Students Shine at 2025/26 Statistical Project Competition Award Ceremony in Hong Kong

Commissioner for Census and Statistics officiates at prize presentation ceremony of 2025/26 Statistical Project Competition for Secondary School Students

The Commissioner for Census and Statistics, Mr Leo Yu, officiated at the prize presentation ceremony of the 2025/26 Statistical Project Competition (SPC) for Secondary School Students co-organised by the Hong Kong Statistical Society and the Education Bureau today (June 20). Principal Assistant Secretary for Education Ms Edith Tse also attended as an officiating guest. The President of the Hong Kong Statistical Society, Professor Chan Ngai-hang; the Chief Adjudicator of the competition, Professor Cheung Ka-chun; Department of Biostatistics of City University of Hong Kong (sponsor of the competition) representative Professor Xu Jinfeng; Department of Decision Analytics and Operations of City University of Hong Kong (sponsor of the thematic prize) representative Professor Du Lilun; and Division of Science, Engineering and Health Studies of the College of Professional and Continuing Education of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (sponsor of the thematic prize) representative Dr Anthony Loh also presented prizes to the winning teams and extended their congratulations to every team member.

Addressing the prize presentation ceremony, Mr Yu emphasised that statistics is a practical, cross-disciplinary science that provides a profound reflection of social and economic conditions, serving as a vital basis for decision-making. In the era of big data and AI, data science skills have become increasingly essential. This competition not only reinforces students' statistical knowledge but also cultivates their problem-solving abilities. He said that under the dedicated guidance of principals and teachers, the entries have grown increasingly diverse in theme and continue to improve in quality, reflecting the education sector's growing emphasis on practical statistics and students' deepening interest and enthusiasm for the subject. He commended the award-winning students for accurately identifying the core of each issue, making extensive use of statistical data to support their research, and presenting their findings through concise, vivid charts that fully demonstrate strong capabilities in both data analysis and visual communication.

This edition of the competition received an encouraging response of 220 statistical projects from about 830 secondary school students, covering a broad spectrum of topics. Participating students were able to utilise official statistics as the main source of data to analyse and interpret social and economic issues in Hong Kong.

The 2025/26 SPC is the 40th edition of the competition. Mr Yu and Deputy Secretary for Education Dr Gloria Chan are the patrons of the competition. Over the past years, many statistician-grade staff members of the Census and Statistics Department (C&SD) have actively participated in the organisation and professional adjudication of the SPC in the capacity of members of the Hong Kong Statistical Society, with the aim of improving statistical literacy among secondary school students and promoting the application and importance of statistics in society. This fully demonstrates that the C&SD attaches great importance and commitment to nurturing young talent.

The key objectives of the competition are to promote the interest of secondary school students in research methods, statistics and statistical techniques; encourage students to understand the local community in a scientific and objective manner through the proper use of statistics; and promote a sense of civic awareness.

Members of the public are welcome to visit the webpage of the competition for the list of winners this year (www.hkss.org.hk/index.php/spc$en).

Commissioner for Census and Statistics officiates at prize presentation ceremony of 2025/26 Statistical Project Competition for Secondary School Students Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Commissioner for Census and Statistics officiates at prize presentation ceremony of 2025/26 Statistical Project Competition for Secondary School Students Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Commissioner for Census and Statistics officiates at prize presentation ceremony of 2025/26 Statistical Project Competition for Secondary School Students Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Commissioner for Census and Statistics officiates at prize presentation ceremony of 2025/26 Statistical Project Competition for Secondary School Students Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Hong Kong Customs detects two drug trafficking cases involving passengers at airport

Hong Kong Customs detected two drug trafficking cases involving baggage concealment at Hong Kong International Airport yesterday (June 19), and seized a total of about 6 kilograms of suspected ketamine and 5kg of suspected cannabis buds with a total estimated market value of about $3.4 million. Two men were arrested.

The first case involved a 22-year-old British male passenger arrived in Hong Kong from Amsterdam, the Netherlands, via London, the United Kingdom, yesterday. During customs clearance, Customs officers found about 6 kg of suspected ketamine inside his check-in suitcase. The man was subsequently arrested.

The second case involved a 41-year-old Chinese male passenger arrived in Hong Kong from Phuket, Thailand, yesterday. Customs officers found about 5 kg of suspected cannabis buds inside his check-in suitcase. The man was subsequently arrested.

Investigations of both cases are on-going.

Customs will continue to step up enforcement against drug trafficking activities through intelligence analysis. The department also reminds members of the public to stay alert and not participate in drug trafficking activities for monetary return. They must not accept hiring or delegation from another party to carry controlled items into and out of Hong Kong. They are also reminded not to carry unknown items for other people.

Customs will continue to apply a risk assessment approach and focus on selecting passengers from high-risk regions for clearance to combat transnational drug trafficking activities.

Under the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, trafficking in a dangerous drug is a serious offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $5 million and life imprisonment.

Members of the public may report any suspected drug trafficking activities to Customs' 24-hour hotline 182 8080 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk) or online form (eform.cefs.gov.hk/form/ced002/en).

Hong Kong Customs detects two drug trafficking cases involving passengers at airport Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Hong Kong Customs detects two drug trafficking cases involving passengers at airport Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases