Autor: Francis Lee

Francis Lee received both English and Chinese education from childhood, and excelled in both. When he left Hong Kong for Australia at the age of sixteen he already had a perfect command of English grammar, and as an evidence of his gift in languages – earlier in that year he had achieved a top 1% placing in an all-Hong Kong junior high school students essay competition (in Chinese). In Australia Francis completed his high school studies and entered Sydney University, graduating with honours in civil engineering. His knowledge of the two languages continued to provide him with deep insights into the peculiarities of the English language. He became an official translator of the New South Wales government and later achieved full translation qualifications with NAATI (National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters). While working as an engineer, Francis continued to complete a Master Degree in the University of New South Wales, winning the Senior Prize in Civil Engineering upon graduation. He progressed through being a design engineer of Public Works Department to becoming its Environmental Engineer. Francis’ interest in languages prompted him to take up casual broadcasting. In 1993 he followed his heart and left the engineering profession to become the head of the Chinese Cantonese broadcasting group with SBS Radio – Australian government’s national broadcaster. He continued to pursue and further his skills in both languages. He introduced an English educational series in his broadcasts which entailed more rigorous research into the English language. The popularity of those segments led him to publish two bilingual essay collections: English Idioms – a cultural fascination and English Idioms – under the lucky stars. Not long ago he published his autobiography Out of Bounds: Journey of a migrant (in English, with a Chinese version as well). Following his retirement from SBS he was invited back to publish a weekly blog and present a weekly talk segment on English grammar. His works are mentioned in a website: www.universebooks.net For over twenty years Francis has dedicated much energy in promoting the two languages of his passion. He has been invited on many occasions to give talks covering subjects such as English usage, recital, public speaking, broadcasting and translation. He has been the head judge for the youth awards (English oration) of two Lions Clubs in Sydney many times since 2008, and a judge for the all-Australia Chinese Eisteddfod (student recital) since 1991. Francis is a current member of Alexandria Creative Writing Group. He was the founding chairman of Asian Media Council of Australia, former Vice-President of Sydney Chinese Writers Association and former President of Australian Chinese Forum. He was awarded the Order of Australia (OAM) on Australia Day 2004 for outstanding service to Society.