TVB Olympic Team

The Tokyo Summer Olympics are finally upon us! If TVB had its own Olympic team, who would be on it?

Swimming 

Alex Fong: Alex famously represented Hong Kong in swimming at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. He once held nine Hong Kong swimming records and his 200 m backstroke and 400 m individual medley records were only recently broken. In 2019, he set a new swimming record for fastest swim around Hong Kong Island (45 km).

Dickson Yu: Dickson was a member of the Hong Kong swimming team in high school and represented Hong Kong abroad in youth competitions, including at the 2004 Queensland Open & Age State Championship and 2005 Australian Youth Olympic Festival. He retired in 2013 after not qualifying for the Asian Games. Dickson specialized in the butterfly style. 

Susan Tse: Susan was a formidable swimmer back in the day and excelled in the backstroke. She was already swimming in competitions by the time she was 3 years old. At age 6, she was the youngest swimmer at the Hong Kong cross harbour swim. By age 12, she already had an instructor license. Susan achieved her best finish (5th) in the 1968 cross harbour swim.

Tennis

Cindy Lee: Cindy was a professional tennis player. At the highest level, she played at the Federation Cup (now Billie Jean King Cup), one of the top international tournaments for women’s tennis. Cindy is also an accomplished golfer, claiming multiple awards in charity tournaments. Athletics is in her DNA, as her mother and cousin were on the Hong Kong bowling team, her father and sister were avid tennis players, and another cousin was an Asian Games bronze medalist in swimming.

Golf

Stephanie Ho: Stephanie started golfing when she was 6 and by age 10, she was part of the Hong Kong national golf team. In 2010, she represented Hong Kong at the Asian Games. She retired from competition to focus on her music career, but in 2018, she dusted off her clubs to rejoin the national team. Stephanie said she hopes to make it to the Asian Games again. 

Table Tennis

Ruco Chan: Ruco was recruited into a sports institute at the age of 13 and made it onto the Hong Kong youth table tennis team at age 15. At that time, he was the youngest table tennis player to represent Hong Kong in competition. He competed at the 1994 Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships. He quit after his coach left the team. 

Triathlon

Tony Chui: Tony, who plays “Andy” in Come Home Love: Lo and Behold, is a former triathlete. He represented Hong Kong in three World Triathlon Championships and in five consecutive Asian Triathlon Championships from 1992 to 1996. His best result was a silver medal in the team event and 7th overall finish individually. Tony was an all-round athlete, participating in soccer, track and field and swimming competitions as well. In 2019, Tony proved he still had in it him by representing Hong Kong at masters (age 35+) track and field competitions in Singapore and Asia.  

Rhythmic Gymnastics

Tania Chan: Tania was a member of Hong Kong rhythmic gymnastics team. Tania started learning rhythmic gymnastics at age 7 and fell in love with the sport because of its elegant movements. She represented Hong Kong in many competitions and specialized in using a ball in her performances. Tania was a 2018 Miss Hong Kong contestant and won an audience favourite award for her rhythmic gymnastics talent performance.

Sharlene Wong: Sharlene was also a member of the Hong Kong rhythmic gymnastics team and a national level athlete. She was awarded that recognition in 2009 when she placed first in the ribbon competition and fourth overall in the National Youth Competition. She retired in 2012 when she realized her body was not flexible enough anymore. Sharlene appeared on TVB even before joining the industry. She performed as a rhythmic gymnast at the TVB Anniversary Gala in 2014 alongside actresses from Never Dance Alone. She is now a host of Kids, Think Big.

Track and Field

Tiffany Tang Yi Ching: Tiffany is a rising star in high jump. She has won in intercollegiate and Hong Kong wide competitions and represented Hong Kong at the 2015 China National Youth Games. She recently recorded a personal best of 1.77 m. Tiffany had a short stint as a host of Young and Restless, but left TVB last year to focus on training for the Asian Athletics Championships. 

Fencing

Last but not least, one of TVB's very own will be competing at the Tokyo Olympics!

