Rounds of heated contests have determined the four teams that will take part in the grand finals of the 24th Sing Tao Inter-School Debating Competition, organized jointly by Sing Tao Daily and The Standard.While up-and-coming schools in new districts have dominated the finalists' list in previous years, the last four teams left standing this time each represent a famous school with a long history. These are the Diocesan Girls' School, La Salle College, Diocesan Boys' School, and Queen's College.
More than 1,000 spectators are expected to turn up at the spacious Queen Elizabeth Stadium in Wan Chai - once again serving as the venue - which will definitely add to the excitement. The winning team in each of the English and Chinese sections will be determined on Friday night.
Facing off in English will be La Salle College and Diocesan Girls' School, debating the topic: "The Hong Kong government should allow entertainment venues to have a smoking area." In Chinese, Queen's College will be pitted against Diocesan Boys' School, debating: "Five additional race days each season will bring more benefits than drawbacks to the community."
Each topic is currently a hot public affairs issue, so both the affirmative and negative teams will have a wealth of points to draw upon to advance their respective arguments. The government has been pushing the smoking ban in recent years. As the policy is extended to entertainment businesses, operators have complained about a sharp drop i
n revenues, and are pleading for exemption.Lawmaker Tommy Cheung Yu-yan has been leading a catering industry delegation to lobby Food and Health Secretary York Chow Yat-ngok.
Cheung is a DBS alumnus, and while that school's team isn't debating the smoking issue, I wonder whether the elite students from La Salle College, who will argue in support of exemption, will provide some new inspiration that Cheung may find useful in his lobbying.
Siu Sai-wo is chief editor of Sing Tao Daily
