Speech by CS at Student of the Year Awards 2021/22 Presentation Ceremony (23.7.2022)
23.7.2022

​Following is the speech by the Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Chan Kwok-ki, at the Student of the Year Awards 2021/22 Presentation Ceremony today (July 23): Ms Catherine So (Chief Executive Officer of the South China Morning Post), Dr Gabriel Leung (Executive Director, Charities and Community (Designate) of The Hong Kong Jockey Club), parents, teachers, students, ladies and gentlemen, Good morning. It gives me great pleasure to take part in this year's Student of the Year Awards ceremony and to celebrate with you the 41st anniversary of such prestigious and meaningful awards. Today, we are commending the achievements of our secondary school students in nine categories. These include linguistics, science and mathematics, sports, visual and performing arts, community contributions and more. I am delighted to note that there are also two special awards for schools and mentors. They are the Most Nurturing Environment Award and the Mentorship Award. I must say I am very proud of the award recipients. I am equally proud of those who have played an important role in supporting and inspiring these promising youngsters. They include parents, teachers, mentors, friends and many others. "Together we grow and achieve" is the theme of this year's Awards. This is as much as a motto to our award recipients as it is to us. This is the attitude to adopt when we face the pandemic and the many other challenges in life. This speaks, too, of the remarkable resilience and determination that each award recipient has demonstrated to get to this notable point in their education and life. President Xi Jinping said in his important address on July 1 this year, and I quote, "Hong Kong will prosper only when its young people thrive; Hong Kong will develop only when its young people achieve well-rounded development; and Hong Kong will have a bright future only when its young people have good career prospects." This belief will form the basis of a comprehensive blueprint for youth development that this new-term Government is formulating at full steam. Different policy targets will be set for healthy and diverse youth development in studies, employment, entrepreneurship and housing. Our objective is to nurture Hong Kong young people to become citizens who are patriotic and with a positive outlook in life, a commitment to society, love for Hong Kong and global perspectives. And, as our award recipients embark on their journey to a promising future, I urge them to make the best use of the ample and unprecedented opportunities under the 14th Five-Year Plan, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area development and the Belt and Road Initiative. Ladies and gentlemen, I congratulate the award recipients on their achievements again. And my heartfelt thanks go to our teachers and schools for their full commitment to education and development of our youth. I also appreciate the two organisers, the South China Morning Post and The Hong Kong Jockey Club, for their big support to these awards for over four decades. With a can-do spirit, I have every confidence that our young people will bring Hong Kong to scale new heights in the years to come. Thank you very much. Ends/Saturday, July 23, 2022 Issued at HKT 14:14 NNNN