Lawrence Ng Lok Wang: Lawrence is a former TVB child actor who has appeared in over 30 dramas. As a kid, Lawrence became interested in fencing because he thought the uniforms looked cool. Using the foil as his weapon, he is a five-time medalist in the Asian Fencing Championships and finished in fifth place at the 2016 Junior World Fencing Championships. He served as the fencing director for the fencing scenes in OMG, Your Honour before leaving TVB to become a full-time athlete. Last year, Lawrence and the Hong Kong team won bronze at the Fencing World Cup tournament in Cairo to secure a spot at the Tokyo Olympics. Look for Lawrence in the men's team foil competition at the Olympics. 

Overview - Sinister Beings

Ruco Chan is a stellar detective in the Organized Crime and Triad Bureau (OCTB). He is brave, competent, highly regarded by his superiors and admired by his colleagues.  But his ultimate dream is to join the Special Duties Unit. Another elite OCTB detective, Ben Wong, has a shrewd mind and lots of experience. Although Ruco and Ben handle things differently, they appreciate each other’s talent and complement one another’s weaknesses. The police get ambushed by criminals and suffer heavy losses. To find the mastermind behind the plot, Ruco gives up his dream and stays at OCTB. Aside from that, Ruco and Ben face a series of complicated and unpredictable unnatural cases. The two of them use reverse thinking, psychological game theory and careful analysis to deconstruct a criminal’s thinking and motives. Nothing can escape from the nets of heaven! 

Historical Context: Heshen

Heshen (和珅) was a prominent Qing official during the Qianlong era. He is known as the most corrupt official in Chinese history, accumulating a personal wealth that was equivalent to 15 years of the government's revenue.

Heshen was born to a Manchu military official. Both his parents died when he was young, leaving him and his brother, Helin (和琳), to be raised by their family's housekeeper, Liu Quan (劉全). Heshen attended a school for Manchu aristocrats, where he was an impressive student. By the age of 18, he was fluent in four languages and well-versed in the classical texts.

At the age of 22, Heshen entered the palace to serve as a palace guard. Shortly afterwards, he caught the attention of the Qianlong Emperor, and thereafter, began a meteoric rise through the ranks. Within a few years, he held high-ranking positions in all of the key departments, including the Imperial Household Departments, Ministry of Revenue, and Grand Council. He further secured power by marrying his son, Fengshen Yinde (豐紳殷德), to the Qianlong Emperor's youngest princess.

Initially, Heshen was an honest official who rejected gifts from people who wanted to bribe him. This was until he got his first taste of wealth when he was put in charge of investigating the corrupt official, Li Shiyao (李侍堯). After Li was arrested, Heshen secretly kept much of the confiscated assets for himself.

Henry Lo plays Heshen in Word Twisters' Adventure.

After the Li Shiyao case, Heshen's greed and ambitions grew. He began to accept bribes and form his own clique. Because he held so many high-ranking positions, he was able to eliminate his political opponents and insert his cronies into key positions. His corrupt network expanded throughout the bureaucracy and across the nation. They routinely siphoned money from public funds, including military and emergency relief funds. Heshen demanded bribes from government officials and turned the imperial examination system into an auction for government jobs. He also established a system where officials who were found guilty of corruption could buy their way out of punishment. It caused systematic, widespread corruption at all levels of government that lasted well past Heshen's time in power and contributed to the Qing Dynasty's decline.

Heshen lived a luxurious lifestyle. He had hundreds of women and servants living in his home. His mansion was comparable to the imperial palace, constructed using materials stolen from the palace and replicating its designs. He frequently hosted banquets and dined on delicacies with golden utensils. He owned a large amount of furniture, vases, art pieces, silk, clothing, animal hide, and other valuable possessions.

The Qianlong Emperor was well-aware of Heshen's corruption, but never sought to punish him. The emperor acquiesced to Heshen’s corrupt conduct because Heshen filled the palace’s coffers to pay for Qianlong’s extravagant spending and southern expeditions. Heshen was also good at flattery, attentive and knew how to cater to the elderly emperor’s tastes. For example, he spent time studying Qianlong’s poetic style and frequently discussed poetry with the emperor. Qianlong was very fond of Heshen’s literary talents.

A Connection With Nancy Wu?

