Debate Competition | 2025 Judicial Reform Cup National High School and Vocational School Debate Competition

Over the past two years, the Taichung Office of the Judicial Reform Foundation, alongside the Chinese Debate Promotion Association (CDPA), the Taichung Municipal Wen-Hua Senior High School Debate Club, the Taichung Bar Association, the Changhua Bar Association, and the Nantou Bar Association, has jointly organized the Judicial Reform Cup National Inter-High School Debate Competition. Through the format of debate, high school students are introduced to and encouraged to discuss judicial human rights issues of concern to the JRF. This has not only received high praise from high school debate competitors but has also provided us with diverse perspectives for reflecting on these issues.

In recent years, we have actively monitored changes in power structures—such as those affecting people's rights and the boundaries of public authority—brought about by the rapid digitalization of public and private sectors. At the core of these shifting power structures is the public's understanding of "digital privacy" in the digital age. Privacy is a prerequisite for defending individual freedom of development and collective democratic coexistence in the digital age. We hope to provide Taiwanese youth with the opportunity for deep critical thinking regarding privacy and digital democracy, thereby sparking new-generation citizens' thoughts and actions on how to jointly build a democratically symbiotic society in a new technological environment.

To this end, the [2025 Judicial Reform Cup National High School and Vocational School Debate Competition] features the motion "Real-name registration on the internet brings more advantages than disadvantages to Taiwanese society / Real-name registration on the internet brings more disadvantages than advantages to Taiwanese society." In response to the debate community's expectations for tournaments concerning judicial human rights issues, the capacity has been expanded to accommodate 24 teams. We hope the 2025 Judicial Reform Cup will once again foster greater dialogue and critical thinking.

View Tournament Records

Eligible Participants

Students currently enrolled in national high schools, vocational schools, and years 1 to 3 of five-year junior colleges.

Venue

• July 26th Preliminaries and Quarterfinals: Taichung Municipal Taichung Girls' Senior High School (No. 95, Sec. 1, Ziyou Rd., West Dist., Taichung City)
• July 27th Semifinals and Finals: Taichung Bar Association (32F., No. 218, Sec. 2, Taiwan Blvd., West Dist., Taichung City)

Dates

• Competition Dates: Saturday, July 26, 2025 to Sunday, July 27, 2025
• First Team Leaders' Meeting: Held online on Saturday, May 24, 2025, at 19:00; meeting link to be announced separately. Agenda includes drawing for tournament brackets, motion clarifications, and administrative announcements.
• Second Team Leaders' Meeting: Held online on Friday, July 25, 2025, at 19:30; meeting link to be announced separately.

Competition Format

Modified Oregon Four-Four-Four system, with the negative side always delivering the concluding speech first.

Competition Motion

"Real-name registration on the internet brings more advantages than disadvantages to Taiwanese society / Real-name registration on the internet brings more disadvantages than advantages to Taiwanese society"

Team Formation and Admission Method

• The maximum number of participating teams for this competition is 24.
• Registration is based on schools, with a limit of 1 team per school, 1 team leader per team, and a maximum of 6 debaters. Debaters may also serve as team leaders.
• The organizer, Taichung Municipal Taichung Girls' Senior High School, and partner organization, Taichung Municipal Wen-Hua Senior High School, will each reserve one guaranteed entry slot. Admission rules prioritize schools from the central region (Taichung City, Miaoli County, Changhua County, Nantou County, and Yunlin County), with remaining slots admitted on a first-come, first-served basis.

Registration Method

• No registration fee; a deposit of NT$1,500 per team is required, which will be returned after the participating team fully completes the event activities.
• Registration Period: From 21:30 on Friday, March 28, 2025, to 22:00 on Tuesday, April 1, 2025.
• Schools and teams wishing to participate should fill out the online registration form, which requires: email address, school name, team leader's name, and team leader's phone number.
• The tournament committee will announce the list of accepted and waitlisted schools before 22:00 on Thursday, April 3, 2025.
  Accepted schools must complete the wire transfer and email the last 5 digits of the transfer account (not the transaction serial number) to cdpa.tw@gmail.com before 22:00 on Wednesday, April 9, 2025. Registration is complete only after confirmation by the committee.
  • Deposit: NT$1,500 even
  • Deposit Bank: CTBC Bank, Songshan Branch (822)
  • Account Name: Chinese Debate Promotion Association
  • Account Number: 4955-4044-6072

Prizes and Awards

• Team Awards:
  • Champion: Cash prize of NT$8,000 and one trophy
  • Runner-up: Cash prize of NT$5,000 and one trophy
  • Third Place: Two teams, each receiving a cash prize of NT$3,000 and one trophy
• Individual Awards:
  • Best Debater (one person): Cash prize of NT$2,000 and one trophy
• Teams that successfully advance to the final match in this tournament will receive guaranteed priority admission when registering for the next Judicial Reform Cup.

Deposit Guidelines

If participating teams violate any of the following regulations, their deposit will not be returned or will be partially deducted:

• Teams that withdraw from the competition before the first team leaders' meeting on Saturday, May 24, 2025, will have NT$500 deducted from their deposit; teams that withdraw after the first team leaders' meeting will forfeit their full deposit.
• All participating teams must send representatives to attend the first and second team leaders' meetings; proxy attendance is not permitted. Being late by less than 10 minutes will result in a NT$300 deduction from the deposit; being late by more than 10 minutes will be considered failure to attend, and the committee will deduct NT$500 from the deposit.
• All participating teams must send 3 or more members to attend the final match and the closing ceremony. Attendees must be members registered on the debater roster. Being late by less than 10 minutes will result in a NT$300 deduction from the deposit; being late by more than 10 minutes will be considered failure to attend, and the committee will deduct NT$500 from the deposit.
• All participating teams must participate in all scheduled match rounds throughout the event; failure to compete will result in the committee forfeiting the full deposit.
• All participating teams must claim their deposit from the committee on the final day of the event. Failure to claim the deposit within 5 days after the end of the event will result in forfeiture of the full deposit.
• Teams confirmed by the committee to have used altered or forged data during the competition will forfeit their full deposit.
• For other violations of competition rules requiring a deposit deduction, the amount will be decided by the committee based on the severity of the circumstances.
• For other major incidents disrupting the competition or committee operations, the amount will be decided by the committee based on the severity of the circumstances.

Image Authorization

Debaters and team leaders who register to participate are deemed to have authorized and consented to the organizer and partner organizations taking photographs and recordings of the competition activities during the team leaders' meetings and formal matches. Such audiovisual and image materials will be used for archival preservation, outcome presentation, and event promotion.

Reference Materials

Brochure for the 2025 Judicial Reform Cup National High School and Vocational School Debate Competition

Organizer

Taichung Office of the Judicial Reform Foundation, Chinese Debate Promotion Association (CDPA), Taichung Municipal Taichung Girls' Senior High School Debate Club

Partner Organizations

Taichung Bar Association, Changhua Bar Association, Nantou Bar Association, Taichung Municipal Wen-Hua Senior High School Debate Club

Supervising Agency

Taiwan Network Information Center (TWNIC)