Story by Stephen Lin.

A former Queensland English Speech Competition winner, previously hosted by CQU, has been recruited by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in China.

Frank Sun last year visited CQU after his competition win. He took part in the CQ Multicultural Fair and featured in our local news. Since then, Franks has taken a position with the Foreign Ministry in Beijing.

Last week, he was thrilled to be part of the Chinese diplomatic team to receive Prime Minister John Howard, who had a stopover in Beijing on May 24.

“It's really exciting to see him in person. He's old, but he's full of energy. He even took a 30-minute walk after the long and tiring journey,” Frank observed.

“The Prime Minister’s whole entourage consists of only 18 people. And only 5 or 6 embassy staff have made the transit smooth. I really admire their efficiency and professionalism.

“The experience is unique and I enjoyed communicating and cooperating with Australian Federal Police and embassy staff. And I learnt quite a lot from my counterparts from the Australian embassy. They are very efficient”.

In the Foreign Ministry, Frank has had some truly interesting experiences. Last weekend, a senior Australian embassy official even taught him how to play golf during an event.

Frank is proud to work in the Ministry and to strengthen ties between the two countries. After working in Beijing for more than 18 months, he has enjoyed all it has to offer.

However, he also misses the friends he made at Central Queensland University and has kept regular email contact with some of the staff members and scholars.

A native of Shanghai, Frank jokingly said: “Shanghai is beautiful and Australia is paradise”.

Photo: supplied. Frank Sun is part of the welcoming committee for Prime Minister John Howard on his recent visit to Beijing.