The Society of Publishers in Asia (SOPA) awarded the Financial Times with two first place and three honourable mention prizes in its annual Awards for Editorial Excellence in Hong Kong yesterday.

The SOPA awards are designed to honour and encourage editorial vitality and innovation throughout Asia and cover a broad range of categories reflecting the region’s diverse geo-political environment and vibrant editorial scene.

The Financial Times was recognised in the following categories:

First place wins:

- Opinion Writer of the Year: Patti Waldmeir with Shirley Chen and Ben Marino – for a series of articles on the social changes gripping China

- Information Graphics: FT graphics and China team – for an interactive display depicting the story behind China’s leadership transition

Honourable mentions:

- Lifestyle: Patti Waldmeir – for a series on changing lifestyles in China

- Features: Jamil Anderlini – for “Bo Xilai: power, death and politics”

- Features: XuDanei – for his columns on FTChinese.com

More information on the SOPA Awards can be found at http://www.sopawards.com/.