Karen Tang Shuk-tak (center). (EDMOND TANG AND CALVIN NG / CHINA DAILY)

Cutting it fine at the critical juncture of telling China’s story well to the world, Hong Kong’s youngsters, more than ever, need to be equipped with effective communication skills and great eloquence in English, says Karen Tang Shuk-tak, executive director of The Better Hong Kong Foundation.

Tang, who was one of the judges in the 2023 21st Century Cup National English Speaking Competition (Hong Kong Region), said on Saturday she was happy with the performance of the finalists in the brilliant final round of the competition held in the special administrative region.

All set for the National Grand Final in this year’s contest, the participants, she said, articulated with excellent perspicuity and much pep their personal takes and heuristic opinions on all kinds of topics — ranging from grounded reflections on the current educational system, environmental protection policies, and AI technology, to conceptual deliberations about personal growth, gender issues, and the true essence of civilization.

Tang particularly recalled speeches made by participants in the competition’s Junior Secondary category, entitled “Be a change-maker of a better Hong Kong”. The topic was suggested by The Better Hong Kong Foundation — a nonprofit-making organization founded in 1995 by a group of spearheads in Hong Kong who were active in facilitating the city’s long-term development.

“Some of the students had said there are many perspectives with which we could make Hong Kong better. Most of them talked about the environment and, I think, this is part of it. That’s what the younger generation cares about, most of all, because they’re the future, it’ll be their own environment in which they’ll live on in this city,” Tang said.

Despite the environment-related appeals, the participants also candidly and passionately tapped into numerous other areas which, they believed, needed to be improved to make this wonderful and beloved city a better place to live in. Some of the students suggested “a transformation of the current education system, from a mechanism that is a bit cookie-cutter-like and ruled by tons of exams to a creativity- and interest-oriented system”. Others delved into broader issues of social inclusivity, calling on all of us to “fulfill our responsibility to respect diversity and find common goals, while promoting a spirit of unity”.