TVB Celebrity News

Several days ago, Bobby Au-Yeung was sent to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) because he fell unconscious. He suffered from acute pneumonia, but his condition has now stabilized and he's been transferred out of ICU. Yesterday Bobby accepted an interview with Maria Lai and recalls what happened.

Bobby expressed the doctor has checked his blood pressure and lungs, and he's doing physical therapy every day to speed up the recovery process. When asked what was the last memory he had before he went unconscious? Bobby recalled: "I just remember my group of friends were taking pictures. I really can't remember anything else. Later, my wife told me the story. At the time, I was sitting on the sofa alone and it appeared I fell asleep. Michael Tao thought I was drunk and needed a nap, so he came over to wake me up (*coughs*). What he saw was I had white eyes and muscle cramps. Luckily, I had several friends who were professionals, such as a gynecologist, police officer and one friend learned CPR before and they were all there. Benjamin Yuen was just amazing, he rushed into the restroom to wash his hands, then he gave me his finger to bite on. He told me not to bite my tongue. Perhaps because I had a little flu and drank alcohol, so once I coughed, the liquid went into my lungs and caused my unconsciousness."

Wasn't Breathing, Could Have Died

Bobby disclosed when he got to the hospital, he wasn't capable of breathing on his own and needed the paramedics to give him oxygen. Still lingering in fear, Bobby said: "It was terrible, I was really about to die. I was in the ER from 2am until the afternoon of the next day, a total of 12 hours. The doctor said I had a 'big life', luckily I was strong and was able to regain consciousness. Otherwise, I would've been in a coma and the condition could have worsen. I really picked my life back up this time, really have to thank my wife and friends for overcoming this rough period with me." Reportedly, the actual cause of Bobby's illness was because he was "violently drinking" and he's trying to conceal the truth. Bobby said: "The fact is I did drink, but I didn't drink that much. Its just because I was too tired, I have heavy screen time in Love Reverse Three Lifetimes of Fate." Bobby also disclosed, there were a few times when he was filming in the studio, he had severe chest pain from smelling the strong paint thinner odor. He said: "I was even joking about it, if something happens to me, then send me to get my arteries widened (angioplasty). Esther Kwan said I'm so despicable, how can I die that easily?"

Next Time Suck on the Toes Instead of Finger

Reporters contacted Benjamin Yuen, who rescued Bobby that night and is currently working on the new series with him. Benjamin said: "I've learned CPR before. At the time he couldn't breathe, so I tried to help him find a position where he could comfortably breathe, but I didn't dare to do too much on him. It's a human life! Later, he called to thank me and joked, next time don't use my finger, let him suck on my toes instead."


Good Friends Esther Kwan and Jessica Hsuan Visits

As for Bobby's good friends Esther Kwan and Jessica Hsuan visited him at the hospital. Esther brought a Get Well card with her, signed by the entire Reverse Three Lifetimes cast. Esther stayed with Bobby for about 30 minutes before rushing back to the set for continual shooting. She congratulated Bobby for getting through the difficult times and expressed Bobby is still very well-spirited, he's still joking around with her. It's just because he's still hooked on the tubes and he feels tired. It is clear he lost some weight and a beard is growing. Jessica Hsuan made a special trip back to HK to visit Bobby, she stayed at the hospital for 3 hours. Jessica said: "He's recovering well, he can even talk back to me now. He complained I didn't bring him a souvenir or any snacks. He has a tube up his nose and has definitely lost quite a bit of weight, but he doesn't look worn out. I told him to watch what he eats and exercise more. After all, we aren't 18 or 22 years old anymore."

Bobby's wife Rosanne Fu had a smile on her face, she revealed: "Bobby ate all his food." Bobby's manager Lydia expressed he probably can discharge in 3-4 days. She said: "I prayed for Bobby, he can now go to restroom and take showers. He's not having trouble breathing anymore, just some coughs. I contacted Reverse Three Lifetimes's producer and discussed the followup filming because there are still outdoor filming in East Dragon Island and Foshan."

Yesterday Jessica Hsuan and Elena Kong participated in the Society for Abandoned Animals (SAA) Walkathon 2013 with their beloved dogs. Jessica frankly expressed she will not sign a contract with TVB and decided to turn down Tiger Cubs 2. The reason is because she and TVB were unable to come to an agreement on the contract terms, and she does not plan to sign a long contract with the company. When asked whether she feels its a pity that she gave up on the Tiger Cubs sequel? Jessica said: "Currently I'm all about following my fate, I rather choose freedom. As for if I will ever sign a long contract with a TV station, I will have to see the contract terms first. If one of the terms on the contract is I cannot go anywhere, then there is some difficulty there." Jessica stressed the recent rumor on the magazine reports is not true, she definitely did not disappear for 3 hours.

Elena Kong just completed shooting Triumph in the Skies II and won't start on her next series until April. She has time to guest star in a few films and was invited by DBC to do a singing performance again. "To me, I'm paid pretty well for singing again."

Yesterday Jessica Hsuan attended a press conference for nowTV's new travel program Walter's World (紀好世界). She expressed she traveled to South Africa earlier and has came back with some extra pounds because she had a buffet every day, "During my trip, my figure was getting bigger. My 3 meals were at a buffet and I got to eat abalone, it was totally a luxurious trip." Asked if she had any affairs while she was there? Jessica laughed: "If I see anyone, I would just sit silently on the side." Jessica said she has been to South Africa's Cape Town 3 times and didn't buy diamonds, "I have been impulsive and purchased property there because the environment there is just beautiful. I didn't get photographed either since there aren't many Chinese there. However, it is honestly too far."

