The Casio English-Chinese Translation Competition announced prize winners in its contest late last month but, surprisingly, no first prize was awarded. The judging panel said that none of the entries submitted was worthy of the honor of winning the top prize… Possibly even more astonishing was that second prize went to a 39-year-old Singaporean translator, Shaun Yeo… Yeo’s win distressingly reflects that the supply of qualified young translators is dwindling in China even as the country’s demand for translators is on the rise. According to Shanghai Translation Publishing House, the translation industry has witnessed an upsurge in the number of companies, with more than 3,000 operating on the Chinese mainland. The number could be closer to 10,000, as many small companies registered as consultancies actually conduct translations. However, the translator’s craft has suffered from a lack of advanced translation professionals. Although there are 60,000 professional translators and interpreters throughout the country, and at least 500,000 people engaged in translation work, it still doesn’t meet demand. By 2005, there will be a 20 billion yuan (US$2.41 billion) translation market in China, experts say.

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