Once again, more than 250 guests of the publishing industry's key business and editorial executives gathered at the JW Marriott on Thursday, 25th May 2006 to witness this year's presentation of the Awards for Editorial Excellence. Winners were selected for 17 categories for English and Chinese language media. In its eighth year, the SOPA Editorial Awards received a record high of 457 entries from 83 leading publications across the region.

Lorraine Hahn, host of CNN International's regional chat show TALK ASIA was emceeing of the evening. Former Chief Secretary for Administration of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the Honorable Mrs. Anson Chan, graced the presentation ceremony with her presence. Her keynote speech, on freedom of the press, made headline stories in the mass media.

At the gala, SOPA presented a cheque to The Society for the Relief of Disabled Children, which was part of SOPA's annual donation to charity from the proceeds of the organization's activities.

"The record number of entries this year signifies the vitality of Asia's publishing industry and the strong commitment of regional journalists to editorial excellence in an increasingly competitive media environment", said Nancy Valiente SOPA Chairperson.

"We had a remarkably strong collection of winning entries this year, which shows that the dramatic increase in the overall number of submissions for SOPA Awards is being accompanied by a commensurate rise in overall quality", said SOPA Director of Judges David Plott, from the University of Hong Kong.