Young students show their vast potential in promoting the world’s understanding of China with their extraordinary works of journalism.

Participants in the 2022 Campus News Awards pose for a group photo with guests of honor and judges at the awards presentation ceremony at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre on Thursday.  (CALVIN NG AND ANDY CHONG / CHINA DAILY)

The 2022 Campus News Awards has seen a record number of entries and participants, with students from the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan gathering in Hong Kong to celebrate the awards’ 11th anniversary.

The annual event, launched by China Daily Hong Kong in 2012, this year received nearly 1,000 entries, the most ever in its history, from over 3,000 participants from 62 universities, also the highest number of institutions ever to participate, from across the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan.

This year has seen a remarkable increase in new media news productions. Nearly one-third of the entries were focused on the struggles of grassroots people and their touching stories during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Ten institutions from Taiwan participated in this year’s competition, which was three times the number in the previous year. Entries from Taiwan increased by 25 percent. Over 20 teachers and students from Taiwan also attended Thursday’s awards ceremony.

The competition this year set 26 awards categories, including English-language and Chinese-language news reporting, feature writing, business news reporting, arts and culture news reporting, tech news reporting, news video reporting, new media reporting, and news photography. To keep up with the times, a new prize category was added this year, for Best in Data Journalism. 

Chief Secretary for Administration Eric Chan Kwok-ki delivers the keynote address at the awards ceremony of the 2022 Campus News Awards, organized by China Daily. (CALVIN NG AND ANDY CHONG / CHINA DAILY)

Addressing the ceremony, Chief Secretary for Administration Eric Chan Kwok-ki said the competition provides an important platform for journalism students to actively participate in news reporting, exercise their abilities in news writing and multimedia production, and promote social progress with high-quality work.

In the future, Chan said he hopes media workers can shoulder their social responsibilities and continue to tell good Chinese stories.

Zhou Li, the deputy editor-in-chief of China Daily Group as well as the publisher and editor-in-chief of China Daily Asia Pacific, said the competition provides good opportunities for students to put their journalistic knowledge into practice and foster communication with other outstanding young talent from different cultural backgrounds. 

Chief Secretary for Administration Eric Chan Kwok-ki (right) and Zhou Li (left), deputy editor-in-chief of China Daily Group and publisher and editor-in-chief of China Daily Asia Pacific, present the Best in News Reporting award to the winners from the Chinese University of Hong Kong. (CALVIN NG AND ANDY CHONG / CHINA DAILY)

Alice Mak Mei-kuen (first left), secretary for home and youth affairs; Lin Nan (second right), deputy director of the publicity, culture and sports department of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the HKSAR; and Alexander Wai Ping-kong (first right), president and vice-chancellor of Hong Kong Baptist University; present the Best in News Writing award to a Shih Hsin University representative. (CALVIN NG AND ANDY CHONG / CHINA DAILY)

He noted that some of the award-winning news works were produced to a highly professional standard, whether in terms of topic selection or production skills.

Linda Choy Siu-min, corporate affairs and branding director for MTR Corporation, served as a judge for the Best in New Media Reporting prize. She found that many of the news works were very insightful and many of the reports included in-depth data analysis.

She said she found that many entries were focused on the touching stories that have taken place in local communities during the pandemic. She said she hopes the students will continue to care for their neighboring communities and the people around them, and to create good works.

Students use the 2022 Campus News Awards ceremony as an opportunity to build stronger bonds with their peers. Students take a selfie at the awards presentation ceremony at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. (CALVIN NG AND ANDY CHONG / CHINA DAILY)

Lim Chi-yuk, an associate professor in the Department of Journalism at Taiwan’s Shih Hsin University, led six Taiwan students to bag multiple awards in this year’s competition.

She said the protracted pandemic has posed challenges in the creation of news works. The students conducted online interviews and adopted other flexible measures to overcome difficulties and produce high-quality reports. 

Lin Po-chun, a senior student from the Shih Hsin University, won second runner-up in the Best in News Photography category, with three photos showcasing a Taiwan artist carving patterns onto rice grains.

Students use the 2022 Campus News Awards ceremony as an opportunity to build stronger bonds with their peers. They pose with their award certificates and winning entrie. (CALVIN NG AND ANDY CHONG / CHINA DAILY)

Students use the 2022 Campus News Awards ceremony as an opportunity to build stronger bonds with their peers. They pose with their award certificates and winning entrie. (CALVIN NG AND ANDY CHONG / CHINA DAILY)

He said that news photography uses images to present stories instead of words. It is much different from producing written reports. He said he invested a lot of effort into presenting his news story through a few photos. In the future, he hopes to take more great photos to record the pulse and development of the era.

Xie Yiqi, a postgraduate student from the Chinese mainland, won second runner-up in the Best in Arts and Culture News Reporting in English category, with a news report about autism among youngsters. She said that through the competition, she has been able to raise social awareness about autism and the career prospects available to sufferers.

Students use the 2022 Campus News Awards ceremony as an opportunity to build stronger bonds with their peers. Some wear their graduation gowns to record the meaningful achievement. (CALVIN NG AND ANDY CHONG / CHINA DAILY)

She added that cultural and arts reports can draw the public’s attention to cultural issues that would otherwise go ignored by society. In terms of cultural relics, traditional craftsmanship, and traditional operas, there is a rich variety of content worthy of exploring and reporting on, she said.

Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs Alice Mak Mei-kuen and Director of Information Services Fletch Chan Wai-wai also attended the ceremony and presented awards to the winners. 

Launched in 2012, the competition is a significant platform for communication between journalism students in the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan. It encourages university students to participate in news reporting and hone their skills in news writing and multimedia storytelling. 

Contact the writer at lindaxi@chinadailyhk.com