CSB holds award presentation ceremony for Love for China Chinese essay competition (with photos)

     In celebration of the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, the Official Languages Division of the Civil Service Bureau (CSB) organised a series of activities under the theme of "Glorious China", among which the Love for China Chinese essay competition had its award presentation ceremony today (October 15). The Secretary for the Civil Service, Mrs Ingrid Yeung, presented the awards to all winners. The awardees' department heads or their representatives were also present to congratulate the awardees and share the joy.

     The competition received an enthusiastic response with nearly 300 entries. Participants included officers from various grades in 51 departments as well as retired civil servants.

     Speaking at the ceremony, Mrs Yeung said that the entries, all centred on the idea of Love for China but adopting a wide variety of styles, subject matters and narrative perspectives, expressed feelings for the country and told good stories about China. Although the topics and perspectives of the entries varied, they all expressed a rich sense of national pride and patriotism. She was particularly heartened to see that many of the entries mentioned the responsibility that civil servants have towards the country.

     She thanked all participants for putting their genuine feelings into words, thereby presenting a meaningful gift to the motherland on its 75th birthday.

     The Chinese essay competition aimed to encourage government staff to express their love for the country and promote Chinese culture in written words, while serving as an opportunity to enhance their interest in Chinese writing. The competition took place between July and August. A judging panel comprising Mrs Yeung, the Dean of the Faculty of Arts at Hong Kong Nang Yan College of Higher Education, Professor Ricky Tse, and Senior Lecturer of the Department of Chinese Language and Literature at the Chinese University of Hong Kong Dr Hung Yeuk-chun selected 10 winning entries from the submissions. A collection of the selected entries has been uploaded to the CSB website (Chinese only).

     The activities under the "Glorious China" themed series were organised to deepen government staff's understanding of the country and strengthen their sense of national identity. In addition to the Chinese essay competition, the series included a recently concluded Putonghua quiz and an ongoing quiz on Chinese history and culture.