Chinese radio script contest draws record number of students

A son asks his father for $200 each time they have dinner together, not knowing that the parent is struggling to make ends meet nor bothering to find out how he is doing.

This story of a materialistic man, who prioritises money over spending time with his father, beat close to 400 entries to snag the top prize in this year's Script It Right Chinese Radio Drama Script Writing Competition.

The authors, School of the Arts students Ong Ee Ying, Claire Chua and Chua Jia Xuan, said their work, $200 Deal, was inspired by their observation that some parents pay their children to do chores.

The students, all 17, said that they hope to communicate the importance of family and kinship through their drama.

Organised by the Committee to Promote Chinese Language Learning (CPCLL) and SPH Radio's Chinese-language station UFM100.3, the competition saw a record high of 396 submissions from 982 students from 56 secondary schools, polytechnics, junior colleges and Millennia Institute.

Held annually since 2014, the competition aims to promote the daily use of the Chinese language among students in a fun and interactive way, and develop their interest in radio drama and production.

Seven teams of two or three members each were selected for the Outstanding Script Award, and another five for the commendation Creative Script Award.

Ee Ying and Claire, who also took part in the competition last year, when they received the Creative Script Award, said they were more experienced this time round in writing for the radio format.

Claire said: "Radio has no visual element, so most of the characterisation is dependent on dialogue. We learnt to focus more on that aspect this year."

Ee Ying added that having to stay home more last year because of Covid-19 helped them appreciate the importance of family time.

"Our story revolves around the idea of kinship and spending more time with our loved ones before it is too late, so it really instilled in us the importance of the theme we were conveying," she said.

At a virtual ceremony held last Friday, Ms Sun Xueling, Minister of State for Education and Social and Family Development and chairman of CPCLL, said in Mandarin that radio was unique in having endured changes in media technology.

"In the past, when technology was less developed, listening to the radio was an indispensable part of people's lives. As times change, radio has gradually disappeared, but still retains a great influence today because of its unique charm in immersing listeners in the world of sound."