Top 10 young achievers cut back to six
THE search for Hong Kong's 10 Outstanding Young Persons of 1998 was quietly halted at just six yesterday - because organisers couldn't find another four deserving candidates.
The recipients were Canto-pop singers Jacky Cheung Hok-yau and Leon Lai Ming, pharmacist Scarlett Pong Io-lan, lawyer and youth worker Kennedy Wong Ying-ho, musician Victor Chan Wai-kwong and surgeon Dr Samuel Kwok Po-yin.
The Hong Kong Junior Chamber has long struggled to find 10 stand-out performers aged under 40. Last year, eight people were named. In 1996 only six could be found and, during the bleak 1970s, the number once dipped to five.
Selection committee chairman Dr Thomas Ip said stringent criteria had led to the low number, chosen from just over 50 nominations.
'We won't award all 10 if there are not enough suitable candidates,' said Junior Chamber member Wendy Pang Suk-han. 'They seem to be less involved in social service this year.
'But the title - 10 Outstanding Young Persons - won't be changed because of that,' she added.
Candidates were judged on achievement in one of four categories - culture and art, entertainment, professional and civic-social services.
Two were chosen from the entertainment world, because each of the Canto-pop singers had different achievements, Ms Pang said.
Secretary for Justice Elsie Leung Oi-sie will present the awards at the Convention Centre extension on November 7.
