hk prize is a weekly round-up of the best news, stories and opinion from Hong Kong. The Mark Six lottery was launched in 1997 to commemorate the official handover from Britain to China. Since then, it has brought hope to countless people and provided society with many benefits. It is one of the most successful lotteries in the world. The top prize is HK$10,000,000 and the odds of winning are 1 in 340.
Hong Kong handed out the most Olympic prize money of any region at this year’s Paris Games, with epeeist Vivian Kong Man-wai and foilist Cheung Ka-long each taking home HK$6 million for their gold medal wins. Meanwhile, swimmer Siobhan Haughey won HK$1.5 million for each of her two bronze medals. But some experts believe the amount of prize money is too much and is stifling performance.
The Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Prize champions the mission of “Boosting Hong Kong, Serving the Country through technology”, with a view to attracting global top science talent, nurturing forward-looking scientists and together building up Hong Kong into an international innovation and technology hub. The HKSAR government has committed to supporting science and technology research through various mechanisms, including the Research Grants Council and the Innovation and Technology Fund.
An independent panel has shortlisted the six artists for the 2025 Sigg Prize, a biennial award that aims to establish an international platform for artists born or based in Greater China and their diasporas. The artists include Shanghai-based multimedia artist Bi Rongrong, Macau-born ceramicist Heidi Lau, Singaporean photographer Ho Rui An, Taiwanese artist Hsu Chia-Wei, and Hong Kong multidisciplinary artist Wong Ping. The winners will be announced in December next year, and all shortlisted artists will show their work at M+ museum in Hong Kong.
In a statement, Paul Mo-po Chan, Financial Secretary of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), reiterated that Mainland’s strong support and trust in Hong Kong’s strong capability in basic scientific research, and the HKSAR Government’s philosophy of a capable government and an efficient market, provide tremendous opportunities for Hong Kong to become a leading global centre for science and technology. The HKSAR Government will continue to nurture and attract top scientists and scientists-in-residence from across the globe and promote a knowledge-based economy, he added.
The 2024 Yidan Prize laureates have been selected for their contributions to global education. The laureates will be honoured at the Yidan Prize Awards Ceremony on 8 December, as well as participating in the annual Yidan Prize Summit to explore key issues in education and their impact on students’ lifelong learning. This will be the first time that the summit has been held in Hong Kong. The event will bring together leaders in education, public policy and philanthropy to discuss the importance of resilience in education. It will also explore how to build a better future through education. The Laureates will be supported by the HKSAR government in developing their projects to promote the sustainable development of Hong Kong’s education sector.