The BMW Hong Kong Derby is one of the most prestigious Group 1 Thoroughbred horse races in Asia, offering a total prize money of HK$20 million. The race has been held annually since its inception in 1996, and has a long history as a major event in the calendar of Hong Kong racing. It is currently run over a distance of a mile and is open to horses aged four years old and above. The race is held at Sha Tin Racecourse, and has been the stage of many a classic occasion.
A controversial film about the future of Hong Kong won the top prize at this year’s city’s award ceremony, despite being banned from mainland cinemas by Beijing. The movie, Ten Years, is a series of vignettes that tap into residents’ worst fears about the semi-autonomous territory’s future as China tightens its grip.
This year’s award ceremony was held on 22 April, and was presided over by the Chief Executive of the HKSAR Government, John Lee Ka-chiu. The HK$30 million prize was divided into two categories: one for research, and the other for education development. The winners of the prize were demographer Wolfgang Lutz, and members of War Child Alliance. They are dedicated to the development of evidence-based systems for assisting children in conflict-affected areas.
Founded in 2018, SHKS is an international, non-profit professional association open to all scholars who study Hong Kong. It encourages the development of new theories, concepts and methods for interpreting Hong Kong’s multifaceted connections to and significance in the world, both contemporary and historical.
The SHKS is also pleased to announce that Professor Cecilia Chu has won the 2024 International Planning History Society Book Prize for her work, Building Colonial Hong Kong: Speculative Development and Segregation in the City. This is the second time that a SHKS Book Prize has been awarded. Previous winners include ‘Hong Kong as a Global City’ by Simon Kwok and ‘Hong Kong: From a Polycentric to a Global City’ by Martin Heng, both published by Routledge in 2023. These books have advanced the understanding of planning history in Asia, and widened the network of scholars working on this important topic. More details about the award and its criteria are available here. The prize will be presented at the ICAS Convention in Paris this July.