So it’s been over six months since I posted anything on this site and nobody noticed. Sad.
In any case, we’re back for the moment, so let’s get caught up on those missing six months with a cursory look at some of the more notable events that took place in Hong Kong Entertainment Christendom since my last post.
First, in September 2006, Ada Choi & Company came to evangelize North America…and I was there! I went to see their show in Pasadena and even dragged my parents along. Ada Choi talked about her gambling-addicted mother. TVB actress Esther Wen talked about beating cancer. Singer Angela Pang talked about getting knocked on the head, losing consciousness, and then ending up in the hospital for six months. TVB character actor Wong Cho-Lam talked about being a short, unattractive teenager who couldn’t get chicks (until he started doing impressions…and found Jesus…and started doing impressions of Jesus). And veteran actress Tomi Wong pretended to be even older than she already is by performing as a geriatric grandmother in some skit with Wong. Interestingly, one or more members of my immediate family could directly relate to the experiences of four out of the five entertainers who spoke. Afterwards, we went to Monterey Park and ate dinner at a Chiu Chou restaurant.
In October, news emerged that TVB actress Maggie Cheung Ho-Yee had converted to Christianity while taking an extended break from acting to recuperate from Graves disease. If you can read Chinese or are adept at snatching coherency from the snapping jaws of obtuse translation software, then check out her blog here.
As most observers of Hong Kong pop culture know, this is the “other” Maggie Cheung, not the more internationally renowned film actress who was severely miscast as a recovering wannabe punk singer/addict opposite a raggedy-looking Nick Nolte in Oliver Assayas’s Clean. Perhaps Nolte and Cheung should have switched roles. Ironically, both Maggies spent their formative years in England, both participated in the Miss Hong Kong Pageant, and both were/are actresses for TVB.
December was a huge month for news and happenings. First, after numerous rumors and tabloid allegations, Sammul Chan pulled a Mike Piazza and announced that he is NOT gay. Well, then.
Second, former TVB actress Fiona Leung was injured in a car accident while in Australia to film a program for The Media Evangelism, Ltd. Reports indicated that Ms. Leung suffered broken ribs, as well as a broken face. Thankfully, the most recent reports indicate that she is more or less on the road to recovery.
Third, a December news article revealed that former TVB actor Kong Wah and his wife had become Christians within the last year…although their kids did not, which is interesting.
Fourth, actress May Kwong got married. Christian artistes in attendance included Angela Pang (she of the bopped head and six-month hospital stint), Gary Chan, Noel Leung, and Leanne Li.
Finally, after several aborted attempts over the last year or so, Ada Choi managed to make it all the way to Israel to film a travel program about the Holy Land for TVB. More on this in another post.
The new year has also brought news of babies, babies, babies. The following Christian actresses are either pregnant or have already pushed out a kid: Noel Leung; Cecilia Cheung; Eugenia Lau; and Pauline Yeung. (Wait, is Cecilia Cheung still Christian? Or was that just a phase? Uh, will have to get back to you on that one.) Also, Boston-bred Catholic Flora Chan got married for the second time, to her manager.
Alright, now we’re pretty much caught up with what’s gone on in Hong Kong Entertainment Christendom during the last six months or so.
Next time: “Ada Choi in the Holy Land…” Or, “Who Took My Pita?” Or, “That Sea May Be Dead, But I’m Alive in Christ!” Or, “Kiss Me, I’m Israeli!”