Yesterday Joe Ma and Jessica Hsuan organized a celebration for the success of TVB series Tiger Cubs. The two leads met up with the cast and crew for dinner and enjoyed the finale together. The producer excitedly tried to boost the atmosphere and told the male artists to lift the female artists up in order to help keep the ratings up.

The night of the finale was also the night of the Olympics basketball game finale, Joe hoped the ratings could beat the Olympics. "It's hard to predict. Tiger Cubs got pretty good ratings and feedback, but the Olympics is a huge event, viewers have a choice. (Will you go topless if the ratings surpass 40 points?) When the ratings hit a certain point, I can do something for the series." He joked, last time at the cruise party several of the cast couldn't make it, so this time he hopes to take a 'Tigers Cubs' A&F' photo with Oscar Leung and Him Law and win honor for the people of Hong Kong.

Jessica just came back from Shanghai after celebrating her 42nd birthday with over a 100 fans a few days ago. Yesterday, the cast celebrated with Jessica with a birthday cake and kisses from Joe and Oscar. She hoped the ratings could be 42 (points) too and then she can force Joe to go topless. Jessica expressed the sequel is not confirmed yet. As for renewing her TVB contract, she will have to wait for the sequel to confirm first before she makes considerations because she fears of having restrictions if she renews and affect her development in Mainland. Is her birthday wish to find a boyfriend? Jessica said: "I can have many wishes, this week many friends have invited me out to eat. (Any pursuers?) They are all friends."

At the event, Vincent had to apologize, as he knelt down and gave his wife Yoyo Chen tea. He laughed and said because in the series, he and Him Law had to arrest Yoyo and hurt her in the process, so now he's apologizing to her. Also, Oscar reveals Netizens have been scolding Christine Kuo, his girlfriend in the series, because Netizens still likes him paired with Mandy Wong.

Under the leadership of its chairmain Ricky Wong (王維基), City Telecom (CTI) has been aggressively expanding its footprint in the HK television circle these past few months. After successfully ‘poaching’ a large group of veteran and talent-path artists from rival TVB, CTI is now setting their sights on recruiting first line siu sangs and fa dans, which they currently lack. One of CTI’s latest recruitment ‘targets’ is actress Jessica Hsuan (宣萱), whose popularity once again soared recently due to the TVB series Tiger Cubs《飛虎》. After losing so many artists to rival stations as well as to the Mainland [China] market, it is said that TVB does not want to take any chances and so will likely use the ‘lure’ of a Tiger Cubs sequel to get Jessica to re-sign with them. Towards this, Jessica made her position very clear: “My number one request is for a good role and good script – otherwise, I wouldn’t have declined at least 5 TV series in HK and Mainland. To me, the chance to film the sequel [to Tiger Cubs] is not necessarily the most attractive offer.”

It has been rumored that Ricky Wong’s CTI has been consistently in contact with Jessica, giving her numerous scripts to review in the hopes of recruiting her to join their company. According to behind-the-scenes personnel [at CTI], many of the roles that were offered to Jessica for review were specially written for her and cater to her strength in playing ‘professional’ roles. Asked about this, Jessica expressed: “I have been in discussions with CTI, however the offers so far were to once again portray a cop and other ‘professional’ roles – this is the primary reason why I declined the offers. Tiger Cubs was the last series that I filmed in HK and since a large amount of time has passed, I hope that my return will give HK audiences a different feeling. It’s not that I won’t play a cop or lawyer ever again, but rather I prefer for my ‘return’ series to not be the same type of role.”

Declines offer to film 5 series, loses 8 figure earnings

Jessica continues: “As for TVB, we were in discussions previously and recently resumed discussions once again. However, I still need to look at suitability of the role and also a confirmed good script. There was talk of a possible sequel to Tiger Cubs, but all along, I’ve never been a fan of sequels. For example, back when Dicey Business 《賭場風雲》aired, the audience reaction was also very good, however as soon as the company suggested filming a sequel, I immediately said no. I feel that whether it’s a HK series, movie, or even a Hollywood film, sequels rarely ever live up to the original – I would much rather leave behind beautiful memories of the series and not wait until the story is filmed to death before stopping. Recently, I’ve given it some serious thought and asked myself if a sequel were to be filmed, what would be the most attractive ‘selling point’? But I will say that with the good ratings and word of mouth for Tiger Cubs, it truly does give me a feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction. If there truly is a sequel, I wouldn’t mind using my ‘friendship cards’ and invite friends such as Bobby [AuYeung] (歐陽震華), Louis [Koo] (古天樂), Gallen [Lo] (羅嘉良), etc. to participate.” (What do the salary offers look like from both sides?) “Of course CTI’s salary offer is more attractive than TVB’s, however I would not request an amount comparable to Mainland salary. More important for me is who I would be collaborating with – I’m not necessarily requesting to ‘choose’ who I want to collaborate with, but I do prefer working with artists who have more of a professional attitude. Right now, all I want is to be happy doing my work – if the people I work with can’t even meet the ‘basics’ of being punctual and studying their script, I don’t want to get myself all upset over it.”

