The HK Prize is awarded to outstanding research conducted by Academy Fellows on any subject related to clinical practice and/or research in the specialties of medicine. It aims to encourage Academy Fellows to continue their research and develop their careers.
The prize money is sourced from the HKJC’s overall prize pool, which includes profits from bets, taxation and other expenses. It is also supplemented by a number of external sources. This year, the prize fund has risen by 5.25 per cent, with Group Two races increasing by 5.6 per cent to HK$4.75 million and Class Three contests advancing by 4.7 per cent to HK$3.15 million.
Races at 1600m and further will again carry a premium in prize money of 10% over contests over shorter distances next season, while the DBS x Manulife Million Challenge series will rise by HK$500,000 to HK$1.5 million. In addition, the Mark Six Lunar New Year snowball jackpot will be boosted to HK$188 million for a single winning unit.
Six artists have been shortlisted for the 2025 edition of Hong Kong’s Sigg Prize, a biennial award given to Asian art professionals. The winner will be announced in December 2025, with all shortlisted artists having their work showcased in a future exhibition at M+. The jury of the award, which is named after Swiss art collector Uli Sigg, was composed of international art figures such as Maria Balshaw, director of the Tate museums in London; Gong Yan, artistic director of the Power Station of Art in Shanghai; Mami Kataoka, director of Tokyo’s Mori Art Museum; Glenn D. Lowry, director of the Museum of Modern Art in New York; and Chinese artist Xu Bing.
US lawmakers from across party lines have nominated pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong for the Nobel peace prize, calling them “global inspirations in the face of a massive crackdown by Beijing”. In their letter to the Norwegian committee, the nine lawmakers cited estimates that more than 2 million people took part in protests on 16 June last year, making it one of the world’s largest mass demonstrations. They also noted that more democracy campaigners are expected to be convicted for their activism as Beijing’s National Security Law continues to be applied in the territory.
The winners will be honoured at a ceremony in Oslo on 10 December. They will be presented with a diploma and a gold medallion. Among the nominees is Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong, who has been detained since then on charges of subversion. He and his family have said he will fight the case.
The IPHS offers a number of awards at its biennial conferences to recognise excellence in scholarship on the history of East Asia. In addition, the IPHS has a Book Prize to honour exceptional academic works on Hong Kong studies. The current round of award winners can be found here. The next conference will take place at the University of Hong Kong in July 2024.