[Oriental Daily]

Newly crowned Miss Hong Kong Mandy Cho won as a favourite and because she didn't arrive home until 2am after the contest and then was out early again the next morning, she hasn't had any time to celebrate her success yet, but despite the typhoon warning, her family including her parents, sister and aunt have all still gone out for dim sum to celebrate on her behalf. Mandy's mother says in response to her daughter's success: "I am very happy, but she is too busy, yesterday (23rd) she only slept for two hours and this morning (24th) she had to go out early but when she has time we will have a party to celebrate." As for their daughter entering the showbiz industry, she says that Mandy is a good natured girl and is not worried she will be badly influenced; as for her father, his performance of ripping up his return ticket was quite memorable, as he laughs: "Actually there were several versions but when I saw that Mandy had won two awards, I decided to create a bit of atmosphere." He reveals that the training that TVB has given them is like training female commandos, needing both literary and martial arts and this has helped his daughter to become more mature.

Every year, the contestants have a wish to 'fly to the top of the tree and become a phoenix' but Mandy was already a 'phoenix' before she entered, hailing from a prosperous family living in Tsimshatsui and having the love and devotion of her parents. No wonder that during her press conference yesterday, she says that: "I will be giving all my prizes to my dad and mum as all I want to do now is eat a big meal and have a good sleep." She also reveals she still has another two years of her study to complete and when asked whether she will follow in the footsteps of her predecessor Tiffany Lam and return to America straight after her term finishes, she laughs: "There is a chance, but I have about 18 months of contract with TVB, so I will make a decision after I find out whether this career is suited to me. (But your father has ripped up your plane ticket.) Actually it was just a prop to create some atmosphere, my dad is a really happy person, but I really did buy a return ticket." As for her mother revealing her nickname "Lai Lai Ju" (Piggy Lai Lai) causing some laughs from the audience, Mandy smiles as she explains: "Because when I was young, I was really plump and was always secretly eating ice cream, so I ended up with this nickname."

http://orientaldaily.com.hk/ent/ent_a04cnt.html