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Zheng Bo

A participant in the inaugural Shanghai International Debate Open 2014. Motions ranged from whether police should bear arms to whether ransoms should be paid to terrorists for the release of hostages.

Parliamentary-style debates take off in China — even if some topics are off limits

Culture

You may not expect to find government versus opposition debates among school kids in a one-party state. But these debate contests are part of a plan to instill independent thinking in young Chinese who will have to compete in a global market.

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