[Combined Report from Ta Kung Pao, Oriental Daily and The Sun]

The new series that brings together three previous winners of the Miss Hong Kong crown "Ap Liu Ha Dik Gam Dan" (Golden Egg of Ap Liu) held its blessing ceremony yesterday and those present included Anne Heung, Sonija Kwok and Shirley Yeun as well as Bobby Au-Yeung, Iva Lo and Lee Ka Ding. When the three beauty queens were asked if they were worried about there being gossip about surrounding them, Anne replied confidently: "Don't worry, there will be no such thing."

Although the three girls have each found their respective partners, the filming of this series will mean that they cannot spend Christmas with their other halves. Sonija says: "My boyfriend will be doing a stage show at Christmas and I don't mind us not spending the time together because making money is most important for now, but I hope that I can finish work early to go and have a Christmas dinner with my mum. Giving him presents? I am troubling over that at the moment!" This will be the first Christmas that Anne will be spending with her boyfriend, but she has to work and says that they can celebrate at any time, but at the moment she doesn't even have enough time to sleep, never mind go shopping for presents. As she has to work, she cannot go abroad to earn some show money, but she says she will be making appearances in many parts of America in the new year.

There has always been some conflict between Shirley and Sonija and although the two deny this, it did appear yesterday that Sonija was friendlier with Anne as they accompanied each other to make the offerings. This may be because they have worked together before on "Perish in the Name of Love". As for Shirley, she stood to one side, but luckily her boyfriend's father Lee Ka Ding was on hand to look after her and get her a mango after the ceremony. When Shirley was asked about this afterwards, she laughed: "Yeah! (Has your future father-in-law been looking after you on set?) We don't have many scenes together." As well as Master Lee, she indicates that her boyfriend's brother Lee Wing Hon has also been looking after her. As for Christmas, Shirley and Gregory both need to work, but luckily he is in the studio next door, so they can watch out for each other. She intends to knit a scarf for her boyfriend, but if she can't finish it in time then she will take him for a Christmas feast.

http://orientaldaily.com.hk/ent/ent_a15cnt.html
http://www.takungpao.com/news/2003-12-5/UL-204956.htm
http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/ent/20031205/20031205005032_0003.html
http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/ent/20031205/20031205005555_0003.html



[Ta Kung Pao]

Iva Lo was also present at the ceremony and when she was quizzed by reporters about whether she would be spending Christmas with Lawrence Ng, she indicated that after dating for over a year, the two have made a peaceful split and are now just friends. As for the reason, she refused to say at first, but after much pressure from the reporters, she put it down to them having different personalities. Iva explained that on the evening of the TVB anniversary, they talked on the phone and decided to end their relationship. As for which party ended it, she wouldn't say, but she indicated that they made the decision calmly and it was mutual.

As to whether the earlier reports of Lawrence's exploits in Beijing was the spark that led to this end, Iva refused to comment: "I don't want you to get the wrong idea, if I need to give a reason, it is because we have incompatible personalities. I am just a simple person, but I put a lot of emphasis on communication, all you have to do is call me and I will be happy, but because we are so different, it is difficult to communicate and it is better to end it there." When asked if she feels regretful, she says that being single is better because it is good for work. As for whether Lawrence tried to rescue the relationship, she did not want to say. Has she felt hurt? She immediately changed the subject and said: "No matter what life goes on and I feel that I am a very useful person. From the start I have depended on my own pair of hands from being a bit part to now getting some more substantial roles." She also indicated relaxedly that she no longer needs to worry about people saying she is dependent on Lawrence as she now only works for herself and there are no longer any hassles. In the year of the relationship, she has had some good experiences and she believes this will be helpful to her future development. As for whether she is being pursued at the moment, she laughs: "No, but my cousin will be visiting me from abroad over Christmas, so I have asked him to keep me company and I won't be lonely."

When it was mentioned that she was still being very protective towards Lawrence, Iva says that she has her own principles and she would rather not affect other people. However, the media is very adept at uncovering secrets and when there is a split then they will reveal some details, she laughs that this is the reason why she is passing on the news. In the future will she be choosing someone from outside the industry or around her own age? She says this is down to fate and is hard to predict. She also doesn't mind working again with Lawrence, but no-one has approached her just yet. As for the other party, Lawrence's mobile phone was diverting to his mailbox so he was not able to be contacted.

http://www.takungpao.com/news/2003-12-5/UL-204957.htm