A series of reports on The 2^nd Anniversary of the Sichuan Earthquake by Ming Pao Daily’s reporters Chum Shun Kin, Cheung Ngok To, Pang Pik Shan, Ho Ka Man, Fung Lok Lam and Yu Chun Leung and The Internet Influence of China by Cable TV China Desk were the winners of the Print and Electronic Media categories of the Second Annual Kam Yiu-yu Press Freedom Awards out of 61 entries.

The jury of five said the quality of the entries was very high this year. The score for the winner of the Electronic Media Category was just 0.6 points higher than the first runner-up. In the Print Media Category, the difference between the winner and the first runner-up was also less than 4 points. It showed that competition was fierce.

The winners shared their experiences with fellow journalists after receiving the prize of $3,000 from Professor Joseph Man Chan of the School of Journalism and Communications, Chinese University of Hong Kong. The difficulties they faced during reporting could be imagined from the topic of the winning stories. The will of the journalists in overcoming the obstacles showed their determination in the pursuit of press freedom. The sharing of their skill at breaking the news blackout was of greatly benefit to those who attended.

Ching Cheong, Chairperson of Kam Yiu-yu Foundation, pointed out that the winners truly deserved the prizes and most of the outstanding stories were by journalists taking the initiative to investigate, exemplifying the spirit of the Awards. It was encouraging that the number of participants had doubled in a year, indicating that this Award was being recognized inside the industry.

Mr. Kam Dujiang, the eldest son of Mr. Kam Yiu-yu, expressed his gratitude to the judges. They were Professor Joseph Man Chan, School of Journalism and Communications of the Chinese University of Hong Kong; Professor Lee Chin-chuan, Head of the Department of Media and Communications of City University of Hong Kong; Professor Leonard Chu, retired Professor of the School of Communications, Hong Kong Baptist University; Ching Cheong, Chairperson of Kam Yiu-yu Foundation and Mak Yin-ting, Chairperson of the Hong Kong Journalists Association.

In order to promote press freedom and high-quality reporting, the Foundation held a seminar after the awards presentation ceremony. Dr. Jack Linchuan Qiu, Associate Professor of the School of Journalism and Communications, Chinese University of Hong Kong; Mr. Chang Ping, former commentator of Southern Metropolis Daily and Mr. Charles Mok, Chairman of the Internet Society Hong Kong will discuss how to utilize the Internet to break the information blackout from international, China and Hong Kong aspects in order to maximize citizens’ right to know of who is going on.

The Foundation Committee expressed its gratitude to the media industry for its support. She hoped the industry would continue with its persistence and to flourish in the Third Annual Kam Yiu-yu Press Freedom Awards.

Board of Kam Yiu-yu Foundation
27th March 2011