The Hong Kong Prize and the South China Morning Post
The Hong Kong Prize is one of the premier high school contests, rewarding academic achievements and extracurricular involvement with cash prizes and the opportunity to conduct scientific research at Hong Kong’s premier facilities – offering international exposure for their work.
The Hong Kong Students Prize recognizes students for artwork centered on the theme “Hong Kong: My Story” or “My Life”, to be displayed at the Hong Kong Museum of Fine Arts from February to March next year. Students entering this prize must first receive nomination from their teacher and follow entry instructions; it’s open to all secondary school students enrolled in Hong Kong with 20 student artworks selected as shortlist entries by an independent judging panel; one winning artwork will receive a Judges Prize awarding them with an amount equivalent to HK$8,000!
15 prominent professors from around the world signed an open letter sent to the Nobel Committee before its January 31 deadline, calling on it to award this year’s Peace Prize to five imprisoned Hong Kong pro-democracy activists who led last summer’s unprecedented 79-day street occupation and demanded democratic concessions from Beijing. Their peers likened these activists with past recipients such as Hitler critic Carl von Ossietzky, Soviet dissident Andrei Sakharov, Polish politician Lech Walesa and Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo; thus awarding it would demonstrate humanity’s highest moral ideals.
This year, the South China Morning Post took home six awards at the Newspaper Society’s Hong Kong News Awards, including first prize for Best News Writing (English) and first merit for a headline for an article on carers assisting elderly or seriously ill relatives at home. City desk reporter Fiona Sun won first place for her focus piece published in March 2023 while subeditor Sariwati Latif was honored with both awards.
Sammo Hung Kam-bo was honored with a lifetime achievement award, applauded for his many-sided work as an actor, producer and martial arts choreographer. At the ceremony he received a standing ovation. Actress Tong Ying-ching was another notable winner, taking home two awards for her performance as a police officer in Martial Law on television. Other award recipients include Hong Kong film producer Andy Lau and singer/songwriter Sammo Tong’s daughter Sita Tong as actress/singer/songwriters. This year’s event took place for the first time at the Wan Chai International Cultural Centre (ICC), designed to seat up to 1,000 guests and boasting state-of-the-art audio and lighting as well as an expansive screen for presentations and performances. According to event organisers, they hope that it can become Asia’s leading cultural venue, providing an ideal stage for local and international creative talents alike to show their work and promote themselves – over 500 guests attended its opening ceremony.