Tianjin teacher's Burmese proficiency aids quake rescue

When a powerful 7.9 magnitude earthquake struck Myanmar on Friday, Cao Lei, a Myanmar language teacher in China, quickly volunteered to translate distress messages, helping relay critical information to rescue teams.

"After the earthquake, many Chinese rescue workers struggled to quickly and accurately understand Myanmar language distress messages from those affected in Myanmar," said Cao, who teaches at Tianjin Foreign Studies University. "Prompt translation improves rescue efficiency and helps victims escape more swiftly."

In response, Myanmar language students and faculty from Beijing Language and Culture University formed an emergency language service group. They translated online distress messages into Chinese, marked key details on a map and shared it with rescue teams.