The South China Morning Post bagged 12 awards, including the top prize in Best Scoop, at the Hong Kong News Awards 2024. Senior reporter Edith Lin and news editor Jeffie Lam of the City desk secured first place for their investigative work exposing unauthorised structures attached to luxury properties. They were joined by journalist Sammy Heung, who scooped third prize in Best Science News Reporting.
The Hong Kong prize was established in 2015 by property tycoon Lui Che-woo with the aim of advancing world civilisation and inspiring people to build a more harmonious society. It is given in three categories: sustainability; welfare betterment; and positive energy (or the promotion of a life-enhancing outlook). Laureates receive HK$20 million, significantly more than the Nobel prize winners receive.
In the past year, hundreds and even thousands of Hong Kong residents and mainland Chinese tourists or students were attacked by anti-government protesters. Many public facilities like subway stations, traffic lights and street lamps were also vandalised. Police officers were sometimes even attacked and injured by rioters. During most protests last year, a person holding different political opinions to the protesters would be in grave danger or may even be seriously hurt by rioters.
This is why it is important for our media to expose such issues and not to give the wrong impression of the situation in Hong Kong. However, in a recent comment on Sina Weibo, former judge and judicial supervisor Cheung Ka-hong accused the Pulitzer Prize of violating basic law articles 25 and 38, as it awarded the prize to photos that stigmatised and smeared the Chinese government and Hong Kong police.
The winner of the Best Breaking News Photography award was Reuters photographer Alastair Cook, who captured a scene of a bleeding protester in Mong Kok being hit by a masked police officer with a hammer. The incident occurred on November 11, 2019, during one of the largest protests in Hong Kong that year. According to the official website of the prize, it is a “remarkable and significant photo” that shows the brutality of police force during the protests.
This year’s Yidan Prize Laureates will be presented at a ceremony in Hong Kong on 8 December, where leaders from education, policy-making and philanthropy will come together to explore the importance of resilience in education. The event will also feature a Summit on 9 December, bringing together key influencers from Hong Kong and overseas to discuss the future of education.
The Hong Kong Science Museum and the Shaw Foundation are presenting a series of interactive exhibits to showcase this year’s Shaw Prize Laureates’ research journeys. Discover their groundbreaking discoveries and learn about the path that led to them winning this prestigious international prize, which is considered as the “Oscars of the Science world”.