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Talented budding writers have won a secondary school creative writing competition which aimed to raise students' interest in Chinese literature.

The competition, organised by the Hong Kong Arts Development Council and Education Department, was divided into three  categories with different themes for different forms.

More than 1,500 students  took part.

The School Award went to Ning Po College, for its 38 entries.

Hsu Li-fei, 15, was the champion of the junior prosesection. She wrote a story about death and old age but with an optimistic message.

The third former from Belilios Public School  said she seldom wrote prose or  took part in competitions. She was so surprised to have won  her first writing competition.

Li-fei  said the best way to write good  prose was to observe and  sympathise with others.

'Each time  I come across something, I put it in my heart and think about it. I have to get into it before I am able to write about it,' she said.

She hoped to encourage people to be able to face grief bravely and that people would be affected positively by her writing.

Winner of the news features  section was Kong Hiu-fai, 17, a fifth former at LST Leung Chik       Wai Memorial School.

His writing examined the earthquake in Taiwan last September.

When he was writing the  piece, he could not help but think of the victims who died a tragic death. Although he said he was not good at expressing himself, he felt things keenly.

According to Hiu-fai, a good piece of work needed four elements: feeling, information, experience and imagination.

Someone could write with only three or two of the elements, but the work would be flawed, he said.

The 17-year-old had already set his sights on taking up writ ing as a career. He wants to be a good writer and pledged that he would work hard  to fulfil his ambitions.

Winner of the senior session Thomas Wong Ho-wai, 18, wrote his  piece while revising for the Hong Kong Advanced Level Examination last December.

His story  focused on the relationship between a father and his autistic son after the death of the wife, the boy's mother. Ho- wai said that sometimes people could only communicate when they were forced to do so.

After winning the prize, Ho- wai thanked his Chinese literature teacher at Ning Po College for her encouragement.

'My patient teachers and open-minded parents encouraged me to create and write. I think support from family is very important,' he said.

The seventh former hopes to go on to study Chinese at university.



Competition unearths talented writers