If the amount of salary is not the most important, does that mean that Jessica has already earned enough money? She replied: “Earned enough? I don’t think anyone will ever say they’ve earned ‘enough’ money! As a kid, when I earned my first dollar, I would think how great it’d be if I earned 10 dollars, then when I have that 10 dollars, I would think about earning 100 dollars – when I started working and earned my first hundred thousand, I’d think about how satisfying it would be to earn more…it’s an endless cycle. However I also know that I can’t earn all the money in the world and slowly I realized that all these years, I’ve put so much focus on my work that I ended up missing out on a lot of things around me….earlier, I actually declined offers to film 5 series in both HK and Mainland – quite a lot of money involved.” (Loss of earnings in the 8 figures?) “Since I already declined the offers, no point in calculating.”

Ready anytime for new relationship

With all the time that Jessica has spent working, what does she feel are some of her ‘regrets’? Jessica expressed: “I missed out on the weddings of many many friends and it’s something that I can’t make up for anymore. In the past, work always took first priority – when my friends would invite me to their weddings, I would always tell them that I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to make it and in the end, I would choose work over attending the wedding. But things are different now…” (Missed out on [love] relationships as well?) “Yes, but it’s not entirely regrettable, as I believe in fate when it comes to relationships. I once had a 6 year relationship during which I asked myself whether I would regret it in the future if I were to give up my career for the relationship – the answer was: yes, I would regret it! If you were to ask me to choose again now, I would still make the same choice. I feel that modern women, even if married, still need to have a career – I would never be able to endure being locked into a housewife role at home with nothing to do! Doesn’t matter how much money you give me, I just can’t do it – I have my own interests such as going diving or meeting up with friends for dinner and such.”

In recent months, Jessica definitely appears more relaxed and happier, which caused many people to think that perhaps she’s in a new relationship – in reality, Jessica actually hired a personal trainer to help her get back into shape. Asked whether she is currently in a new relationship, Jessica replied: “Nope! Since I’m not currently tied down by any contracts, I figured I’d use the break to get myself back into shape and also to look after my health. Pretty much right now, I’m ready for whatever that may come my way – whether work or relationship. I’ve always been a bit on the skinny side and with age, my body doesn’t work as fast as it used too – therefore I felt it was necessary to tone myself up, do more exercise, upgrade myself. I must admit that after I started doing this, I’ve felt a lot more alert and energetic! Even my fans and other friends have asked me whether I’m dating – it’s quite funny actually!”

Since breaking up with her veterinarian boyfriend Ruan last year, Jessica has not started any new relationships yet. Towards this, Jessica laughed and replied: “Leave it up to fate! My life right now is very happy – I have a pretty steady circle of friends, both male and female. If I were to start a relationship, I’d have to find someone whom I can ‘click’ with – someone I could mutually rely on and take care of each other.” (Are you accepting of an ‘older woman/younger man’ relationship?) “It would depend upon whether the other person is mature in his thinking or not. If I have to ‘take care’ of him like a son, then no thanks! I already have 3 people that I ‘take care of’ at home: my elderly parents and a housekeeper who helped raise me since birth – sometimes I do wish that I had a shoulder to lean on, but if it’s not the right person, can’t force it! My 80 year old father used to nag me about finding a good man and getting married, but now, he actually tells me not to rush into things – if not compatible, then don’t get married…being happy is most important. Those are my sentiments exactly!”

Success of Tiger Cubs opens up a new timeslot for TVB

In the hopes of opening up a new weekend timeslot , TVB arranged for Tiger Cubs to be the inaugural series to help test the waters – the results were very successful, as the series beat out all of the variety shows with its unprecedented high ratings in that timeslot. Previously, the ‘grand production’ variety special TVB Singers Red and White Battle, in which more than 100 singers participated, only averaged 19 point ratings in the weekend timeslot – so far, Tiger Cubs has been able to garner peak ratings of 26 points in the Saturday timeslot, with ratings reaching 31 points in the Sunday timeslot, which is even higher than some of the regular series airing on the weekdays! It’s no wonder then that TVB would try so hard to persuade the series’ stars Joe Ma (馬德鐘) and Jessica Hsuan to re-sign filming contracts with them. Head of production Tommy Leung (梁家樹) has already confirmed that there are plans to film a Tiger Cubs sequel next year and he hopes that they will be able to maintain the original cast. Joe Ma has already re-signed a per series contract with TVB – now all they are waiting for is Jessica to give the green light to re-sign with them.

Joe Ma, Jessica Hsuan and the rest of the Tiger Cubs cast had a party on the cruise to celebrate the high ratings and also to promote for Sunday's 2 hour finale. Him Law and Vincent Wong were absent from the promotion, but the rest of the male artists showed off their muscles and played in the water. Joe claimed he'll be willing to 'strip' if the ratings goes over 40 points. At the event, Jessica said she was feeling unwell and it wasn't convenient for her to into the water.

Tiger Cubs aired in a new time slot, getting good ratings and positive feedback. TVB executive chairman Norman Leung expressed there will be a celebration on August 21st; Jessica and Joe expressed they'll make a special trip back to HK to attend the event and will also take the opportunity to ask if there will be a sequel. They hope to shoot a sequel with the original cast and if it does happen, they don't mind asking their friends to guest star. Jessica joked: "It's not difficult to guest star in one episode. I will definitely ask Bobby Au-Yeung, and maybe try Louis Koo. I'll try to kneel down and beg him, maybe he'll come back then. He still has a contract with TVB anyway!" But as for herself, Jessica said she's still discussing a contract with TVB: "We're still discussing, it's going to be a per-series contract and the sequel is one of the attractions."

