Hong Kong-Shanghai school debating contest breaks down barriers
At a time of rising anti-mainland sentiment and political discontent in Hong Kong, the inter-city contest has assumed greater importance as a means to foster understanding
Debating the merits of travel, co-educational over single-sex schools and how much the fast food industry is to blame for obesity is a rite of passage for secondary school students. However, for some, debating means more than a shot at high school glory.
Since 2003, the Shanghai-Hong Kong Cultural Exchange and Debating Competition, organised and funded by schools from the two centres, has used the event to bring students from these closely tied, yet ideologically disparate, cities closer together.
The 2015 renewal, held in early July, took on greater significance given the rising hostility in Hong Kong towards people from the mainland and last year's Occupy protests; relations between the two regions seem shaky at best, something that did not go unnoticed by the Shanghai students participating.
"This year, because of the political events, we had to guarantee that Hong Kong is a safe city, to give them confidence to come here. They only know what they hear in the news, but we are just living our daily lives," says Theresa Tao Chee-ying, principal of Hong Kong True Light College.
Tao was one of the five heads of school that launched the annual event, and its coordinator for the first 11 years, and was heavily involved in this year's programme.
"I treasure this cultural exchange more because sometimes the political situation in one city will influence other people's perspectives," she says.