Bulletin Autumn‧Winter 2000

p r e v a l e nt t h en a s it is n ow , b u tt he discrimination wa s the same. 1 d id no t h a v e m u c h t r oub le w i t h a d a p t a t i o n b e c a u s e , a f t e r a l l , w e t o o s p e a k Cantonese, b u t I h a d to deal wi t h ma n y p r o b l ems a t an early age d ue t o t h e discrimination we encountered here. I wa s very old wh e n very young, so old in fact that at times I felt I could no t h a n d l e it . M y m e n t a l i ty w a s v e r y d i f f e r e n t f r o m t h a t o f my p e e r s . Everyone t hough t I was calm, rational, e v e n co l d , b u t a c t u a l l y I w a s o n ly repressing my emotions. As I grew u p, I b e g a n t o u n d e r s t a nd a n d e x p r e ss my s e l f b e t t e r . I ' m a c t u a l ly a b o rn performer. I get ver y excited once I ' m on stage. I can lose myself in acting a nd b e c o me a n o t h e r p e r s o n . Be i n g a reporter brings out that talent in me. So people wh o k n ow me n o w mi ght label me as someone very different. Howe v er I t h i n k s u c h c a t ego r i z a t i ons a r en o t necessary,' she said. Her Uniqueness J a d e ' s i n t e l l i g e n c e a n d s t r o n g a n a l y t i c al p o w e r s h a v e n o d o u bt contributed to her being shortlisted for the scholarship, bu t i t wa s her passion t h at f i n a l l y w o n t h e selection committee over. She g r a d u a t e d f r om t he De p a r t me n t of Sociology wi t h flying colours in Au g u st 2000, but at the time of t h e selection, wh i c h took place i n May, she h ad only one yea r of sociology grades to s how the committee, a n d her grades in he r first year as a psychology m a j o r w e r e n o t t h a t i mp r e s s i v e. Describing herself as a 'hard choice' and a 'non-typical candidate', she believes that if they h ad be en very conservative , the committe e wo u ld not h a v e chosen her. In fact the y did que r y her choice of English literature, something she h a d never studied in the past. But passion is contagious. They we r e convinced b y her sincerity a n d c ommi tme n t in t h e e n d , a n d o f c o u r s e h e r e x c e l l e nt c omma nd o fEnglish. Her Strength Before the selection process. Jade said she h ad sometimes wond e r e d if her interests h a d be e n too eclectic a nd no t focussed enough. But it wa s this eclectic q u a l i t y w h i c h m a d e h e r d a y . T h e s e l e c t i o n p r o c e ss w a s e x t r e m e l y thorough, involving all possible kinds of questions and wa y s of evaluation. In o n e s e c t i on o f t he f i n a l s , t h e t h r ee finalists including Jade h a d to pick one of several given topics, ma k e a five- m i n u t e s p e e ch a f t er o n e m i n u t e of p r e p a r a t i o n , t h en l e ad a d i s c u s s i on i nvo l v i ng t he other finalists a n d t h e entire selection committee. The topic s covered anything und er the sun — f r om Ho n g Kong's social policies a n d current a f f a i r s i s s u e s, t o t r a de b e t w e e n w e a l t h i er a n d p o o r e r n a t i o n s, t o p h i l o s o p h i c al q u e s t i o n s s u c h a s Jade with afriend at the Oxford Matriculation Day held in October 2000 CHINES E UNIVERSIT Y BULLETI N Autumn • Winter 2000 32