Long-time JMSC lecturer publishes new novel about Hong Kong and China
11 May 2016
Public seminar: Journalism’s role in a time of intensifying geopolitical conflict, by Prof. Brian McNair (7 June)
27 May 2016

JMSC undergraduates win recognition at Human Rights Press Awards

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Melissa Leung, HRPA co-founder Francis Moriarty and Medhavi Arora (Photo credit: Bridgette Hall)

The work of two Bachelor of Journalism students has won recognition at the Human Rights Press Awards in Hong Kong.

Melissa Leung On-Ki won the Youth Essay Contest for her review of Alison Klayman’s film ‘Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry’.

Medhavi Arora picked up the University English-Language Writing Merit award for her article about sexual harassment at Hong Kong’s universities.

The winners of the 20th Human Rights Press Awards were announced during a ceremony at the Hong Kong Maritime Museum on Friday 6 May.

‘I chose to write about Ai Weiwei for the Essay Contest, because I think that art, along with journalism, is a vital form of expression,’ Leung said. ‘Given the recent political turmoil in Hong Kong, I wish to draw attention to all forms of freedom of expression in society.’

Arora, who is in her final year at HKU studying Journalism and International Relations, said she was honoured and grateful to receive her award. ‘I owe a lot to the support provided by the JMSC and the hands-on reporting skills, journalistic principles and ethics I’ve learnt over the past four years as a student here,’ she said.

HRPA director Joyce Lau, Mathew Scott of the Far East Film Festival and Youth Essay Contest winner Melissa Leung (Photo credit: Alvin L.)

HRPA director Joyce Lau, Mathew Scott of the Far East Film Festival and Youth Essay Contest winner Melissa Leung (Photo credit: Alvin L.)

Arora’s article, titled ‘Sexual harassment at Hong Kong’s universities – rarely reported, but not rare’, was published on 6 January 2016 during her internship with Hong Kong Free Press.

Melissa Leung’s prize was a fully paid trip to cover the 18th Far East Film Festival in Udine, Italy, in April.

‘I had the precious opportunity to interview renowned film directors and producers from Asia such as Johnnie To, Sammo Hung and Lee Ho-Jae,’ she said. ‘They shared a lot about their inspirations and views on the Asian cinema market.’

As part of her coverage, Leung wrote an article and film review for the festival’s newsletter, ‘In Focus’, about the work of local Hong Kong directors.

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Tom Grundy of Hong Kong Free Press (HKFP), HRPA co-founder Francis Moriarty, student HRPA merit winner Medhavi Arora, and Kris Cheng of HKFP (Photo credit: Melissa Leung)

‘It was also very interesting to see how Hong Kong films such as ‘Ten Years’ and ‘Trivisa’ were received in a western cultural setting,’ she said. ‘Some details and sentiments in the films were lost in translation, but on many occasions, comments from the western audience prompted reflections.’

The Human Rights Press Awards are jointly organised by The Foreign Correspondents’ Club Hong Kong, The Hong Kong Journalists Association and Amnesty International Hong Kong. 274 entries were received this year, including 139 Chinese-language works, 80 English-language works and 55 works of photojournalism.

Click here to read Medhavi Arora’s article, and here for the full list of this year’s winners.

(Feature image photo credits: Bridgette Hall / Alvin L.)