TVB Celebrity News

The Filipino tour bus hostage incident had put a scar in the hearts of the people of Hong Kong. TVB had always liked to turn current events into series, even a tragedy they do not let it slip away. In the new series Special Duties Unit starring Joe Ma and Jessica Hsuan, TVB does a reenactment of the tour bus hostage incident. No doubt will this challenge the Hong Kong audience until the end. Artists participating in the reenactment felt helpless. Kenneth Ma plays the criminal running up into a tour bus and held Christine Kuo, Angelina Lo and several others in hostage. In the scene, Kenneth demands the police to release his wife JJ Jia. In the end, JJ gets seriously wounded and dies. Kenneth was unable to see his wife again, so he went crazy. Because the scene had hostages on a tour bus and the criminal gets out of control due to family matters, these two points extremely resembles the Filipino Tour Bus Hostage incident.

Many of the artists knew that there was going to be this scene in the script, and strongly disliked it because they were worried cause pain for the audience, but the production crew still insisted the original idea. Today, the cameras rolled in Kowloon City shooting this scene!

Reporters contacted lead actress Jessica Hsuan, she said: "I am very worried because when I first saw the script, I have not felt good at all. We are all still in pain, but since the scriptwriters wrote it like this, and the producer approved it, as an artist I cannot control the situation and say no. (Have you reacted to the producer?) No, if I said this, then it will be stepping over the line! I believe they will handle the scene carefully."
Lead actor Joe Ma said that an artist is very passive on several aspects. He really doesn't want that scene to trigger the audience to think about the Filipino Tour Bus Hostage incident because this is something painful to each and every Hong Kong citizen. Salt should not be added to the people of HK's wounds.

Playing as the criminal that held hostages, Kenneth will definitely be the main focus when the series broadcast and may get eggs thrown at him at any time. Kenneth was asked if he's worried that audience may have a huge negative reaction? He said: "Can't have fears, I can only follow what the script says to do, but I do not hope this scene will cause audience to think about the tragic event. In fact the script is not about this event, it's only because the scene had hostages held on a tour bus that the scene is associated with the Filipino incident."

Reporters contacted Special Duties Unit producer (Lam Chi Wah). He admitted that the series does have a tour bus hostage scene, but the script was definitely not taken from Filipino incident. Everything was written based on the plot. Producer Lam was asked if he's worried that audience will associate the scene with the actual tragedy? He expressed: "Never thought that this would happen, I just wanted to write a good script!"

Christine Kuo was one of the hostages in the scene, she admitted that incident had broke the Hong Kong people hearts. It is inevitable that the scene will cause deep feelings in people. She said: "I believe the scriptwriter just wanted to bring triumphs over evil during this tragic time, this positive message because in the series the hostages were fine and the bad guy Kenneth Ma had to take up the consequences for his actions."

Oscar Leung plays one of the Special Duties Unit members, and he doesn't think that the producer wanted to reenact the Filipino incident, but it was a coincidence that there was a similar scene. He said: "We are understand the pain and the tragedy. In fact, this scene is about Christine and I finding love after a troubled time. Tour bus events has appeared several times before, but perhaps we are all more sensitive this time. (React to the producer?) We artists are rather passive."