Five secondary schools were awarded at the Basic Law Promotion Day Competition prize presentation ceremony in Hong Kong Tuesday.

Co-organized by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Government Constitutional Affairs Bureau (CAB) and the Hong Kong Education and Manpower Bureau (EMB), the competition aimed to increase student's interest in the Basic Law and enhance their understanding of the "One Country, Two Systems" concept.

Students were asked to submit proposals for one-day activities to promote the Basic Law in schools. A total of 68 proposals were received from 53 schools, five of which were selected to the final. Among the five winning proposals, there were plans suggesting activities for different grades and interests among students such as dramas, debates in Putonghua, simulation of court trials and a tongue-twisters contest.

The Secretary for Constitutional Affairs of Hong Kong Stephen Lam said at the ceremony that the promotion of the Basic Law among students could be done effectively by engaging them in extra-curricular activities besides teaching the concepts in various subjects.

"The competition adopted an innovative format by asking the participants to design the Basic Law promotional programs themselves," said Lam.

"We believe the activities thus organized will suit the tastes of the youngsters and the students because the ideas came from their peers," added Lam.

As well as receiving prizes, the award-winning schools will be able to put their proposals into practice. The CAB will give sponsorship of up to 10,000 HK dollars to these schools to stage a Basic Law Promotion Day in October. The activities will be based on the winning entries.

Members of the winning teams were awarded a seven-day trip to Beijing in August. Apart from touring places of historic interest, the students will also visit government agencies, and meet with officials and their counterparts in a secondary school.

Source: Xinhua