[Ta Kung Pao 01/02/05]

The five new Miss Chinese International Award Winners: Leanne Li, Fala Chen, Jessica Young, Kate Tsui and Jolene Chin continued their tour of sponsors to collect their prizes yesterday and winner Leanne was presented with a diamond watch worth $90,000, with the other four ladies receiving watches worth between $4000 and over $60,000.

Leanne admits that this is the first time that she has been given such an expensive watch and she will keep this in her security deposit box and only wear it on special occations. When asked what her family have given her, she said articulately: "They have given me love and that is enough." When it was mentioned that she resembles Miriam Yeung, Leanne says that she does have this feeling and when she saw Miriam performing at the music awards earlier, she had hoped to be able to have her photo taken with Miriam. Can she sing Cantonese songs? Leanne's thoughts turned to Faye Wong as she replied: "I know how to sing Faye's songs, she has a very unusual voice." When asked if she sees Miriam as her idol, Leanne smiled: "I like them all!"

First runner up Fala received a watch worth $63,000 and as she has not eaten very much in the run up to the pageant, she indicates that she went for a massive celebratory meal the night before with her friends and family.

http://www.takungpao.com/news/2005-2-1/UL-360571.htm



[Ta Kung Pao 01/02/05]

Ella Koon was spotted in TKO TVB City yesterday as she joined the rest of the cast from "Revolving Doors of Vengeance" as they headed out to film on location in Laoag in the Philippines.

Seeing her with her case, Ella was asked by the reporters what she had prepared and she indicated that as she suffers very easily from allergies, she has brought plenty of mosquito repellant as well as shorts, tops and bikinis. When it was mentioned that she could go sunbathing on the beach and meet some handsome guys, Ella joked that she would like to try nude sunbathing, but now she is in showbiz, she is afraid of being photographed, so she daren't do it now.

When she was warned about the local hygiene standards, Ella says that she will be careful: "I will not eat the local chicken." Also she knows that the sex industry there is rife, but she likes to have massage and is worried that she might end up in the wrong plcae. She laughs: "It happened once when I was in Dongguan and the receptionist asked me if I wanted 'traditional' or 'non-traditional' massage service. I didn't understand and when I asked again, she indicated that the 'non-traditional' side had more men queuing."

Talking of the casinos in Laoag, will Ella take time out for a flutter? She says: "It depends if I have time or not. I was in England the first time I went to a casino and it was very spooky because I guessed correctly every time, but I did not bet very much." Ella will be spending the Chinese New Year period in Hong Kong and she says happily that she has not been in Hong Kong for the new year in the past couple of years, so she has lost out on a lot of lucky packets. Hwoever, as well as receiving lucky money this year, Ella has also prepared around $10,000 to hand out to her colleagues and staff.

Co-star Ron Ng filmed a promotional clip for new series "Lost in the Chamber of Love" before setting out for Laoag and he says that apart from filming, he will be spending all his time in the hotel. However, he is not worried about the local hygiene problems: "Two years ago I already had a hepatitis innoculation and this is active for 8-10 years, so I am not afraid of what I eat."

http://www.takungpao.com/news/2005-2-1/UL-360560.htm



[Ta Kung Pao 01/02/05]

when the news broke earlier that Law Ka Ying was suffering from the third stage of liver cancer, his friends around him were very concerned. Now Ka Ying is resting and facing his illness optimistically.

Ka Ying's partner Liza Wang was filming yesterday at TVB City for "My Sassy Mother-in-Law" and when asked about him, Liza said that she did not want to say any more and asked the press to give Ka Ying a little space so he can concentrate on getting better. She says: "Please don't disturb him, usually he has a good relationship with the media, so please don't follow him around. He had to go to the doctors today and there were still reporters following him." When Liza was asked if she was worried about his condition, she says that there is no point in worrying about these things. At the moment, the only thing to do is to work with the doctor. When it was mentioned that Ka Ying had earlier joked about Liza not making him any soup, she immediately responded: "I don't have any either! He has his family to look after him."

Christine Ng only found out about Ka Ying's condition after reading about it in the press and she says: "I have great admiration for Liza, she has not been affected by this and Ka Ying is very strong and determined. Although he is suffering from the third stages of cancer, I believe that with the current advances in science, he will recover." Christine indicates that she has a body check every year because it is easy for women to develop problem with their breasts. If you are always unhappy then it is easy to become ill, so the most important thing is to be optimistic and happy through each day.

TVB announced its ratings yesterday for last week and "Wong Fei Hung - Master of Kung Fu" maintained an average of 30 points. The finale of "Shades of Truth" pulled in an average of 29 points, peaking at 31 points. The premiere week of "Jewel in the Palace" reached 25 points and Saturday's "Miss Chinese International Pageant" only pulled in 24 points.

http://www.takungpao.com/news/2005-2-1/UL-360573.htm