Hong Kong Prize is one of Asia’s premier high school contests, recognizing academic achievement and extracurricular participation. Its finalists receive not only monetary awards, but also have the opportunity to travel and gain international exposure for their work. However, like any competition, it’s crucial to read the rules and regulations carefully before submitting an entry.
The winners of the 2023 Hong Kong Prize were announced at a ceremony yesterday. Among the notable achievements were a sweep of awards for the film The Goldfinger, which won best director, actress and screenplay, and the drama Broad Daylight, which won best actress for Rachel Lee. Also, mystery thriller Mad Fate won best supporting actor for Melvin Lai and best costume design for Yvette Rees.
Another highlight of the ceremony was a presentation by two scientists who won this year’s BOCHK Science and Technology Innovation Prize. Life Sciences and Medicine Selection Committee chair Bonnie Bassler said that the research of Thein Swee Lay and Stuart Orkin “exemplifies how basic discovery, disease research and translational medicine can translate into transformative therapies”. Thein’s work found that altering a gene could reactivate fetal haemoglobin production and reduce or eliminate the need for blood transfusion, while Orkin’s findings led to the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of two sickle cell treatments.
Other winners included copy editor James Cook, who took home first runner-up in the News Reporting category for his piece highlighting Hong Kong’s efforts to encourage electric vehicles. He was also named second runner-up in the Best News Page Design (series) category. The news department also won the first runner-up and second runner-up in the News Writing category, with Li Bingcun taking home the latter for her articles tackling issues such as cross-border organ transplantation and fertility perseveration.
Founded in 2018, the Hong Kong Prize is an independent, merit-based award programme that recognises scientific and technological innovation achievements of researchers in Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area with the potential to make significant impacts on society. It is open to scientists worldwide and selected through an impartial process without sponsorship or committee influence. This ensures a fair and objective evaluation of candidates’ research achievements, the transformation of those discoveries and the social or economic impact that they have created. The winning scientists will be awarded a cash prize and their work will be showcased globally. This year, five Hongkongers were nominated for the prize, including activists and filmmaker Jimmy Lai. During the awards ceremony, chief executive officer Eric Chan Kwok-ki and Dr Gabriel Leung, executive director of charities and community of the Hong Kong Jockey Club, which solely sponsors the prize, urged the winners to empower others. “Where the youth thrives, the nation will thrive,” Leung said. “You have demonstrated this in spades.” — By Joshua Wong for the HKIA – HK Weekly.