. The Adoption of Arms Trade Treaty (2013) by the U.N. General Assembly signed by Libya prevented the flow of arms to parties which used child soldiers, serving as a deterrence for belligerent parties and UNICEF launched the “Children, Not Soldiers” campaign to end child soldier recruitment by 2016, a campaign that Libya strongly supports. Some issues not adequately addressed include displaced/orphaned youths with a high risk of being recruited, and a societal internalization of violence and war which leads to normalization of children being used as soldiers.

Libya supports UN endeavours to end child soldier usage and proposes solutions including; reducing child vulnerability by providing safer environments for children especially in the rehabilitation process of a country after a war (similar to post-civil war Libya), a societal education process which reinforces that child soldiers are taboo to use, rehabilitation for current and former child soldiers, and a disincentive for rebel groups to use children by restricting funding, weapons and supplies to rebel groups which use child soldiers. To implement these solutions, international funding may need to be utilised to help rehabilitate post-war countries and restart the economy and the societal attitude must be shifted through media influence by the nation. Rehabilitation for current child soldiers can only feasibly be achieved once the child is in the custody of the government or NGOs, therefore since only injured child soldiers in the custody of hospitals are reachable currently, the situation must be changed to allow for greater access. Former child soldiers should also be rehabilitated. An international crackdown must be implemented on terrorist organizations which fund rebel groups in order to impose a blockade on rebel supplies to deter groups from using child soldiers and diplomatic talks should begin as soon as possible in Libya to prevent any further bloodshed.

Libya believes that the use of child soldiers is a grave problem and gladly supports UN solutions in prevention, rehabilitation, media publicity and deterrence of child soldier usage.

 2. Humanitarian Crisis in the Central African Republic

With food insecurity, disease, a crippled economy, a weak government and religious tensions that escalate to ethnic cleansing, the Central African Republic is in bad shape. Currently, 1 million of their 4.6 million population is displaced, with at least 2 000 dead from violence, 42% of their population suffers from food insecurity, and the C.A.R. is 179^th in the Human Development Index, making it one of the most impoverished countries in the world despite their abundant wealth of gold, diamonds and cotton. Libya, as an ally of C.A.R. recognizes the dire state the Central African Republic is in and will do what we possibly can to restore peace and security in the region as well as protect the currently targeted minority Muslim population within C.A.R. from the Christian Anti-Balaka militias. We recommend renewed economic ties with C.A.R. which were previously disrupted due to coups and hope to bring C.A.R. out of economic stagnation and stand by C.A.R.’s side as an ally, both politically, economically and in our hearts.

The roots of the humanitarian crisis lie in the turbulent history of C.A.R., beginning from its independence in 1960 from France with no adequate ‘easing-in’ process for the fledgling country. Due to inadequate leadership, C.A.R. suffered through coups, economic mismanagement under President David Dacko, violent internal conflicts and religious/ethnic tensions due to badly drawn borderlines and lack of national identity, which caused the prevalence of religious identity and ethnocentrism. In 2013, Seleka (Muslim rebel militia group) seized the capital Bangui and exiled the Christian President Francois Bozize, replacing him with a Muslim leader, Michael Djotodia, all the while looting, raping, pillaging and killing many Christians. In the security vacuum caused by the deposal of Bozize, anarchy reigned and the Christian majority of 83% of the population resented a Muslim leader. As a result, Christian militias were set up initially to protect themselves from the Muslim rebels, but later turned to revenge attacks and ethnic cleansing on the Muslim population, prompting a vast exodus and the humanitarian crisis we have today. All the current problems can be traced back to a few root causes; the hasty borderlines drawn which resulted in ethnic and religious tensions, no governing education after independence, economic mismanagement, self-serving interferences from France, Chad and Libya (during Gaddafi’s reign) and a lack of programs boosting multiethnic relations. If this crisis is not solved soon, the international community may be affected, with neighbouring countries like Chad bearing the brunt of refugees, as well as sparking anger on the African continent between religions and further destabilizing the surrounding area.

Past actions taken have included Security Council Resolution 2127 (2013) which authorised the deployment of MISCA (International Support Mission in the Central African Republic) to protect citizens, restore state authority and create conducive conditions for humanitarian support. A trust fund had been set up for MISCA which member states, international bodies and NGOs can contribute to. The Security Council also decided that for 1 year, all states are to prevent direct/indirect supply, sale and transfer of arms to the Central African Republic and the mandate for efforts headed by BINUCA (Integrated office of United Nations General) has been extended 1 year, allowing for more peacebuilding, national reconciliation, reconstruction and recovery. The UN World Food Programme has been involved in the wake of food shortages and insecurity and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees as well as the UN Commission on Human Rights have been documenting and reporting on human rights violations and the current refugee situation. Several NGOs have become involved as well, with Free the Children raising awareness of youth refuges and the use of child soldiers, Action Against Hunger which distributes a high protein food called Plumpy Nut to children in Bangui and over 200 NGOs from C.A.R. which are working internally to restore stability and rights.

Despite efforts, certain problems still exist; the tensions between Christians and Muslims must be addressed, Muslim refugees aided, international help is needed to help govern and assist the interim President Catherine Samba-Panza, the food shortage addressed and militias to be disbanded, disarmed and replaced with third party troops. The economy and poverty must be fixed and either a new national identity happens or the borders must be redrawn.