Also, Joe attended The Bourne Legacy film premiere with his wife and son. He expressed because of Tiger Cubs, he may have the opportunity to go on the big screen, he said: "I'm currently discussing 2-3 films. It's police roles again, but still interesting." Joe will also be signing a per-series contract with TVB soon, but he'll still concentrate on working in Mainland. "For now, I'm doing one series per year with TVB, will check out the scripts before I decide." He expressed it is still not confirm whether Tiger Cubs will shoot a sequel or film version, but there are already companies willing to invest into producing the film and asked him to participated in the production side of it.

Yesterday Jessica Hsuan appeared for an interview on the radio station. She reveals TVB has approached her to discuss shooting a sequel to Tiger Cubs. She said: "We did discuss the sequel, TVB wanted me to sign 1 year contract! (Get a pay raise?) Didn't discuss in that detail, still very preliminary. I'm not even sure when the sequel of Tiger Cubs will start shooting, who the lead actor is, I don't know anything yet!" When speaking of Tiger Cubs' ending, where it was exposed she's going to die? She replied: "Really? How so! If I die, how will there be a sequel?"

Also, she discloses Ricky Wong once asked her to shoot a travel show for CTI: "They wanted the show to be more intense and exciting, and wanted me to go to Vanuatu and explore the active volcanoes there! Because I'm afraid to die, so I turned it down. If I was 20 years younger, I would do it! (Did they asked you to shoot series for them?) Yeah we discussed that too, but the scripts were cops and robbers again. I want to try something I haven't done before as my 'first cannon' after leaving TVB."

Jessica Hsuan, Joe Ma, Vincent Wong and Yoyo Chen attended the promotional event for TVB series Tiger Cubs yesterday. The current broadcast times for the series are on Saturdays and Sundays, Jessica expressed she was initially worried viewers may get confused and miss the Saturday broadcast, and hence affect the ratings. Now that the ratings are doing well, it truly helped opened a new series broadcast time slot. Joe expressed if the ratings get better, he'll treat the cast and crew a meal to celebrate. Asked if he'll wear swim trunks? He said: "To make it even more enjoyable, we can go for a cruise trip." Asked if Jessica would wear a bikini to celebrate? She shook her head and expressed that she'll leave the heavy responsibility to the younger ones, like Yoyo Chen.

Earlier it was reported based on statistics, Jessica has been held hostage 24 times in the 18 years of her acting career. Jessica said: "So happy, never thought I've been kidnapped that many times, but its better to get kidnapped than wearing a wedding dress. Each time, there are different weapons and people, it's so exciting. Once I see wedding dresses, I get bored. (How about when you wear one for your actual wedding?) I don't like to make a big deal out of it, just peacefully get married. I may not even wear a wedding dress." When asked if she wants to be the kidnapper instead? Jessica said she wants to be a bad person and then she immediately pretended to kidnap Joe Ma, but he laughed and said she's not convincing. Jessica said the person she's kidnapping can't be like Joe, 6 feet tall.

Joe was asked about not being in Triumph in the Skies II? He said: "I'm already very happy to be able to be in the first part. I see the cast for the sequel is pretty strong as well, but I already died in the first one, can no longer come back to life." He expressed if it's reasonable for the story and TVB needs him, he can make a guest appearance.

Yesterday Jessica Hsuan, Vincent Wong, Yoyo Chen, Oscar Leung and the other cast attended the promotional event for TVB series Tiger Cubs. When speaking of the high ratings and the rumors that Jessica is gonna die in the end, she criticized TVB's old-fashioned plots: "Said it already? It's not going to be good to watch if you already know. But even if I do die, there will probably be a twin sister that comes back, that's how old-fashioned it is!"

Netizens have noticed Jessica is often being held hostage in TVB series, she smiled again and continued to criticize: "I think many TVB series are like that, police dramas cannot get away from those scenes. It has to be exciting and able to broadcast too. There are limitations, so coming and going it's the same type of scenes. I believe it's not just me, other artists also get kidnapped."

Asked if it's because she and Joe Ma had already left TVB, so the series doesn't get the prime time hours, Jessica denied: "No we already had plans to broadcast the series in a new time slot like US series. I understand too that it's difficult for audience since there's only one episode per week. Sometimes, I look at my watch on Sundays and wonder when it's going to be 10pm!" Jessica also expresses she feels relieved that her last series with TVB is getting high ratings. It was rumored that Tiger Cubs may get a sequel or a film version, Jessica, who currently has no contract with TVB, said she rarely does films, but will consider a sequel and welcomes TVB to come discuss with her.

Also, yesterday it was Vincent Wong's 29th birthday, his wife Yoyo Chen gave him a birthday kiss and revealed she booked a dinner for two to celebrate without their daughter and got him a gift. However, Vincent thought differently, he said: "I told her not to get me any gifts, save the money for a home."

