Cheung Kai-yuk, a 17-year-old student at Maryknoll Convent School, first got involved in Chinese recitation recitals during kindergarten. She recalled that her kindergarten teacher recommended that she participate in her first competition.
“Maybe because I talked a lot,” she said.
Her first competition was a storytelling contest about a rabbit picking mushrooms, where she faced an unfamiliar judge.
“I was nervous. I unconsciously held onto my skirt, and my whole body was shaking,” Kai-yuk said. She won first place, but it was not until Primary Three that she developed a real interest in recitation.
“That was when I started to understand the stories behind the texts. Before that, I was just memorising them.”
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Over the past year, she has participated in two writing and public speaking competitions. One of them combined both skills.
“Previously, my competitions were mainly about recitation and speech. This time, it included writing, which was different,” she explained.
She found the Hong Kong Inter-School Mandarin Speech Competition particularly memorable among the many competitions she has joined.
“It had preliminary, semi-final, and final rounds. It was my first time writing my own speech from start to finish and performing it,” Kai-yuk said.
She eventually won the championship.
“It was the first time I felt I could complete something on my own and be recognised for it.”
The main challenge was crafting the speech, she explained. “The given topics leaned towards argumentative writing, but you cannot just read out an essay. You have to make it engaging so the judges will pay attention to your perspective.”
Kai-yuk is also actively involved in volunteer work. She hosted the New Home Association’s Volunteer Recognition Ceremony and joined visits to elderly people living alone.
“At first, I did not know how to talk to them, but the older volunteers guided me. I learned how to engage with them and make them feel comfortable,” she said.
She saw a connection between her recitation experience and volunteer work. “I used to feel nervous talking to strangers, but now I want to learn more about them instead of retreating into silence,” she said.
“If I hadn’t done recitation, I think I’d be a very different person today. I’d probably be more withdrawn and less willing to communicate.”
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She advised students interested in recitation to remain persistent. “There will be challenges, but if you keep going, you will see results,” she said.
Kai-yuk was named the second runner-up in the Linguist (Mandarin) category at the Student of the Year Awards (SOTY) last year, a competition organised by the South China Morning Post and solely sponsored by The Hong Kong Jockey Club.
In the future, she hopes to become a lawyer or media professional to advocate for those in need.
“Both professions rely heavily on language and expression. Through recitation and volunteering, I’ve learned how to communicate effectively. I believe that will help me in the future,” Kai-yuk explained.
“When you see news reports about domestic violence or workplace discrimination, you realise these are just glimpses of a much bigger problem. Many people struggle to voice their difficulties. I want to help amplify their voices.”
“In five or ten years, I hope to have achieved my career goals and become someone who can give back to society,” she said.
