[Summarised from Ta Kung Pao, Oriental Daily, Sing Pao & The Sun]

Many stars are revealing that they have been suffering from the pressures of the business and succumbing to mental conditions such as depression and anxiety. After Rain Lau, fellow "Virtues of Harmony" star Johnny Ngan has also reported suffering from anxiety, but after treatment through medication and relaxation, he is now also well on the road to recovery.

Co-stars Nancy Sit and Kingdom Yuen were filming for "Virtues" yesterday and indicated that they have known about Johnny's condition because it was affecting his driving and his wife had to come and pick him up from work. Appearing at a talk on the subject earlier, Nancy says that the most important thing is to relax and not worry about admitting there is a problem. As for ways of relaxing, Nancy says: "I will not think about any problems, such as when I had my divorce, I was very unhappy especially when I had no money and my apartment was repossessed. I didn't want to get up in the morning or sleep at night and would hold my daughter and cry every night. These were all symptoms of depression, but luckily my family were there to help me, my children were very supportive and they all gave me strength not to let go. I am glad I did not do anything silly then, otherwise I would not have everything I have today. I think the most important thing is to be optimistic, reminding yourself all the time to try your best because if you do that and it goes wrong then it is beyond your control."

Kingdom believes that depression is as common as the common cold and comes in different levels and if it is serious then medication should be sought. She feels that Hong Kong people suffer from too much pressure and her own methods of relaxation are eating and working, not thinking about too much. She feels that with so many people suffering around her, she has become used to seeing the condition. As for herself, she says: "I can control it so I don't need to see a doctor, if I feel it I will try and soothe it straight away. (When your ex-boyfriend died, were you depressed?) Luckily I was working at the time and this is a good way of relaxing. Working too hard will just make you tired, but this eases the depression."

http://www.singpao.com/20040303/gossip/521573.html
http://www.takungpao.com/news/2004-3-3/UL-234624.htm
http://orientaldaily.com.hk/ent/ent_a18cnt.html



[The Sun & Ta Kung Pao]

Frankie Lam was filming for "Virtues of Harmony" yesterday with Nancy Sit and Kingdom Yuen and although he has been given a break from the series, he still has to make an appearance from time to time to tie in with the needs of the storyline. In response to the news about Johnny Ngan's condition, Frankie says that he was not aware because he was still laughing and joking whilst filming, but Frankie agrees that there is a lot of pressure in the entertainment industry.

With days to go to his wedding, Frankie says that he is quite stressed because many of his guests are busy and cannot make it, but he will be putting on a forty table banquet. As for good friend Sunny Chan's wedding not even having an exchange of rings, Frankie says: "If you're getting married, then you either keep it really simple and not do anything or make it complete with the banquet, rings and everything else."

http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/ent/20040303/20040303010152_0003.html



[Oriental Daily]

After the airing of "The 76th Academy Awards" on TVB's Pearl channel, unsatisfied viewers bombarded the company with 39 complaints, mostly concerning the early finish leading to an incomplete show.

Assistant programming director Chan Shui Ching appeared to respond to these complaints and explain that they are obliged under the broadcasting regulations to show Educational Television programmes after 12pm and unfortunately this meant that viewers were unable to watch the presentation of Best Actor and Actress and Best Film awards. Ms Chan says: "TVB fought very hard with the Broadcasting Authorities to allow us to show the complete Oscar presentation, but the terms of the licence mean that we have to air a minimum of four hours of educational TV unless this affects the public as a whole. They feel that the Oscars is not important enough to allow this ruling to be overridden. We have been very frustrated at this instruction, after all we have paid for the rights to air the show and of course we would like to show the entire ceremony. We hope that the authorities will revise the terms in line with the times."

http://orientaldaily.com.hk/ent/ent_a21cnt.html



[Ta Kung Pao]

Adam Cheng was filming at TKO TVB City yesterday for "Proud Heroes of Chu and Han" and chatting to reporters in the make up room, he spoke abuot his reaction to the news of Johnny Ngan's condition. Adam says that he would never suffer from depression because he puts all his attentions to his work. He adds: "Every woman has hormones that will give them mild anxiety, my wife used to have it, but recovered very quickly."

Talking of the youth of today being difficult to teach, Adam agrees saying that no matter how you bring them up, the most important thing to know is that the children know everything their parents do is for their own good. He says: "It is difficult to be a parent nowadays, you cannot just nag them all the time, you have to feed it to them a little at a time. Altough my youngest daughter is only ten years old, she is already disobedient to her mother, but luckily she will listen to me. My elder daughter is 14 now and her mother wants her to study well and is very strict with her. (Is she dating?) Her mother says she isn't, but I am not worried as long as we know what kind of people she is meeting." Adam admits that having daughters is very worrying for him.

Whilst talking about his new show "Blade Heart" airing on Internationa Women's Day, he says that if the show averages 38 points from beginning to end, then he will be very happy.

http://www.takungpao.com/news/2004-3-3/UL-234626.htm



[Ta Kung Pao]

Sammul Chan filmed a set of adverts for a casualwear company from the mainland recently , primarily modelling T-shirts and shirts. The company liked Sammul's 'good boy' image and felt that he was the right positioning for this product so originally signed him for a year. However when they met him and realised what a tall handsome guy he is, they quickly changed their mind, making him their spokesperson, extending the contract to two years and making a two-thirds upfront payment to show their sincerity.

When asked about his special treatment from his sponsors, Sammul was extremely happy and the filming went very smoothly. The company boss indicates that when Sammul's album is released, they will buy the first 10,000 copies in the hope that their product and his album will both take off. Sammul says happily: "This is good news on good news!" As for the day of the shoot, Sammul changed into forty shirts and T-shirts and although there were hundreds of flashes, it did little to curb Sammul's spirits.

http://www.takungpao.com/news/2004-3-3/UL-234614.htm



[Oriental Daily & Ta Kung Pao]

Nnadia Chan's beauty book has now been pushed to a third print and she says that she is pleased with the result. However she has found that some unscrupulous traders have copied her picture from the book to sell and she is very annoyed at this. Nnadia says: "When some of my fans passed me this copied picture to autographed, I was quite shocked when I saw it and realised. (Will you be taking action?) If it doesn't go too far then I will consider letting it go, they are just trying to make a living." With the success of her book, Nnadia is very excited, but she also feels regretful because she has agreed to take her friends out at the second print, but with the third print out, she has not fulfilled her promise yet.

http://orientaldaily.com.hk/ent/ent_a07cnt.html
http://www.takungpao.com/news/2004-3-3/UL-234616.htm