The preliminary round of HKSSDC Friendly Debating Competitions took place on 27th September 2013. Our English Debate Team was on the affirmative side while SKH Chan Young Secondary School was on the negative side. The debate motion was that "It's better to have one child rather than more in today's Hong Kong". The three debaters were David Yeong from 5A, Cyrus Fan from 5E and Paul Wong from 5A.

Our side pointed out that having one child only in a family is definitely more preferable and beneficial in today's Hong Kong with regard to the future of the children, families and HK society. Our team line was "Less is more", which is from 19th century proverbial phrase. Firstly, we focused on the unavoidable and indispensable financial burden of the parents when bearing children. Moreover, we also developed about the intrinsic shortage of education resources in HK.

Our first speaker highlighted the huge financial burden of upbringing children in Hong Kong. In accordance with the Student Financial Assistance Agency, although there is Kindergarten and Child Care Centre Fee Remission Scheme, the highest subsidy of a year is only about $20000 while the majority tuition fee is actually at least $30000.

Moreover, our second speaker stressed the serious lack of education resources in HK. According to Census and Statistic Department, the local birth rate was increasing from 900 live births per 1000 women in 2003 to about 1200 in 2012. The children's competition for education resources is predicted to become more serious. Psychologically, schoolchildren may be under huge pressure due to the increasing number of competitors.

After the debate, our student debaters felt it was really an unforgettable experience since they had put a lot of effort in research and preparation for more than two weeks. Besides, they all felt more confident with English speaking after training. It helped them improve their public speaking skills as well.