Press Release April 4, 2008.

South Orange NJ, March 29, 2008 – The New Jersey Chinese Cultural Studies Foundation (NJCCSF) and the Asian Studies Department of Seton Hall University hosted the 2^nd Chinese Cultural Project Contest at the University’s Jubilee Hall. The purpose of contest is to promote the understanding and appreciation of Chinese culture and heritage.

The contest “Beijing 2008 Olympic Games – the Impact on China” attracted over 20 entries from New Jersey high schools and colleges. From this pool of entries, 3 high school teams were invited to compete for the top three prizes at the high school level, while teams from another 2 high schools received honorable mentions. At the college level, a team from Seton Hall University was selected to present. The judges at the final competition were Professor Richard Simmons of Rutgers University, Professor Edwin Leung of Seton Hall University and Ms Mali Ou of Watchung Hills Regional High School.

Edward Wang, 11^th Grader - (Team Lead), Yujie Chang, 11^th Grader and Sijia Zhao, 11^th Grader representing Hopewell Valley Central High School and Yinghua Chinese Language School won the first prize of $1,000 and a trophy.

12th Grade Honor English Class with Team Lead Rose Landolfi, representing Lacey Township won the second prize of $600 and a trophy.

Frances Chan, 9th Grader - (Team Lead) and Grace Dong, 9th Grader, representing West Windsor – Plainsboro High School North won the third prize of $300 and a trophy.

At the college level, Dharak Bhavsar (Team Leader, Sophomore), David Millar (Sophomore) and Christopher Wu (Sophomore) representing Seton Hall University won the first prize of $1,000 and a trophy.

The teams from Toms River and Verona High Schools received Outstanding Award.

Kelvin Yu, Chairman of NJCCSF, indicated, ” The high school and college students have put a lot of efforts in researching the topic and presented balanced conclusions on both the positive and negative impacts of the 2008 Olympics on China, in the areas of economy, politics and culture.”

NJCCSF is a not for profit organization dedicated to promoting Chinese culture in New Jersey. It supports many Chinese cultural projects in the state through grants and sponsorships. For more information on NJCCSF, please visit www.njccsf-info.org or call contact Kelvin Yu at 609-647-4844 or njccsf@gmail.com.