Jessica Hsuan has recently charged up north to shoot Mainland dramas. The other night, she appeared at the Men In Black III HK premiere. She expressed she does not have a boyfriend yet because she's been busy with her Mainland work. She just came back from Beijing, and expressed her latest drama with Benny Chan Love Amongst War 薛平貴與王寶釧 has broke the TV rating record on the Mainland channel. The drama been the top rated in 10 consecutive weeks. Jessica expressed her happiness and said: "I couldn't believe, I have known Benny Chan for some 10 years, but we're only collaborating after we left TVB." When speaking of TVB artists leaving the company and then bombing their old company is wrong? Jessica is known for her straightforward personality, but this time she blandly expressed: "Each person has their own reason when leaving a company, I understand. Perhaps because they want better development, more money or for some other reasons, but I believe my decision to leave is right. After all, I have been with TVB for over 10 years and considered an artist that signed the longest management contract with them. It is about time that I go out and take that first step."

Does she feel she has more freedom and space working outside of TVB? Jessica is grateful that TVB gave her all those opportunities that got her the fame she has today. She also took the opportunity to disclose the main reason for her leaving the company: "Because the internal personnel changed a lot. We all have different work styles and coordination and can't work well together. In the past, I have always had pleasant collaborations. I am getting older, and have already pass the point of working for money. If I'm unhappy at work, then I leave. Now that I have left, I'm feeling quite happy."

When her plastic surgery accusation was bought up again, Jessica was furious. Earlier a plastic surgery company in Mainland invited her to be their spokesperson and implied she got a boob job. Jessica was still upset at the incident: "Because the contract was different from what was discussed before, so I decided to turn down that job. At the time, I was very angry, I felt a little insulted. I'm not opposing boob jobs, but it is just I'm not too happy that I'm getting accused for doing it. I've encountered these incidents after I left my maternal home (TVB), so I've learned a lesson for the future and will be more careful in accepting jobs."

In the recent year, Jessica Hsuan started her career development in China, opening up her market and value there. She is often attending both large and small scale events in China. Earlier she was invited to take part in a Mainland event where she visits a cosmetic surgery hospital with fans. However, that Hospital immediately made good use of Jessica for promotions on their official website. The Hospital showed her nice curve and figure, implying she got a boob job and shows signs of intentions to mislead visitors of the site.

Although that Hospital didn't directly say Jessica got a boob job, but in one article, the caption says Jessica's figure was previously mediocre, but in her recent TV series appearances, she suddenly had a cup size increase. On the website, it also said as long as you experience the Hospital, you can uncover the mystery of celebrities doing plastic surgery. Jessica just wanted to make some money in Mainland, but she miserably gets taken advantage of. It would be a lie if she wasn't upset! Although Jessica already pocketed the appearance money, she still decided to give it back and won't be attending the event next month.

Jessica wrote on Weibo: "To all fans, I may not attend the event in Suzhou on May 12th .... the reason is because we will be visiting a cosmetic surgery hospital and that Hospital actually went as far as saying that I got a boob job on their website! For promotions, they can tell such a lie. They have absolutely no respect for me! I am extremely angry! With this kind of lie, will anyone dare to go get plastic surgery at such a place? To me, they are big liars!" Good friend Ada Choi immediately replies: "Ridiculous!" Jessica wrote again: "That company has no professional ethics whatsoever! I cannot help these people do business. I already signed the contract, if nothing can be done I will have to go. However, I must let everyone know what type of company they are and to clarify for myself...the event is cancelled. I apologize to all Fans!"

Reporters contacted Jessica, she expressed her manager will handle the refund. She expressed she visited cosmetic surgery hospitals before, but she had never been accused that she got a boob job: "I really dislike them saying I got a boob job and plastic surgery. Their way of doing things is really a problem. I won't do things that are lying to people just to make money. Luckily Fans notified me!" Jessica stressed she advocates for natural beauty, definitely won't get a boob job!

Yesterday Jessica Hsuan steps into ATV for the first time to participate in the recording of their programme. She frankly expressed its a special feeling for her: "I never thought that after 19 years, I would take this step. This afternoon, I was even back at TVB for dubbing of Tiger Cubs. (Are you afraid TVB will boycott you and you won't be able to participate in the promotions?) I don't think so. My participation in the promotions is just for the good of the series, TVB won't be that sensitive!"

As a freelancer, Jessica is not tied to any contract, but she expressed she did talk to Ricky Wong earlier and felt the conditions he offered weren't too bad. There may be a chance for a collaboration with CTI. As for her love life, Jessica is currently single and reveals she has a pursuer. She joked and said: "I'm still valued in the market!" However, she frankly expressed that she's not rushed, and believes when choosing a boyfriend, the most important factors are having common values and a sense of humor.

CTI's Chairman Ricky Wong has been taking innovative approaches to set off a television crisis since he applied for the free-to-air license. Yesterday, CTI successfully launched their telecommunications business for nearly HK$5 billion, focusing primarily on developing their multimedia business, including free-to-air television broadcasting. Today, Ricky has plenty of 'silver bullets' in his possession and continues to entice artists to switch over to his company. Even TVB second and third line Siu Sangs like Savio Tsang gets a high salary reaching up to HK$50,000 per episode when he joins CTI. CTI is also recruiting over 700 production staff and artists.

Yesterday when Jessica Hsuan accepted an interview, she directly admitted that she is very interested in CTI: "Last year, I talked to Ricky Wong already, now that there are more funding, it is a good thing. If he does want to discuss with me again, I am very interested, but as an artist, I cannot just look at the money, I also hope they can invest more into their productions." Steven Ma also admitted that he did get in touch with Ricky Wong last year, but neither side had talked about the pay. When asked if there are heavyweight 'silver bullets', will he join? He laughed and said that the pay is not the most important: "It's still about sincerity. I have to work in Hengdian later this month, even if TVB approaches me, they will have to wait I finish this series first."

