[Ta Kung Pao]

TVB held a birthday party for artistes with December birthdays yesterday and among them Evergreen Mak will be celebrating his birthday on 18th, but he will be working before and after his birthday so he will probably not be celebrating. However, he doesn't mind because cutting the cake is nothing compared to making money to feed his kids. Evergreen says: "I will be finishing the play 'Hon Kong Diu Suet' on 17th and then will immediately be heading up to Dongguan for a show and then doing a catwalk show on 19th. Luckily the filming for series that I was originally doing in the Mainland over Christmas has been postponed so I can spend the holidays with my children and take on some more shows to help with my income."

When asked what he has received from his 4 year-old and 1 year-old son and daughter, Evergreen says: "They downloaded a picture onto the computer and added their handprints to it before asking their mother to help them write on it."

Today (Dec 5th) is Akina Hong's birthday and she will be celebrating with her family at a French restaurant. Her friends had previously bought her a diamond watch that she will be wearing tonight. When asked what her birthday wish was, she says that she wishes for more work, such as series and stage appearances so that she can save up more quickly for a big house for her and her family.

http://www.takungpao.com/news/2003-12-5/UL-204954.htm



Joe Ma has been heavily promoted recently by TVB and has been extremely busy, but in order to build his career, he has to work hard. With one series after another, this has not affected his relationship with his wife and son as he has a very happy family. Yesterday, he was interviewed by Cha Siu Yan and talked of family life. Joe revealed: "Although I am very busy with work at the moment, this has not changed or distanced my relationship with my wife, because we both understand what it is all about and the present is about rushing ahead with my career." He also laughs that getting married early was so that he could concentrate on his work and not have to worry about finding a girl, However since becoming a leading star at TVB, he has really felt that being married has affected his career somewhat. "Some viewers once said to me that if it would be better if I wasn't married because this could give them more scope for imagination."

As for why he rarely speaks of his family in front of the media, he says: "It is because I am very protective of them and I don't want them to be disturbed." Will his wife lose a sense of security in him if he becomes famous? Joe says: "My wife is very pretty, the insecure one should be me!"

Apart from his wife, Joe's most beloved is his five year-old son and he has no plans to add another family memeber for now, because he is too busy with work. In the ten years he has been in the industry, Joe has had good relations with other people and has many good friends in showbiz. Even Maggie Cheung with all her gossip is one of his good friends. Joe feels that Maggie is a sociable person, but maybe her direct nature makes it easy for her to create gossip.

http://www.takungpao.com/news/2003-12-5/UL-204955.htm