MJ Students Attend the 2023-2024 Budget Press Conference

Published by jmsc at 28 February 2023

On Wednesday, Feb. 22, Hong Kong Finance Secretary Paul Chan announced the 2023-2024 budget. The press conference was attended by two of our Masters of Journalism students, Cheng Cheng and Karin Lyu Kaiying.

Armed with a copy of the orange budget booklet, Cheng and Lyu listened as the secretary spoke of tourism, green finance, and integration with the Greater Bay Area. The questions from attending reporters predictably focused on the highly anticipated new round of consumption vouchers.

“That is what their readers want to know,” Cheng said afterwards. “It’s like when a company releases a report. … It’s going to have lots of information and you need to decide what your priority is, which is based on your audience.”

The course on Financial Journalism, which Lyu and Cheng both took up this semester, was very helpful, they said. “The class familiarised me with some financial jargon in advance,” said Lyu. “It really helped me understand what the financial secretary was talking about.”

Cheng Cheng, originally from Hebei province in mainland China, graduated in International Communications. After a few years working as an English tutor in Beijing, she decided to join us at HKU Journalism.

“Journalism is really interesting because you are exposed to the world. You need to interview people that you wouldn’t have the chance to get in touch with if you were not in this job.”

Cheng chose the Masters of Journalism programme because “it’s very practice-oriented. It really stands out from other, more theoretical courses at other institutions.”

Lyu Kaiying, from Guangdong province, came to HKU after an undergraduate degree in Spanish Language and Literature.

“I was translating, interpreting what others have said. Now, I wanted to write something on my own.” On the reason for choosing HKU Journalism, Lyu said, “I love the MJ program. I think it’s really comprehensive and it really equips us with the qualities and skills that a modern reporter needs.”

Applications for our 2023-2024 class have closed, but keep an eye on our social media and website if you’d like to join us in 2024!