Stewards Pooi Kei College (SPKC) edged out home team Kwok Tak Seng Secondary School (KTSSS) in the fourth round of the Nesta-SCMP Inter-School Debating Competition earlier this week. The motion was: fung shui is a waste of time and money.
Both teams performed well in the 25-minute, three-round contest on Wednesday, which was won by SPKC who argued that fung shui is a philosophical pillar of Chinese culture. KTSSS' stand that fung shui was simply repackaged common sense did not win them the debate, but team anchor Vincent Tso claimed the runner-up prize in the best speaker category.
Team anchor Dennis Ng Wai-hei of SPKC won the best speaker award. Dennis' team argued strongly that fung shui has been a great influence throughout Chinese history and culture. Teammate and first speaker Ronny Au Long-yee pointed out its legacy from room layout to city planning, while taking the moral high ground that no one should condemn another's belief.
Second speaker Matthew Lo Kin-wing argued that fung shui led to the preservation of forests on the mainland, adding that its philosophy of balance and harmony was a welcoming message in a world ravaged by war and violence.
The final blow was delivered by Dennis in his team's final delivery, which was 'very destructive of the negative's case', according to debate adjudicator Perry Bayer, a teacher at CCC Ming Kei College.
'The affirmative's job is to build up the case and the negatives really have to destroy it. They [SPKC] had a good destroyer in Dennis. Very folksy, very dynamic when he came out,' Bayer said.
