A contestant in the "21st Century Cup" English Speaking Competition passionately shares her ideas during the regional semi-finals at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts on June 25, 2023. (EDMOND TANG / CHINA DAILY)

Neatly attired and showcasing their oratorical skills, 200 contestants participated in the regional semi-final of the “21st Century Cup” English Speaking Competition (Hong Kong Region) on Sunday.

The event was held at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, organized by China Daily Hong Kong and its education brand VDO English.

The semi-finalists in the Primary and Secondary Categories, who had excelled over 3,000 of their peers in the online preliminary round, shared passionately their ideas on how to be a change-maker in today’s Hong Kong, poured out their personal takes on why courage is a quiet voice, discussed what counts as something incredible and why a full-blossom success could be grown out of nothing.

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The judges were set to choose 40 contestants who will move on the regional finals on July 15, continuing their pursuits for excellence. 

China Daily's Edmond Tang took these photos.