Results of the ROLE Essay Competition 2019

Thank you for the active participation in the ROLE Essay Competition! The Competition attracted 68 English and 51 Chinese entries from over 20 schools in total. We are pleased to see many secondary students are interested in learning more about and promoting the rule of law. A pleasing problem we encountered is that all the entries are highly competitive. We are impressed by the interesting ideas and logical analysis demonstrated in the entries. All 119 submissions deserve compliment. We appreciate the efforts of all candidates!

 

After much deliberation, our judges have selected one Champion, one First runner-up, one Second runner-up, and four Merit runners for both the English and Chinese groups, judging by the content, language and structure of the essays.

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Here are the results:

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English Group

Champion                             Lai Tsz Him                                                 Form 6

An excellent piece which critically brings out the paradoxical relationship between freedom of expression and the rule of law. It constructs the analysis from the law in Hong Kong to the philosophical base. Altogether, the article has presented a convincing argument. The use of language is sophisticated. The author’s reference to a wide range of literature in the article is particularly impressive. For improvement, the author should learn to adopt academic citation styles, i.e.  OSCOLA or HKLJ, etc..

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First runner-up                   Lam Kung Yu Christie                               Form 6

This article presents a very good understanding of the relationship between freedom of expression and the rule of law. It is structured in a clear and logical way. The author properly uses examples of the Nazi regime and the case of Von Hannover v German to illustrate the right and legal limits of free expression. To improve, the author can offer more critical analyses of the examples referred to in the article. 

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Second runner-up               Fu Wai Ching                                              Form 6

The article critically presents different understandings of the rule of law and freedom of expression held by different camps in Hong Kong local society. It demonstrates a tension caused by different understandings and proposes to ease the tension by the principle of proportionality. However, it would be better if the article could spend a greater part on the application of the proportionality principle. 

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Merit runners                      Cheung Yun Sang Sherman                      Form 6

                                                Choi Hin Hang                                            Form 6

                                                Chun Tsing Yiu Angel                                Form 6

                                                Chung Tsun Ho Anson                              Form 6

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中文組

冠軍                                       林子文                                                           中五

本⽂的語⾔通暢，邏輯嚴謹。內容上，作者對言論自由的理解最深入，能清楚說明法治對言論自由的重要，但言論自由對法治的重要性則未處理。另外，作者嘗試引用《基本法》來⽀持「法治的中心觀念就是平等」的論點，應具體說明《基本法》作為一個整體的反映亦或哪一個條文。

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亞軍                                       伍正譽                                                           中五

本⽂的結構最好，先界定言論自由和法治，清晰直接。内容上，作者以社會契約論和康德哲學思想來討論兩者關係 。作者也很善於運用中⽂詞匯——字詞的位置不同，可以表達不同的意思。唯作者應嘗試舉例說明兩者的關係。

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季軍                                       甄芷妤                                                           中六

本文從不同角度，討論法治與言論自由之關係，豐富多姿。

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優異                                       陳欣希                                                           中五

                                               黎澍晴                                                           中五

                                               暨祉盈                                                           中六

                                               凌樂延                                                           中六

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For the prize-winners, congratulations on your award! Keep up the effort. Even if you did not get a prize, we appreciate all your efforts and ideas. 

We sincerely hope that you will sustain your interest in the Rule of Law. We look forward to your future participation in our Project.

Should there be any enquiries, please contact us at role.admin@hku.hk.