Twins to double as legal eagles

In what must surely be a first of a kind in the academic history of Hong Kong, identical twins have won identical awards - to pursue their more or less identical dreams for the good of Hong Kong.

Maggie Lo Hoi-yan and Cindy Lo Hoi-yee, 19, are among six outstanding students who have won the Prince Philip Scholarship 1996 to study at Cambridge University, Britain.

The girls, students of Ying Wa Girls' School, will study law with a view to helping Hong Kong steer its way through the many legal complexities they foresee when the territory returns to China next year.

The twins said they chose law because they believed a well-defined legal system was very important for Hong Kong after 1997, and that the territory would need the backing of a strong army of well-trained, highly professional lawyers.

'We have to expect a few contradictions between the Common Law and the Basic Law,' Cindy said. 'That can't be avoided. But we must face the problems and difficulties, and sort them out.' Her sister Maggie said: 'We are coming back to help create a clear and properly interpreted legal system here that would inspire confidence in both foreign countries and in the Hong Kong people.' The other scholarship winners are Benjamin Yau Shiu-bun, Amy Ho Yee-wing, Bianca Law Ho-yan and Terence Leung Ho-yin.

The scholars, who range in age from 18 to 19, were chosen from a pool of 35 students who had applied for the award. The scholarships will cover three to four years of tuition fees for their undergraduate degree courses and a round-trip ticket from Britain to Hong Kong in their first year of studies.