Bowie Lam expressed as long as there is a good script, there is a chance for collaboration any time: "This is a good thing, have enough ammunition, which means there is more resources to make a grand production." Bowie also stressed that money is not as important: "Most important is the script and the production. Since he has enough resources, I rather get less, and put the money into the production." Kevin Cheng wasn't able to respond before deadline to publish this article.

TVB long contracted artists Moses Chan, Bosco Wong and Myolie Wu all expressed that it is a good thing that there are 'hundred flowers blooming' in the TV industry. Moses responded through SMS, expressing that he hopes for healthy competition, in order to boost the quality in the entire TV industry. Bosco strongly supported TVB's grand productions, such as Triumph in the Skies II. TVB Director for Foreign Affairs (Tsang Sing Ming) expressed TVB welcomes competition: "We are constantly putting more resources to strengthen our productions, and that is because we are competing with ourselves."

Yesterday Jessica Hsuan appeared on iCable on the first time after leaving TVB. She was on the talk show Star Chatroom. After so many years of being in the industry, Jessica was unexpectedly so nervous she couldn't sleep. During the interview, Jessica talked in detail about her past relationship with Dicky Cheung. It was because her career was better than Dicky's that conflict arise between them and then ended with a breakup. "When I was dating him, he didn't have a stable career yet, but I was just on the rise. I believe he's a normal man, hoping that his career is better than his girlfriend." Today, Dicky is already married and started a family, but Jessica is currently still single. She generously expressed she'll be turning 41 this year and have already went through the 'desperate for marriage' stage: "It's hard for me now to find a matching partner, so I leave it all to fate. I actually hope to have more time to spend with friends."

Jessica served TVB for 18 years, and had left a lot of good memories. "It was very memorable for me to work with so many seniors. I remember the first time I worked with my idol Alex Fong, I became so stiff while hugging him." She frankly described TVB as a "large tree that is good for shades". She and TVB's relationship is like dating: "When you feel two people are growing further and further apart, then it's time to break up."

Recently, several series produced by TVB have been accused of plagiarizing other productions and lacks creativity. As the criticisms are still heard in the ear, this week Kenneth Ma and Tavia Yeung's medical drama The Hippocratic Crush (THC) premiered and suspicion of plagiarism emerges once again. This time viewers said that THC is a rip off of Mainland drama Healing Souls (HS) starring Francis Ng and Jessica Hsuan.

ATV bought the broadcast rights to air Healing Souls in 2008. After several years, it unexpectedly gets plagiarized by TVB. Looking back at the two series, it does indeed contain a lot of similarities. Although, TVB's The Hippocratic Crush only aired 4 episodes so far, the scene in the first episode about the unconscious child after a car accident and the 'Neurosurgery Intern', played by Kenneth Ma, happened to pass by to rescue him was the same type of scene as in Healing Souls's first episode. In HS, the scene was about a car accident, in which 'Neurosurgery Doctor', played by Francis Ng, also went to rescue the injured person. The two series were precisely the same from the first episode!

More 'coincidences' of the characters & setting

As far as the storyline goes for the two series, there are 'coincidences' as well. In both series, the lead actresses Jessica Hsuan (from HS) and Tavia Yeung (from THC) were both medical interns. The same holds true for the lead actors, Francis Ng (from HS) and Kenneth Ma (from THC), both did not get along with the lead actresses at first, but later developed a relationship.

In THC, Tavia's role grew up in a single-parent family because her parents were divorced and her mother later re-married. Many years later, Tavia and her biological sister Mandy Wong worked at the same hospital. In HS, Jessica's parents were divorced and she grew up in a single-parent family as well. The difference is, Jessica's father was the one who re-married and had a daughter (played by Liu Jia). Several years later, Jessica and her half-sister Liu Jia worked at the same hospital. There are too many coincidences between the two story lines. Reporters contacted The Hippocratic Crush's producer Poon Ka Tak about the issue, but he only said: "No comment!"

Past 'plagiarized' series

L'Escargot
This series just finished airing, but it was said to have plagiarized popular Mainland drama Dwelling Narrowness because Linda Chung's role was basically the pirated version of 'Hai Zao'. Both roles undertaken unethical transactions because they wanted to climb up top.

The Mysteries of Love
The series stars Raymond Lam and Tavia Yeung. Netizens said it was a copy off of Japanese drama Detective Galileo. Whether if its the story, the characters, profession or the personalities, it is all very similar to Detective Galileo.

Split Second
This 2004 series stars Kevin Cheng and Moses Chan. At the time, viewers said it was a copy off of the films Infernal Affairs, PTU and American series 24. Moses' role is similar to Anthony Wong's role in Infernal Affairs, many of the scenes resembled scene seen in PTU and the whole entire concept of the series was similar to 24.

Earlier it was said Jessica Hsuan was difficult to please while shooting a series in Mainland. Her old partner Sunny Chan accepted an interview by the Singaporean media yesterday and said: "Should have known earlier!" He exposed when he was shooting with Jessica in Curse of the Royal Harem, that day he, Jessica and Myolie Wu got to the set very early, but the director didn't shoot their scenes (Jessica and Myolie). Until 11pm, Jessica said to the director: "I got here early in the afternoon, I fixed my makeup 3 times and waited 5 hours. If we aren't shooting, then I'm leaving!" Sunny later added that Jessica was just being self-persistent.

