The “21st Century Cup” National English Speaking Competition drew to a successful close in its seventh Hong Kong regional final on Saturday, with guests at the awards ceremony praising the competition for offering young minds a global prospective, and deepening ties with their Chinese mainland peers.
This year, the regional contest, organized by China Daily and VDO English - the education arm of China Daily Hong Kong, attracted over 1,200 students from around 200 schools across the special administrative region.
Following the finals held on Saturday morning, contestants and their parents and teachers, as well as leading representatives of the local education, commercial and media sectors, turned up at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre in the afternoon for the award ceremony.
This year’s competition covered six categories, ranging from kindergarten children to university students.
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It also featured a fresh invitational contest, with about 150 mainland students coming to Hong Kong to compete while embarking on a three-day cultural exploration in the city and having valuable interactions with their Hong Kong counterparts. Nine winners of the invitational contest joined an exhibition session on Saturday’s finals to showcase their speech skills.
A total of 34 finalists were awarded prizes, including Singh Harpreet from The University of Hong Kong who topped the university category; Lew Ching-nam, a student from ELCHK Lutheran Academy who won in the senior secondary school category; as well as So Yu-hang of Ying Wa Primary School, who topped the senior primary school category.
Speaking at the ceremony, Cheuk Wing-hing, deputy chief secretary for administration of the HKSAR, called the competition an extraordinary program designed to nurture student talent and deepen their connections with their peers from across the nation.
He said the unique opportunities provided by the competition have enabled students to engage in meaningful exchanges with their counterparts from various mainland cities. These interactions have not only nurtured friendships but also strengthened participants’ appreciation for the country’s remarkable achievements in science, innovation, technology and the humanities.
The contest also offered students a global perspective, a lifelong passion for learning and a positive mindset, Cheuk said.
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He firmly believes that through their participation, budding talents would become excellent storytellers, narrating not only the successes of Hong Kong but also the greatness of the principle of “one country, two systems”.
In his welcome remarks, Zhou Li, deputy editor-in-chief of China Daily Group, and publisher and editor-in-chief of China Daily Hong Kong Edition, said the regional contest has scaled new heights in its seventh year with unprecedented participation from the university category, adding that the introduction of the kindergarten category last year has proven to be a resounding success.
Zhou said the invitational contest, held for the first time this year, has built a fantastic bridge to further solidify exchanges between Hong Kong and mainland students.
Huang Jingrui, spokesperson and director-general of the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the HKSAR, praised the students’ excellent performance, saying he was inspired by the younger generation’s energy.
Huang, who was a judge in the competition, urged Hong Kong students to maintain their advantages in the English language, and hopes the contest could encourage more local students to learn English well and tell Hong Kong stories better in English.
Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs Alice Mak Mei-kuen said the contest is a great opportunity for students to increase their confidence, which is helpful for students as they grow up.
Under Secretary for Education Sze Chun-fai said he was impressed by the students’ sharing of their continuous improvement from past experience.
He said the SAR’s biliterate and trilingual language policy enables Cantonese, Mandarin and English to be highly valued in school education, and the competition has given students a good chance to improve their English language speaking ability, which is of great significance.
This year’s champion of the university category will represent the SAR in the National Grand Final scheduled for later this year in the mainland. Winners of other categories will also have the opportunity to participate the Elite National English Speaking Exchange Program and various study tours.
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Launched in 1996, the “21st Century Cup” National English Speaking Competition aims to build up students’ English-speaking abilities, cultivate their innovative spirit and expand their international perspectives. The Hong Kong regional competition made its debut in 2017.
The nationwide competition attracts an average of more than one million participants from around the country each year.
