Results of the ROLE Essay Competition 2023
Thank you to all contestants for your stunning work and participation in the ROLE Essay Competition 2023!
The Competition received an overwhelming and record-high response this year, we are delighted to see that many students are interested in exploring the different components and core values of the rule of law and how they are trying to apply the principles in their daily lives. We are also impressed by the creativity and ingenuity demonstrated by all of the entrants.
After a tough judging process, we have selected the Champion, 1st Runner-up, 2nd Runner-up, and a list of Merit Runners-up for both the English and Chinese groups for the Competition based on the content, structure, style of writing and creativity of the essays. Here are the results:
- English Group -
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Champion
SIU Yiu, Ilar
St Stephen's Girls College
Extract(s):
"...Under the principle of rule of law, the law confines the power of authority, yet it is still men who make decisions and implement the rule in the context of the actual circumstances. No written rules can be precise enough to cover each and every possible situation. Rules are rigid but people are flexible, human nature possesses virtues like empathy and compassion which drive us to make sensible decisions..."
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1st Runner-up
SUN Olivia
Renaissance College Hong Kong
Extract(s):
"...one of the principles placed forth by Lord Bingham is that any adjudicative procedures should be fair, and those with power conferred on them should exercise them in good faith. My third suggestion thus concerns preventing any forms of power abuse, such as in the case of dealing with student misconduct, much like how even those being prosecuted for a crime must have their rights protected...I suggest that punishments on the heavier side (close to what the legal system considers indictable offenses) should be administered not just by one independent teacher, but at least reviewed by a higher authority (such as a principal or head of year) and a committee made of several teachers, similar to how the legal system is moulded with restrictions placed on those that exercise power. In this case, it is to prevent Individual teachers from using their position to act insensibly or unreasonably, thus upholding the rule of law..."
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2nd Runner-up
WONG Ying Kwan
St Stephen's Girls College
Extract(s):
"...Students realise that rules are somewhat restricting, but often disregard the freedom granted. I think this is the most overlooked point. Using the the no-phones policy as an example, we can see that restriction exists to some extent; however, the fact that they are allowed to use other electronic devices for academic purposes shows that they have the choice to use such devices to facilitate learning. The school prohibits the use of phones on school campuses to create a distraction-free environment; but at the same time grants us the right to use substitutes for learning. The rights and obligations are interwoven into the law, and neither side should be overlooked..."
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Merit Runners-up
CAO Jichen, Jackson (Shung Tak Catholic English College)
CHAN Wing Yan, Dorothy (St. Paul’s Convent School (Secondary Section))
CHAN Yee Nam, Nicole (Po Leung Kuk Ngan Po Ling College)
CHUNG Lok Yin, Lachlan (Sha Tin College)
HSU Tian Cheng, Owen (Yew Chung International School)
KWAN Ka Man (Diocesan Girls’ School)
LAM Kwun Hang (Sing Yin Secondary School)
LEE Cheuk Lam (St. Paul’s Convent School (Secondary Section))
MA Vanessa (St. Paul’s Co-educational College)
RODRIGUES, Nicole Lynn (Discovery College)
TING Angeline Ying Qi (St. Stephen’s Girls’ College)
WILLIAMS, Brian Morgan (Wah Yan College, Kowloon)
WONG, Dorothy (Renaissance College Hong Kong)
YAP Chun Yin, Alex (La Salle College)
- Chinese Group -
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冠軍
葉可晴
聖羅撒書院
摘錄：
「法治原則」旨在確保法律的優越性、公正執行和公民的權益，與律法相輔相成。它有如溫室裏的天幕，雖然並非直接向花朵施肥，卻提供了舒適溫暖的生長空間。故此，我們應確保法治原則能隨時隨地在生活中運行。而學校作為社會的搖籃，制定或施行校規時也應充分體現法治原則的核心要點，比如確保合法、保持公開透明、維護平等。」
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「 在制定、修改或解釋學校規則時，學生應有透明度和參與制定過程的權利。例如校方可恆常地舉辦訓導組研討會，由學生會先於同學之間收集對校規的疑問或意見，再代表全體同學向訓導組老師諮詢。例如：禁止校園戀愛是否已經不合時宜？如是者，學生對校規的一些迷思能夠得以消除，學校高層也能藉著交流聆聽學生的聲音，並反思某些規則是否適用依舊。學校高層亦可在研討會上公布初步構思的校規。除了某些與社會法律（例如禁止偷竊、打架）相關的校規外，其他的將由全體學生投票，決定最終是否落實。如此一來，同學定必更加熟悉校規內容，亦能夠參與制定保障美好校園生活的規則。」
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亞軍
鄭詩愉
世界龍岡學校劉皇發中學
摘錄：
「其次，法治的原則是以法達義，用法律去維護大眾的權利以實踐公義。南亞裔同學因家中語文環境的先天不足，影響中文成績，因未能達標而嚴重影響整體成績，往被分派往較差的班別，高中選擇修讀科目時亦因而大受影響......學校應在校規中規定，對於南亞裔同學的總成績應有不同的計算方式，例如初中時中文科佔他們總成績的比例應降低八成，以反映他們在中文科學習上的特別困難，高中時比例則降至五成，以顯示中文科對同學升學的重要性;對弱勢同學給予應有的照顧，這份尊重和公平，會使同學對學校產生歸屬感，發揮融合的作用。」
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季軍
陳柏廷
賽馬會萬鈞毅智書院
摘錄：
「法治原則要求規則的制定和執行遵循公平和平等的原則。學校應該確保規則對所有學生都平等適用，不論其種族、性別、宗教或其他身份特徵。教師可能作出涉及歧視成分的行為而作出主觀的判斷。此外，學校應該避免對學生進行不當的歧視，並確保規則的執行是公正和客觀的。任何處分或懲罰都應該基於事實和證據，而不是主觀偏見。
學校規則的制定和修改過程應該具有參與性和代表性，以確保學生的聲音被充分聽取和代表。學生代表應該被納入規則制定的討論和決策過程中，並能夠表達學生的意見和需求。此外，學校可以設立學生議會或類似的組織，讓學生代表能夠參與學校管理和規則制定的過程中，並且能夠讓學生有機會向學校提出他們個人的意向從而達致人人平等而建立一個更好的學習環境。」
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優異獎
陳兆澧 (東華三院甲寅年總理中學)
陳子淇(賽馬會萬鈞毅智書院)
蔡紀葶 (保良局顏寶鈴書院)
高依婕 (賽馬會萬鈞毅智書院)
黎雨蕎 (賽馬會萬鈞毅智書院)
梁嘉怡 (拔萃女書院)
董堡茵 (賽馬會萬鈞毅智書院)
王易 (保良局羅傑承（一九八三）中學)
Congratulations to all the winners! We will be in touch shortly to arrange your prize and reward.
We also wish to express our gratitude to the judges' panel and all participants who helped make the Competition a great success.
We sincerely hope that you will sustain your interests in learning more about the rule of law, and we look forward to your future contribution!
Should there be any enquiries, please contact us at role_info@hku.hk.