Yesterday Jessica Hsuan staged an 'Ah Jeh On Fire', which all happened when she was shooting Mainland drama Xiangzi's Story - New City People with Wang Zhao Xiang and Lawrence Ng. It was said Jessica isn't accommodating the promotions and has an attitude. It was reported yesterday by [Oriental Daily] that Jessica was absent from the end-of-filming celebration and was therefore criticized by Wang. Aside from describing Jessica as a "Big Star", Wang also criticized she's too firm, strong and bossy that no one can disagree with her and 'recommended' that she marry a man from Shanghai since they have "no temper".

Jessica had been known as a straightforward person, yesterday she issued a statement in response to the rumor and criticisms.

Among all the series I have filmed, I had the most problems with this one. I don't want to be taken advantage of others for publicity nor am I scolding anyone. I'm just not willing to be accused, so I could only respond this one time:

(1) As far as I know, someone enticed my fans to attend the first press conference. When my fans got to the scene, they insisted to my fans that they should hold up pre-made signboards with his name and pretend to be his fans.

(2) During the filming period, he asked me to attend some unknown dinner parties, but I did not agree to go. (I'm not sure if this involves immoral actions).

(3) Without my consent, they used my name to rent the filming location and promised the other party that I would take pictures in exchange. (Because of the above two situations, I have was called 'not accommodating to promotions, unwilling to take photos.')

(4) I didn't receive my final payment for the shoot and so stopped working. Still, they said I was wrong and that I have to compensate them.

(5) When the other actors asked when the final shooting date is, they answered quickly, but when I asked several times, I was ignored.

(6) Not even two days before the end-of-filming press conference (celebration event), they quietly placed the press conference notice in my room (they did not directly notify me), but it is clearly written on the contract that during the contract period, if I were to attend a press conference, I must have a written consent. However, once again they were being dishonest, making me feel very uneasy, I can no longer tolerate it!

In the eyes of some self-centered people, how am I a Big Star? I'm just a green leaf. Some people have such big attitudes, that I cannot react to. Each day, they don't bring the script with them to the set, and would forget their lines! For the shooting of every scene, they have to be called several times before they slowly walk out of the lobby! However, each time when there are reporters around, the situation won't be the same!

During the past two months or so, there had been so many issues. The staff on the set totally understand and justice is in the people' hearts. Saying I'm 'strong', then why not just say I'm a pitiful girl that is getting bullied. I am alone out working away from my home, and have been deceived several times. Other people who want to achieve their goals, make up countless amount of lies and the most hateful thing to do is that they even disturb my family. I was disrespected before, my dignity was trampled, I'm already exhausted both mentally and physically, but still have to maintain the professionalism of an artist. Now that this contract is completed, it has been a lesson learned, I will be more cautious in the future and carefully choose my jobs.

Lastly, please do not use these tactics and use me to get publicity, please!

 In Jessica's statement, she exposes the 'seven deadly sins' of the Xiangzi's Story crew. (1) Take advantage of her fans (2) Forced to attend dinner parties (3) Used her name to rent filming location (4) Didn't pay her in time (5) Suffer from neglect (6) Lies (7) Disturbs her family.

The other day, Jessica came back from to HK from Shanghai and accepted [Oriental Daily] interview, she sighed: "In the last two months, I didn't even get the basic respect. There were many worthless dinner parties that I declined to go to. The crew also contacted my fans in private to visit the set. Later, my fans said they were forced to hold up signboards with other people's names, they were so helpless!"

When speaking of the constant dinner parties, Jessica criticized the crew had unreasonable demands, plus the OT (Over Time) situation was pretty serious. She said with anger: "I said I didn't want to OT, but they were unhappy, and did not care about my feelings at all. After all, they cannot force me to do things I don't want to!" She also said in Xiangzi's Story, she plays Wang's wife, but their collaboration was so troublesome: "I just wanted to simply shoot the series. This time, me getting accused, really does affect my reputation and my dignity, that's why I felt there was a need to clarify. I do not plan to take legal action, just think of it as a lesson learned!" When speaking of the other cast members from the series, she said she had a pleasant collaboration with them: "I am not worried that I may have affected others' confidence, I have no regrets!"

Jessica was also angered by how someone went to disturb her family: "One time my mom came to visit me in Shanghai. Coincidentally I had stopped working, so my mom went with the female boss to the bank and transferred the money, but the boss asked my mom for her phone number when I was not around, and since my mom was unaware, she gave it to her. Then unexpectedly because I didn't go to the end-of-filming celebration the next day, she kept calling my mom. When I asked why she kept bothering my mom, she had the guts to tell me that my mom just called her. The lies are truly endless!"

Also, Wang and his wife and the investor for the Xiangzi's Story series (Miss Li) arrived in HK yesterday. They heard about Jessica's statement through the reporters, Miss Li sighed: "I feel really hurt, there is a huge misunderstanding in between. I seldomly contact Jessica, but I hope to sit down and peacefully chat with her." She suspects someone is causing trouble in between.

FaDan Jessica Hsuan has been said to be 'difficult to deal with' as she gets on bad terms with almost all of her co-stars in every series she's in. The most classic case was back when she was shooting Old Time Buddy in 1997, she was rumored to have had a 'you die, I live' relationship with Maggie Cheung. More recently was the shooting of Curse of the Royal Harem, where the hot topic was Jessica's battle for more screen time with co-star Myolie Wu and got on bad terms with her. Jessica even boycotted Myolie when she invited the rest of the cast to eat at the canteen without her. Lately, Jessica switched over to the Mainland market and has been shooting new drama Xiangzi's Story - New City People with Lawrence Ng and the rumors broke again. Just stepped into the year 2012 and Jessica is already troubled by gossips.