A popular rumour about why the Qianlong Emperor favoured Heshen so much was because Heshen resembled one of the concubines of Qianlong's father. As a prince, Qianlong enjoyed pulling pranks on people. One day, he saw one of his father's concubines and decided to prank her. He went up behind her and covered her eyes. The concubine, thinking it was a palace maid, swung her arm backwards. Qianlong grabbed her arm before she could hit him, but this caused her to lose her balance and fall into the prince's arms. Just then, Qianlong's mother passed by and saw this. Not wanting any scandalous rumours to affect her son's political fortunes, she secretly forced the concubine to commit suicide. When Qianlong found out about this, he felt guilty for having caused the concubine's death. Years later, when Qianlong saw Heshen for the first time, he was shocked to see that Heshen resembled the concubine and believed that he was her reincarnation. Thus, Qianlong treated Heshen very well.

The concubine turns out to be Lady Nian, which was played by Nancy Wu in Gilded Chopsticks!

Of course, historical facts do not support this story. For one, Lady Nian was a noble consort, while Qianlong's mother was only a consort. His mother would not have had the power to force the higher-ranking Lady Nian to commit suicide. Moreover, by the time Qianlong entered the palace, Lady Nian was already sick. She later died of illness. However, a portrait now displayed at Heshen's old mansion shows that he did indeed look like Lady Nian in some ways.

As the Qianlong Emperor grew older, he often was not able to speak clearly and only Heshen could understand what he was saying. Thus, whenever he held court, he would order Heshen to stand next to him. Heshen would "listen" to what the emperor said and then issue edicts on his behalf. This earned Heshen the nickname as the "Second Emperor".

Upon Qianlong's death, the Jiaqing Emperor quickly stripped Heshen of his official titles and ordered for him to be arrested. He was declared guilty of 20 great sins and was sentenced to death by slow slicing. However, his daughter-in-law, the Tenth Princess, pleaded with Jiaqing to allow him to commit suicide. Jiaqing granted the request and Heshen hung himself at his home. His family was spared on account of their relationship with the Tenth Princess.

After his death, it was discovered that Heshen's personal wealth was worth between 800 to 1100 million taels of silver (compared to the government's annual revenue of only 70 million taels of silver). His net worth is estimated to be about $132 billion USD in today's dollars, putting him among the richest individuals in history.

Heshen's former mansion was granted to Jiaqing's 17^th brother, Yonglin (Jonathan Cheung in Succession War), while the gardens were given to his 11^th brother, Yongsing (David Do in Succession War). Later, the residence was given the Daoguang Emperor's sixth son, Prince Gong (KK Cheung in The Confidant). The mansion is now a museum in Beijing.

Succession War Theme Song

Ruco Chan sings the theme song for Succession War, "Regretful Separation" (悔別離).

Overview - Succession War

Ruco Chan supported imperial prince Shaun Tam to be emperor. After the Qianlong Emperor dies, Shaun persuades Ruco's son (Matthew Ho) and confidant (Joel Chan) to turn on Ruco as he seeks to eliminate Ruco and his associates. But Ruco has already planned for this. He not only defuses Shaun's attack, but turns the tables and reveals imperial concubine Selena Lee's secret, causing Shaun to face enemies from both sides! Ruco's second wife Elaine Yiu and soulmate Natalie Tong act separately to turn Shaun's brother (Jonathan Cheung) against him. Meanwhile, the White Lotus sect is stirring up trouble, putting Shaun in a desperate situation. Except the Mandate of Heaven cannot be violated...

Succession War Crash Course

It's time to brush up on your historical knowledge before Succession War airs with this crash course!

Lesson 1:


Lesson 2:


Lesson 3:


Lesson 4:


Lesson 5:

The Unholy Alliance Theme Song

The theme song for The Unholy Alliance is performed by Ruco Chan, entitled "Trigger On" (一觸即發).



The sub-theme song is "Season of the Wind" (風的季節), by Rosanne Lui.

