The stage is set for a great argument: in the grand finals of the 11th Nesta-SCMP Debating Competition, TWGHs Kap Yan Directors' College will face off against Ying Wa College.
In the semi-finals on February 16, Kap Yan defeated Hong Kong Chinese Women's Club College. The schools met at the Mariners' Club in Tsim Sha Tsui, with more than 180 students and teachers in attendance.
The motion of the debate was 'Hong Kong is taking care of its elderly', with Chinese Women's Club taking the affirmative and Kap Yan the negative. The debate was adjudicated by three native-English speaking teachers: Perry Bayer from CCC Ming Kei College, Tom Derbyshire of Stewards Pooi Kei College and Barbara Robson of St Antonius Girls' College.
Bayer praised both teams for their excellent preparation. 'All of them did a great job rebutting and showed that they knew the topic well,' he said. But the adjudicators felt the negative side was stronger in delivery and better able to connect with the audience.
'The difference between a good debater and a very good debater is the delivery,' Derbyshire said. 'A very good debater is able to get the audience to believe what he or she is saying.'
The negative side argued that the government was not doing enough: medical services are far from sufficient since the elderly must wait extremely long periods for treatment. Similarly, the waiting period for housing is very long. And the lack of a pension scheme created many woes for the city's elderly, they argued.