No Show at the End-of-Filming Celebration

A few days ago, Xiangzi' Story held a ceremony for the filming completion, lead actors Wang Zhao Xiang and Lawrence Ng both attended, but lead actress Jessica Hsuan was absent. When the lead actors explained Jessica's absence, they were not on the same page. Wang said Jessica was too busy to attend because she's wrapping up with the final scenes shooting, whereas Lawrence expressed she isn't feeling well because of the rushed filming in the last few days. When asked why their explanations were different? Lawrence claimed: "I just heard what others were saying."

Recommend to marry a Shanghai Man

During the celebration, Wang criticized Jessica in his every word. He said Jessica behaves firmly towards others: "She's a big star though! After all, she will give you an extremely abundant reason and won't allow you to disagree." Wang also recommended Jessica to marry a man from Shanghai: "Because she is rather strong and Shanghai men can cook, not as strong!" The comment indirectly implies that Jessica dislikes the food the crew cooks and that she's bossy.

As for Lawrence, he defended his old partner and clarified Jessica is just too 'unrestrained' in her behavior: "Artists possess an artist's temper. Successful women are 'Big Women'. Ada Choi is considered a 'Big Woman' as well." Later, he accepted an interview over the phone and strongly defended Jessica once again, that she has never been late to work or showed a black face. When speaking of the rumor that she's hard to deal with? He had an opinion to express: "Actually, is there any actress not hard to deal with! (Wang criticized Jessica?) I'm not sure of how they interact, but the crew's food is indeed not good at all. I go out to eat myself." Lawrence also exposed Jessica often buys lunch-boxes.

Jessica Hsuan and Anita Yuen are both up north earning the Chinese yuan. A few days ago, the two appeared on separate TV series promotional events in Mainland where they talked bad about TVB. They expressed the filming process in Mainland and TVB completely differs. When shooting TVB series, you can lose your life at any time.

Jessica is currently in Shanghai shooting for new series Xiangzi's Story - New City People (祥子的故事之新都市人) with Lawrence Ng. When shooting in Mainland, Jessica is most satisfied with how comfortable the work is. In TVB, the filming hours are way too long, each day she had to shoot 20 hours and could only go home for a shower, then has to get right back to work. When she was shooting Curse of the Royal Harem, she had to shoot 18 hours a day! Jessica heard that the current TVB artists don't even have the time to go home. She expressed at her age, she can no longer work on that kind of schedule and can lose her life at any time. Currently working in Mainland, it is much more comforting as it is written clearly on the contract that filming cannot exceed 13 hours a day. If the crew is unable to complete the shoot by the scheduled time, she is willing to accept overtime work. Jessica also mentioned about her love life. Earlier she broke up with her 2 year Western boyfriend (Ruan), but she hasn't felt discouraged yet. She expressed without hiding that she accepts a 'sister-brother love' relationship (a boyfriend younger than her).

As for Anita, she attended the press conference of First Love's Letter (初戀情人的來信). She admitted the salary in Mainland is high, but the capacity of the work is the most attractive. This is something that is difficult for TVB to compare, basically not they are not at that level. She also appreciates the rich subject matters of Mainland productions, it is refreshing. The staff understands her situation, that she cannot be separated from her son for too long, so they complete her scenes in a short period of time.

TVB Anniversary Awards will be held on December 5th. Who will be the next TV Queen, the answer will be reveal that night. However, Jessica Hsuan gets a head start, as she is first crowned as "TVB's Queen of Hostage" and it was said the "Best Hostage Award" should go to her. Being the Queen of Hostage, Jessica didn't just get that reputation without merit. In TVB, Jessica was held 'hostage' countless amounts of times, really "10 fingers can't count them all".

Following Law Lok Lam's record of "5 deaths in 24 hours", he becomes an artist that is internationally known. In TVB series, Jessica holds a record of being held 'hostage' 12 times and more.

At the Hong Kong Golden Discussion Forum (高登討論區), there is a topic on "Jessica Hsuan is the Queen of Hostage". A determined Netizen went through Jessica's TVB series over the some 10 years she's been with the company and collected a bunch of screen captures showing the number of times Jessica has been held hostage in a TVB series. Her older series include Detective Investigation Files IV, Witness to a Prosecution, Game of Deceit, A Step Into the Past, Dicey Business, A Matter of Customs, Lady Fan, Golden Faith, Sisters of Pearl; the more recent series include Gun Metal Grey, A Pillow Case of Mystery II and the currently airing Curse of the Royal Harem. When counting the series that weren't 'caught' yet, it is estimated that Jessica has been held hostage more than 12 times.

A Netizen said TVB scriptwriters loves to tie Jessica up, while some Netizens scolded TVB for using the same idea for over 10 years. "Where there is brightness, there is darkness. Where there is superman, there is evil. Where there is Jessica, there is bound to be a hostage case." There are also some people who said in many specific scenes, for example, if there is a rape scene, Natalie Tong will definitely be there. If there is a scene of 'murder by a knife stabbing', there will be Kenneth Ma at the scene. Perhaps the truth is, TVB really does have a lot of hardcore fans.