In the golden month of October, the 8th “Lotus Cup” Legal Speech Contest of the Faculty of Law at Macau University of Science and Technology concluded successfully. Hosted by the Faculty of Law, co-organized by the Students’ Union, and sponsored by the Foundation, the contest proceeded in two stages: the preliminary round and the final round.
Venue of the Final Round and Awards Ceremony of the 8th “Lotus Cup” Legal Speech Contest
The preliminary round was held on the evening of October 13, with the topic “The Chinese Path to Rule-of-Law Civilization.” The judging panel consisted of Program Director Mou Xiaobo, Assistant Professor Chen Qin, and Assistant Professor Wang Jia. Fifteen contestants delivered five-minute themed speeches. In the end, nine contestants—Fei Qingya, Zhou Zhiyuan, Li Xintian, Zhang Hangrui, Jiang Yuguo, Xu Shuge, Xu Longxin, Yang Zhihai, and Zhang Yishan—advanced to the final round.
Judges of the preliminary round (from left: Assistant Professor Wang Jia, Program Director Mou Xiaobo, Assistant Professor Chen Qin)
The final round was held on the evening of October 26. The judging panel was composed of the chair of the panel and Associate Dean of the Faculty of Law Yi Zaicheng; Senior Partner Barrister Tsang San Chi of Macau Lituo Lawyers & Notaries; Executive Director Barrister Xu Bing of DeHeng YongHeng (Hengqin) Associated Law Firm; Program Director Zhou Ting of the Faculty of Law; and Assistant Professor Man Tao.
Judges of the final round (from left: Program Director Zhou Ting, Barrister Tsang San Chi, Associate Dean Yi Zaicheng, Barrister Xu Bing, Assistant Professor Man Tao)
The final comprised two rounds. In the first round (themed speech), the nine finalists delivered five-minute speeches on the topic “Law in the Age of AI.” The contestants performed steadily and excellently, addressing the topic from multiple perspectives, including the impact of AI deepfakes on the evidentiary system and personality rights, liability attribution in autonomous-driving accidents, the bottom line of judges’ substantive review in AI-assisted adjudication, cross-jurisdictional governance solutions in the Greater Bay Area, and algorithmic black-box issues. Barrister Xu Bing, Program Director Zhou Ting, and Assistant Professor Man Tao offered professional comments respectively from the angles of the controversy of topic selection, the clarity of the speech theme and rhetorical techniques, and public speaking ability as a core competency for legal professionals. Based on the scores, Zhang Yishan, Xu Shuge, and Yang Zhihai advanced to the second round—impromptu speaking. The three drew lots on site and, with only one minute to prepare, took the stage in turn. They delivered impromptu arguments on topics such as online violence and the boundaries of freedom of speech, the human touch in legal practice, and courtroom mediation culture, demonstrating a solid foundation in legal studies and agile critical thinking. Barrister Tsang San Chi and Associate Dean Yi Zaicheng commented one by one, emphasizing that legal professionals’ speeches must be grounded in a deep understanding of the content, highlighting the contest’s dual training focus on students’ impromptu expression and legal literacy.
Contestants in action
Judges’ comments
(Top row, from left: Barrister Xu Bing, Assistant Professor Zhou Ting, Assistant Professor Man Tao; bottom row, from left: Barrister Tsang San Chi, Associate Dean Yi Zaicheng)
(Bottom row, from left: Barrister Tsang San Chi, Associate Dean Yi Zaicheng)
This contest included an audience voting session. Student Zhou Zhiyuan received the highest number of votes and was awarded “Most Popular Speaker.” Ultimately, student Yang Zhihai won the championship, student Xu Shuge took second place, and student Zhang Yishan won third place. Notably, the undergraduate winners in the top three were also recommended to enter the finals of the “Constitution” track of the 2026 “MUST Youth Speak” Speech Contest, stepping onto a broader stage to showcase themselves. At the awards ceremony, Program Director Zhou Ting and Assistant Professor Man Tao presented commemorative certificates; Barrister Xu Bing, Barrister Tsang San Chi, and Associate Dean Yi Zaicheng presented awards for “Most Popular Speaker,” third place, and second place respectively; and Professor Fang Quan, Dean of the Faculty of Law, presented the award to the champion. After a group photo, the contest concluded successfully.
Dean Fang Quan (first from left) presents the award to the champion
Associate Dean Yi Zaicheng (first from left) presents the award to the runner-up
Barrister Tsang San Chi (first from left) presents the award to the third-place winner
Barrister Xu Bing (first from left) presents the award for “Most Popular Speaker”
The “Lotus Cup” Legal Speech Contest has been successfully held for eight editions and is one of the Faculty of Law’s signature student activities. From the preliminary-round topic “The Chinese Path to Rule-of-Law Civilization” to the final-round topic “Law in the Age of AI,” this year’s contest guided students step by step to focus on core issues in the building of the rule of law and the challenges posed by frontier technologies. The contest aims to cultivate students’ public speaking ability, legal reasoning and critical thinking skills, and academic expression, encouraging law students to think independently amid the clash of ideas and to build confidence through sincere expression.