Overview - The Unholy Alliance

A keen surfer, Ruco Chan settles in Taiwan, operating a hostel, when he is suddenly attacked by a group of assassins. Ruco is saved by the agile backpacker Nancy Wu, but his adoptive mother is killed. Ruco returns to Hong Kong to search for the truth. His friend Oscar Leung pulls some strings for him and he learns that his adoptive mother's death is linked to Nina Paw. Nina is an iron lady who leads many powerful interests. A single decision is enough to influence the economy and livelihood of society. Her adopted son (Joel Chan) and his wife (Elaine Yiu) are her advisers and Nancy is her personal bodyguard. But Ruco's appearance causes major changes to everyone's relationships. All the powerful interests with close ties to Nina are waiting for an opportunity to act, putting Nina's life in danger. Although Nancy and Ruco join together to fight back, it triggers another wave of bloodshed that threatens the safety of society...

Overview - Burning Hands

Since their youth, Ruco Chan, Rosina Lam and Joel Chan have been learning con-artist tricks from their mentor Pat Poon. Ruco and Rosina have already reached the stage of discussing marriage, but a competition causes them to break-up and become estranged. Later, the chairman of an entertainment resort, Pal Sinn, colludes with Pat to set up a scheme in order to find a mole. Ruco and Joel are forced to conduct a secret mission, in which they not only re-encounter Rosina, but also develop a relationship with Pal's daughter, Kelly Fu. Combining everyone's different talents and skills, they eventually figure out that the mole is either Pal's right-hand man (Geoffrey Wong), soulmate (Rebecca Chan) or a business competitor. But the matters before one eyes are often inconsistent with the truth. Ruco infiltrates Pal's corporation to investigate the truth behind why Pal killed his father (Hugo Ng) twenty years ago. With danger lurking in every corner, the entertainment resort is about to be rocked by massive changes. Friends become enemies, mentor and mentee severe their relationship, and father and son have irreconcilable differences...

Burning Hands Promo Clips

Promo #1


Promo #2


Promo #3


Promo #4


Promo #5


Promo #6


Promo #7


Promo #8


Promo #9


Extended Trailer

Overview - Brother's Keeper II

After many hardships, Edwin Siu and Kristal Tin successfully establish the "Lo Shun Kei" brand in Hong Kong and Macau. However, this draws dissatisfaction from junket turned real estate developer Hugo Ng, who uses underhand tactics to suppress them. Edwin is betrayed by his trusted aide (Matt Yeung). Feeling that the world is too chaotic, Edwin travels to Japan to find a peaceful space. There, he falls in love with a mysterious girl (Grace Chan) and gets embroiled in a twenty-year old murder case! Meanwhile, Kristal's husband, Louis Yuen, suffers a brain injury from a plane accident and sees her as a stranger... In addition, Ruco Chan has returned to look for his old love, Linda Chung. Faced with these sudden attacks to their family, love life and business, how will Edwin and Kristal handle it?

Brother's Keeper II Theme Song

The theme song for Brother's Keeper II is "Who Can Change" (誰可改變), by Ruco Chan.

Brother's Keeper II Promo Clips

Promo #1


Promo #2


Promo #3


Promo #4


Promo #5


TVB Anywhere Promo


AOD Promo


Extended Trailer

Overview - A Fist Within Four Walls

Bearing the pain of having lost his family, Ruco Chan returns to the Walled City in hopes of finding his long-lost sister. The neighbourhood that he grew up in has become an unruly place dominated by evil forces. Ruco conceals his background as a disciple of "Eight Extremities Fist". Using a new identity, he meets feisty hair salon owner Nancy Wu, dentist Benjamin Yuen and labourer Jazz Lam. He also gains recognition from martial arts master Yuen Qiu.

In order to re-establish order in the Walled City, Ruco forms an association to stand up against the evil forces. This puts him in conflict with Yuen Qiu's son, Philip Ng, a champion black market fighter. Just as things appear to get on track, a key member of the triad is mysteriously killed with Eight Extremities Fist. Ruco and Nancy team up to investigate and discovers a connection to Grace Wong, who leads a striptease troupe. Subsequently, the truth about the death of Ruco's father is revealed. But what Ruco cannot get over is that someone close to him is part of an extremely cruel assassin organization. At the same time, he is forced into a preordained battle with his buddy that is 15 years late...

