A subject close to home

《The Student Standard》Tuesday 17 May 2016

Text : Andrew Ho Photos : Sing Tao Daily

IT was billed as the battle of the toughest – the showdown between Hong Kong’s best student orators at the grand final of the Sing Tao debating competition. The motion was one that concerns everyone: “The Hong Kong government should withdraw the ‘spicy’ property market measures”. The initiative, which includes stamp duties, was aimed at stabilising the property market at a time when prices were going through the roof. The idea was to cool down the sector, but locals described the measures as ‘spicy’. On 9 May at the Queen Elizabeth Stadium in Wan Chai, PLK Ngan Po Ling College defended for the motion while PLK Centenary Li Shiu Chung Memorial College opposed it to become the eventual winners.

Cracking down on speculation
      MONISHA Manglani, captain of Ngan Po Ling, argued that the measures should be scrapped on the grounds that they have not worked. She noted that property prices in Hong Kong soared by 65 percent between 2010 and 2015.

      “The ‘spicy’ measures, including the double stamp duty [DSD] and the special stamp duty [SSD], have one undeniable effect on property pricing – it increases the total cost of the property, making it even harder for people to buy a property at a reasonable price.”

      Manglani explained the technical parts of the motion using figures and jargon. “DSD and SSD were put in place to discourage homeowners from selling their property and in return we saw a sharp decline in trading.” She went on: “This is why the motion must stand and the government must withdraw the spicy measures.”

      Silence reigned in the venue. Members of the audience were either dazed by the technical terms or were concentrating on the arguments. There was tension in the air as the captain of Centenary, the opposition team, walked up to the microphone.

      “Ladies and gentlemen,” Chris Ho began, “today both sides agree on one thing – property prices are too high and something has to be done to curb the market, but the spicy measures are needed to discourage speculators and to provide a healthy and stable property market for the locals.”

      Ho was selected as the best debater in the competition because of his oratorial skills which was on display, as well as for his efforts in helping the audience understand the reasoning of both sides. “We believe the government should intervene in the property market because external factors such as quantitative easing [QE] and the ultra-low US interest rates are affecting our economy especially the property market.”

      He tried to present his case in layman’s terms. “SSD is payable only if you sell the property within two years of purchase, this policy is targeted at short-term traders …” he said, pausing for effect before uttering a single word “ … speculators”.

Keeping speakers on their toes
      DURING the hour-long grand final, both sets of debaters delivered passionate and convincing arguments. Although the subject matter may have been slightly technical for the audience, such was the adrenaline rush that no one could complain of boredom.

      In the final section – questions from the floor – reserve members of the two teams had a chance to challenge opponents. Some of the questions caught the speakers on stage off guard. “Can the affirmative team explain how by withdrawing the spicy measures, by allowing speculators to take part in short-term speculation, can property prices go down?” asked one Centenary reserve member.

      Ngan Po Ling had a brief discussion before Manglani took the stand. “Initially housing prices may go up because of what you have just mentioned, but eventually the prices will come to an equilibrium especially as Hong Kong is now entering a recession period combined with the adjusted US interest rate in 2016.”

      She went on the offensive. “Hong Kong has long been a free economy but the government is violently intervening in the housing market with the so-called spicy measures. Please lift the intervention and make Hong Kong sweet again.”

      A big round of applause followed her appeal.

      The floor questioning section was the icing on the cake in the interesting contest.

      Another good question was raised: “Can the opposition explain to the house how the Hong Kong government can secure top financial ratings while crushing the property market? Losing international accredited financial ratings may have a wider impact on our economy including the banking system and the stock market.”

      The opposition replied: “We believe people’s needs go first! We care more about housing and necessities.”

      The judges were impressed and picked Centenary as the debating champions of Hong Kong.

Words of wisdom
      THE five judges included senior counsel Paul Shieh (pictured), a former chairman of the Hong Kong Bar Association. He said he enjoyed the competition but admitted that the motion was slightly technical. He joked about not knowing the abbreviations used throughout the debate. “I initially didn’t know what QE stood for; I had to put on a straight face and pretend that I understood what the debaters were saying.”

      Shieh said abbreviations used in a debate had to be adequately explained or people would be confused and lose interest.

      “Please speak slowly and do not cramp everything together,” he said. “If you insist on saying every word written on your cue cards, then you are not really communicating.”

Award winners

Champion

‧ PLK Centenary Li Shiu Chung Memorial College

Members of the winning team – PLK Centenary – pose with their prizes.

First Runner-up

‧ PLK Ngan Po Ling College

Second Runner-up

‧ Marymount Secondary School

‧ St. Paul’s Co-educational College

Best Debater

‧ Chris Ho (PLK Centenary Li Shiu Chung Memorial College)

Best Motion

‧ Pentecostal Lam Hon Kwong School

Most Improved Schools

‧ Maryknoll Convent School (Secondary Section)

‧ Munsang College

‧ St Mary’s Canossian College

‧ St Rose of Lima’s College

‧ Ho Fung College (Sponsored by Sik Sik Yuen)

Vocabulary

jargon (n) 行業術語
dazed (adj) 發懵的
adrenaline (n) 腎上腺素
catch somebody off guard (idiom) 趁(某人)不警惕時
equilibrium (n) 平衡
intervene (v) 介入
icing on the cake (idiom) 錦上添花之物
abbreviation (n) 縮寫

Monisha Manglani

Chris Ho

PLK Ngan Po Ling

PLK Centenary

Paul Shieh