Top Chinese university debaters will get a chance to make their point in the English language and win the motion with a new program.

Eighteen debaters who won medals at the 17th FLTRP Cup National English Language Debating Competition, which concluded on Saturday, will be sent to three top international debates next year.

The initiative is part of a joint plan with financial support from the Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press Culture and Education Funds. The funds were established by the FLTRP and the China Soong Ching Ling Foundation in May.

Three of the 18 debaters will participate in the World English Language Debating Competition in December; 12 will take part in an Asia University Debate next May and 3 will go to Australia to debate in July.

The debaters will be able to immerse themselves in an English-speaking environment during the debates.

The National English Language Debating Competition is popular among university students, said Jing Dunquan, vice-chairman of Song Qingling Foundation.

The competition is spread over five months and involves debaters from more than 400 universities.