Hong Kong's media industry has a great role to play in helping society explore fresh opportunities arising from the city's new stage of development and the high-quality growth of the Guangdong-HongKong-Macao Greater Bay Area, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu told the Hong Kong News Awards 2022 ceremony on Friday.

During the city's most prestigious news awards events, China Daily Hong Kong Edition bagged eight awards across five categories, including one top prize and two 1st runner-up awards.

Addressing the ceremony, Lee said the city is making every effort to promote Hong Kong's developments on the Chinese mainland and overseas regions, as it returned to normal from the protracted COVID-19 pandemic.

Lee hopes the city's media outlets can also cast a spotlight on the city's latest developments, such as its economic recovery, its ambitious initiatives to lure global talent, and the breakthroughs in global rankings.

He believes it will boost local residents' confidence and offer greater impetus for society to move forward. Lee also emphasized the media's role in helping local sectors understand the latest developments in the Greater Bay Area, saying that the promotion of quality development is crucial to the continued growth of the cluster.

Talking about the recent sensation caused by artificial intelligence-based tools such as ChatGPT, Lee believed that certain aspects of human interaction, such as emotions, empathy and humanistic care, will never be replicated or replaced by AI technology.

As such technology continues to advance, he cautioned that the media must be vigilant against fake information, maintain professionalism and stick to the truth, Lee said.

This year, China Daily Hong Kong Edition made significant strides in its arts and culture reporting, winning four out of five awards in the Best Arts and Culture News Reporting category. So far it has won a total of 113 awards at the news awards over the past 13 years, including 10 in 2022, 11 awards in 2021 and nine in 2020.

Senior reporter Kate Li Bingcun won a top prize and 2nd runner-up award in two categories. Li's three-piece culture series, entitled "In Dialogue with Time," encompassed three facets of the city's endeavor to become a cultural and artistic hub, was awarded the top prize for Best Arts and Culture News Reporting.

Also, Li received the 2nd runnerup award for Best Science News Reporting for her center-spread data journalism project titled"Don't Pollute with Light", which focused on the issue of light pollution in the Guangdong-HongKong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

"Each award-winning story is the result of teamwork, and I will continue making efforts to present the power of written reporting and the changing tides of our times," Li said, holding trophies in her hands.

China Daily's senior reporter, Jenny Wang Yuke, received two awards in the Best Arts and Culture News Reporting category this year, the 1st runner-up and the second Merit respectively.

"Triumph is fleeting, but committed toil for a higher notch has to be a constant. I treasure the wealth of opportunities and leeway for pursuing journalism furnished by China Daily Hong Kong. Growing with China Daily is a testament to the wisdom of 'thinking big, doing big, and achieving the biggest'," Wang said.

Oasis Hu Qichen, who has only been in the journalism field for a year, was awarded first runner-up in the Best Young Reporter category. Chitralekha Basu won the first Merit in Best Arts and Culture News Reporting with the Art Tech Series.

"I am grateful to my interviewees, often elderly, weak, sick or disabled individuals residing on the margins of society. It takes a great deal of courage for them to share their personal stories, but they always answer my questions patiently, and even hope to aid more disadvantaged individuals marginalized by the social structure. Their kindness has reminded me that journalism is not just a job but a mission," Hu said.

The veteran page design team of Mok Kwok-cheong and Billy Wong Siu-kay won second runner-up in Best News Page Design (Single Page) and the first Merit in the Best News Page Design (Series) categories.

The Newspaper Society of Hong Kong organized this year's competition, which received a total of 617 entries from 12 Chinese and English language newspapers in the city.