Pearl of Orient blessing ceremony

[Ta Kung Pao & Wen Wei Po 08/06/06]

Cast members from new series "Pearl of the Orient" including Liza Wang, Roger Kwok, Charmaine Sheh, Halina Tam and Sharon Chan attended the blessing ceremony for the show yesterday.

Charmaine and Roger had just returned from receiving their awards at the 2nd Top Chinese TV Awards in Beijing, where they each received awards, but there have been reports that the results were fixed. In response to this, Roger pointed out that these awards were voted for by the viewers and there should be auditable results.

Asked if these allegations were caused by the absence of Nicholas Tse in the top five, Roger replied: "Maybe, but there are plenty of talented artistes in Hong Kong and the mainland and the scores were very close, so it would have been very difficult to choose a winner. (Are you unhappy about the criticism?) No, I have not thought about this and to be honest, I have filmed many series in the mainland last year, with good results, so I am happy to win this award. (Are you following Maggie Cheung (Man Yuk)'s lead and not worrying as long as you get an award?) Yes! I have given a lot, so I didn't win this award for nothing." He adds that for him to win was thanks to "At the Threshold of an Era" being aired in China last year, that raised awareness among the Mainland audience. The event was extra special for him because it was held in the capital, Beijing.



For Charmaine, this was the first time she has received an award from the mainland and she believes that this is thanks to her role in "War and Beauty". As for the rumours, Charmaine says: "It is definitely not fixed, I have been filming very hard and artistes from many different places won awards, not just TVB artistes. It was voted for by the audience. (Are you unhappy about the reports of fixing?) No, there are always many ways of looking at things and you shouldn't take things to heart. The most important thing is to work hard and gain the acceptance from everyone.(Your good friend didn't win anything though?) Who? Ron Ng? (Benny Chan!) There were only a few awards, but there were many artistes, so I am happy to have won an award." She added that the fans in the mainland were very warm and asked her for hugs, she laughs: "If they are girls, I will try to meet their request. (Did any male fans ask for the same thing?) If it was a man, then it would depend on the sincerity of the person!"

Talking about the earlier antics of Sammy Leung and Siu Yee, resulting in their public apology and reprimand from the radio station, Liza indicates she has seen the reports and says: "This was not such a good thing, I don't think they should have joked about women in such a way, sexual assault is a serious issue and illegal." Liza thinks that as a public figure and a radio and TV show host, Sammy has to be more careful.



With reports that ratings for Sammy and Siu Yee's TV quiz "15/16" have gone down. Liza thinks this is because the parents have been affected by this. She thinks that many young people don't fully understand the implications of 'touching up' and 'sexual assault' and this is a downfall of the education system. She says that Sammy and Siu Yee are still young and should not be trying to promote themselves in this way.

Translation credit to Em.