On October 18, the first round of the 2022 Consular Protection Sitcom Competition entitled "Motherland Backing You Up" was successfully held, and six works were selected as finalists from many entries.

Stories of consular protection on the stage have conveyed care for the people in foreign affairs. Since the competition was launched on July 29, it has gained wide attention from all walks of life, with participation from universities, enterprises, citizen groups, and individuals in and outside Beijing. From different perspectives, such as consular assistance, foreign-related security, fraud prevention, and foreign-related epidemic prevention and control, the entries reflected the work of consular protection, enabled the public and organizations to learn more about consular protection, improved their awareness and ability of overseas security risk prevention, and indicated the determination of those working for consular protection.

The jury reviewed the entries one by one and commented on various aspects including the themes, repertoire arrangements, performance skills, and stage effects. Six works, including The Signal That Never Disappears and The Faraway Home, were finally selected as finalists.

 Zhao Jinghui                                                        Wang Weinian

     Xu Lijiao                                                                Zhao Liancheng

Evaluation by the expert panel

The Consular Protection Sitcom Competition entitled "The Motherland Backing You Up" was jointly hosted by the Foreign Affairs Office of the People's Government of Beijing Municipality, the Capital Civic Enhancement Committee Office, the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism, and the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the People's Government of Beijing Municipality, and guided by the Department of Consular Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Consular Protection Sitcom Competition is one of the flagship events of the consular protection work in Beijing, aiming to promote and popularize consular protection knowledge through sitcom performances close to citizens' lives. Since it was first held in 2017, many excellent sitcom plays which are informative, artistic and relatable have emerged. Thanks to these works, Beijing citizens and enterprises have paid more attention to consular protection, learned about relevant knowledge, and effectively improved their awareness and ability to prevent overseas risks.

Before the final competition, the organizing committee invited experts to help the finalist teams, to enrich their professional knowledge of consular protection, and to give them artistic training in lines, acting, and stage performance. The purpose is to enhance the professionalism of their works, improve the performance of actors and amplify the artistic effect.

Let's look forward to the wonderful performance of the finalist teams in the final competition!