Libya proposes several solutions to restore peace and stability. Firstly, religious tensions must be addressed through positive media portrayals of inter-religious interactions and cultural exchange programs need to be set up to open the doors to communication and to dispel prejudices. The government cabinet would benefit from study of successful governing strategies and international experts in economic and political management could exchange ideas and aid the current C.A.R. cabinet. Since C.A.R.’s GDP is 55% dependent on agriculture, Libya and aid organizations could provide them with funding, seeds and farming equipment, but not distribute food too abundantly and freely among the populace as that would rob local farmers of incentive to sell and cause charity overreliance. Militias currently exist to protect a certain area and are often unregulated, allowing for many human rights violations, thus disarmament is crucial and more feasibly achieved once promised that a regulated third party (the UN troops) would do their job instead, thereby fulfilling security needs without militias. Should the Christians and Muslims continue to carry out ethnic cleansing and C.A.R.’s national identity is unable to be forged, a redrawing of state borders ought to be considered. Libya promises that if more Muslims seek exodus outside of the C.A.R., we would be happy to take them in and provide for them as well as pledging to help Chad in managing the refuge crisis by contributing funds.

As an age long ally of the Central African Republic, Libya will do all we can to restore peace and stability.

3. Implication for the Use of Drones

The past few years have seen a revolution in military design and strategy, aided by the invention and active usage of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) colloquially known as drones. With its diverse array of uses, from the civil and recreational to the military, drones remain a controversial and game changing gadget. Libya, having experienced drones attacks during the Libyan Civil War in 2011 and having had intense pressure from the U.S. to launch drones in our country both for reconnaissance reasons and for assassination purposes in the war against terrorism, is thoroughly opposed to the use of military drones which are armed and carry out targeted killings. We also object to foreign drones infiltrating our country in peace time and although we allowed U.S. reconnaissance drones into Benghazi, Libya in 2012 to search for the killers of U.S. ambassador Christopher Stevens, we recognize that it was an exceptional circumstance and do not approve of closing down our facilities (such as the airport closed down because of U.S. drones in the aforementioned case) for the sake of a foreign state’s intervention with our citizens.

Libya’s relationship with drones has changed through the ages; from gratitude at NATO drones toppling the dictator Muammar Gaddafi and allowing a democratic government spring up after decades of oppression to current reluctance for foreign drone intervention in a more stable state. We recognize the reason why foreign states deploy strikes here – to fight against the terrorist groups – but we see that their strategy of launching drones in our country is unreasonably intrusive to our state functions and security, may exacerbate terrorist activity and recruitment, demeans and delegitimizes our government which currently is at a very delicate position and violates our sovereignty. Libya’s government currently is in urgent need of support from our people and for diplomatic tactics meant to defuse the situation between us and the federalist rebels, therefore, by allowing foreign drones in which actively hunt down and kill certain Islamist groups in our predominantly Islamist country, we may foster even more internal strife and could cause a tipping point to another civil war which could further destabilize the surrounding area. Should Libya fall due to internal strife aided by unpopular drone policies, there is a dire economic situation as our oil (we are one of the largest producers of oil in Africa) will be squandered and terrorist/criminal activity will skyrocket in times of war. In addition, Libya, at an ideological level is opposed to the use of foreign drones as we see that drone use takes away the deterrent for starting a foreign war or launching pre-emptive strikes, because it’s financially and collaterally more feasible to launch attacks, leading to more recklessness and frequency of attacks.

Past actions that dealt with drones include the General Assembly resolution “Protection of Human rights & Fundamental Freedom while Countering Terrorism” (2013), signed by Libya which urged drone use to comply with international law, the Charter of Human rights and the principles of distinction and proportionality as well as ensuring accountability. Libya also closed off its airports and airspace to aid the U.S. in finding the killers of Christopher Stevens, U.S. Ambassador and temporarily allowed spy drones from the U.S. into our country.

We see that the root cause of drone use is that we have active terrorist groups like the Al Qaeda within our country and traveling between borders. We don’t approve nor support those terrorist groups, nor do we appreciate foreign intervention but we recognize that we don’t have enough resources to combat them ourselves or set up our own drone program. Accountability is also an issue, as is the legal justifications for each drone strike launched, the lack of a distinct line between “civilian”/“terrorist” and “guilty”/”innocent” as well as the issue of national sovereignty.

 To solve these problems, Libya proposes stricter international law regulations on the deployment of drones, especially deployment in foreign areas and urges each strike to have direct accountability to the highest offices of both countries for approval. Each strike must be at least 90% sure that the victim is a terrorist with a direct link to previous terrorism or imminent and certain future terrorist threat, thus the accidental killing of civilians will be cut down. We propose transparency among government offices about where the drones are deployed, who is being spied upon/killed and who approved of the action and if any of those principles were violated (civilians killed), the offending government is to issue a comprehensive and truthful report to the United Nations, the host country and the international media. Spy drones launched are to strictly gather information on terrorist activity only and are regulated to not spy on the host country’s government to preserve national security from other states and full disclosure of what information was gathered by spy drones are to be provided to the country being subjected to drone intervention. To solve the root problem of terrorism and in extension, cut down on the use of drones in our politically delicate area, we should install stricter border control policies as many supplies, weapons and jihadists regularly stream into our country from the east. International funding may be required to aid Libya’s own military and police forces, so that we can keep our citizens safe while still maintaining the image of national sovereignty without direct intervention from other nation states and the current jihadists need to be starved of weapons and supplies by the tackling of arms proliferation and the weapons black market in Libya and the surrounding countries through a better internal security system in Libya.

Libya has a long history with drones, but to gain international security and stability, we urge that foreign powers refrain from delegitimizing our government through drone intervention and that we take matters into our own hands for combating terrorism while be aided by the international community in terms of funding and supplies.