A Fist Within Four Walls Promo Clips

Promo #1


Promo #2


Promo #3


Promo #4


Promo #5


Promo #6


Promo #7


Promo #8


Promo #9


Promo #10

A Fist Within Four Walls Theme Song

The theme song for A Fist Within Four Walls is sung by Ruco Chan, entitled "Siege" (圍城).



Theme Song MV:


The sub-theme song is "Never Knew You Were the Best" (從未知道你最好), by Ruco and Nancy Wu.


Find out who has sung the most TVB theme songs in recent years!

ICAC Investigators 2016 - Preview of Cases

Case #1:
Inspired by her brother's girlfriend, Karmen Kwok joins the ICAC as an assistant investigator. During the initial training, she constantly makes mistakes, but her proactive attitude and dedication leaves a deep impression on instructor Ruco Chan.

While visiting her grandmother, senior investigator Natalie Tong overhears the neighbours talking about how Lawrence Cheng, a candidate for the District Council by-election, is bribing voters using clever tactics that circumvent the law. They all have a different view on whether Lawrence's actions constitutes as illegal. Natalie tells her superior Chris Lai about Lawrence's case. It turns out that the ICAC has already receive complaints and is preparing an investigation.




Case #2:
As Karmen completes her training, Ruco is also transferred back to the front lines. He partners with Natalie to investigate a case involving a wristwatch corporation bribing tour guides. As it is a complex case, principal investigator Elena Kong decides to personally participate in the investigation. They encounter many problems as they gather evidence. Ruco and his long-time girlfriend Elaine Yiu are each busy with work. Elaine makes huge profits in real estate and is gradually becoming blinded by money. One time, she mentions about a conspiracy between a real estate agent and an employee of the developer to fraudulently earn commission. Ruco points out that their actions may have violated the law and reminds Elaine not to join them. They part on bad terms.




Case #3
The ICAC receives case after case. Businessman Raymond Chiu is offering bribes to a senior bank officer, Jimmy Au. Elena assigns the case to Chris' team. The investigation takes a long time, but after a lot of hard work, the ICAC finally arrest Raymond and Jimmy, and lay charges on them. However, on the day of the trial, Raymond skips bail and absconds. At the same time, Elena suddenly faints and is hospitalized.




Case #4
With Elena in the hospital, principal investigator Kenneth Ma takes over a case involving a tobacco company CEO accepting bribes from cigarette smugglers. Kenneth personally leads the investigation. Because of the difficulty of obtaining evidence, Kenneth sends Kelly Fu to act as an undercover. During the course of the investigation, Kelly discovers that she is pregnant, but decides to continue on. At the same time, Kenneth and Ruco go to Saipan to find evidence in a thrilling adventure. Meanwhile, Ruco also participates in a fraud case involving real estate developers. He is shocked to find that his girlfriend Elaine is implicated in the case...




Case #5
Ruco investigates well-known businesswoman Florence Kwok for fraud. Florence is bribing her subordinates to falsify warrants in order to make profit. As the investigation reaches a mature stage, Kenneth leads the team to make the arrests. Florence subsequently deploys judicial tactics to delay the case and attempt to avoid trial. Meanwhile, Raymond, who escaped earlier, is arrested overseas and extradited back to Hong Kong for trial. Elaine is arrested by the ICAC for colluding with real estate developers to fraudulently obtain commission...

ICAC Investigators 2016 Promo Clips

Promo #1


Promo #2


Extended Trailer

Captain of Destiny Theme Song

The theme song for Captain of Destiny is "Sail" (揚帆), sung by Fred Cheng.



The ending theme song is "Next Century" (下世紀), by Ruco Chan.


The sub-theme song is performed by Linda Chung, named "A Never-Changing Heart" (一顆不變的心)

Captain of Destiny Promo Clips

Overview - Captain of Destiny

Promo #1


Promo #2


Promo #3


Promo #4


Promo #5


Promo #6


Promo #7


Promo #8


Promo #9-10


AOD Promo


Extended Trailer


(watch Extended Trailer in Vietnamese)