The event was co-organized by the Public Relationships Department and the Communication & Publication Department of the House Association (HA) of Ma Man Kei and Lo Pak Sam College (MLC) from October 23 to November 1, 2021. During the 10-day event, the students participated actively in it and the response was overwhelming. Despite the epidemic, the students showed their positive and sunny spirit and distinctive literary style. The event used a combination of online submissions and offline letter interactions, and created an independent official WeChat account to receive submissions independently. A hundred and sixty one original literary works with three quotes and 100 offline letter interactions were received, with more than 260 participants.
As a traditional activity of MLC, “Love in Three Quotes” arrived quietly amidst much anticipation and concern. However, the epidemic brought new challenges to the event and we had to shift its main venue online. We were very pleased to find that although the epidemic and the internet had distanced people from each other, they were not able to stop the students from participating.
During the event, students interacted frequently with the official WeChat account, and students actively contributed to the event. We studied and lived in MLC. We were infected and inspired by Mr. Ma Man Kei’s poetry creation and inherited the literary classics. The content of hundreds of works covered a variety of themes such as affection for home country, family love, friendship, teacher-student love, love, concerted efforts to fight the epidemic, growth and dreams, reflecting the heart and friendship of the students of MLC.
In response to the high enthusiasm of the students, the organizer launched three issues of the Voice of Three Quotes Radio to broadcast the students’ outstanding works, and the participants expressed that they were “very happy and warm that their original works could be heard by more people”. At the same time, the organizer set up a column on the public platform of HA to update the students’ submissions daily. With warm words and exquisite layout, more than 100 works were circulated and appreciated by more people. In addition, the organizer selected outstanding works and adapted them into a special edition of the University of Macau photography. The winning entries were voted by the students and faculty, and one of them, a family work, stood out from the rest and won the first prize.
During the event, students not only improved their poetry appreciation ability, but also enhanced their understanding of traditional Chinese culture and contemporary popular literature. They also strengthened their ability of expressing themselves in literature, broadened their literary horizons, and improved their literary quality. At the same time, the students expressed their patriotism and determination to fight against the epidemic, and demonstrated their responsible citizenship and healthy attitude towards life in their works.