Linda Chung Plans to Move Back to Hong Kong with Kids
Born and raised in Vancouver, Canada, Linda Chung (鍾嘉欣) moved back to her hometown after starting a family with husband Jeremy Leung. Though now the mother of two young children, Linda would still make time to return to Hong Kong for some work.
A few days before the Lunar New Year, Linda made a whirlwind solo trip back to Hong Kong to appear at a New Year’s event. She shared her plans for the New Year, as well as revealing her intentions to move back to Hong Kong “for a while” with her kids.
“Chinese New Year in Canada isn’t as festive as it is here in Hong Kong,” shared Linda. “Coincidentally my in-laws are pretty westernized, so they would actually ask me about Chinese New Year traditions. I actually don’t really know a lot myself. I just follow whatever my mother does.”
Whenever the clock struck midnight on New Year’s, Linda’s mother would take her and the family out for a stroll around the neighborhood. “It was a stroll for good luck,” explained Linda. “I hope to maintain this tradition with my kids. Although my husband is rather westernized, the house is still decorated with fai chun. We have a candy box and the kids are wearing cheongsam. We teach them phrases to please the family elders.”
Linda’s two kids, 3-year-old Kelly and one-year-old Jared, speak English, but they are able to understand Cantonese. “I’m 90% sure that they can understand Cantonese. I speak Cantonese to them, but they choose to respond in English. As Chinese, we should be able to speak our own language, and learn others as well. It’ll only benefit them in the future. I plan to move back to Hong Kong with them for a while so they can practice their Cantonese.”
Linda is grateful for the opportunity to stay in Vancouver to celebrate the New Year. “For years, when I was still doing dramas, I couldn’t go back home, so I always spent Chinese New Year alone. It was sad. New Year’s is supposed to be a time for family, but I couldn’t be there.”
For the year 2020, Linda said she will focus on bettering herself. “I’m born in the year of rat, so I feel obligated to work even harder this year. I hope to be able to discover more of my potentials and use the experience I’ve gained in the last thirty-some years to bring positive energy to the audience.”
Source: On.cc
This article is written by Addy for JayneStars.com.
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Linda Chung is planning to move back to Hong Kong for a while. Is her husband going to go with her and practise in Hong Kong? Her fans will be thrilled, but lots of people don’t care about her acting or singing. Is she going to work for TVB or film movies only?
@orchid123 Those were the first thoughts that ran through my head as well! I’m thinking she will probably go back to TVB, as they need people now with the massive talent drain…it doesn’t matter that her acting and singing sucks, as she has name recognition in HK and that’s what is most important to TVB….though seeing that she still has such a great relationship with Virginia Lok, the odds are more likely that she will go the Shaw Brothers route instead. Luckily I don’t watch TVB (or Shaw Bros) programs much anymore, so whichever route she goes, I won’t have to see her onscreen, lol….
@llwy12
Although Linda’s husband is not poor but she probably realised that she can earn more in 1 year than her husband in 10 years. Similar to Flora when she made that comeback but failed miserably. Tough to find a good market after becoming a mother….
@jimmyszeto True, though Flora’s situation was a little different in that her husband’s business had failed and they likely had debts they had to pay off, so she had to return to the industry – didn’t really have too much choice financially I would think….but even with that, Flora has found her niche now with producing and hosting programs about society / life issues and is now essentially doing what she’s been wanting to do (producing instead of acting)….
In comparisons, Linda’s return doesn’t make sense….if she really liked acting and singing as a career that much, I would think she would’ve stayed in the industry rather than get married and move to Canada (which to me, meant that she was retiring from the industry)….yes, I know the rumors of her already being pregnant hence the shotgun wedding, but still…this is the 21st century – I’m sure if she had still wanted to pursue a career in entertainment at that time, she would’ve been able to make it happen, pregnant or not….
@llwy12 if she was in mainland, and has a solid fan base, yea, she doesn’t need to abandon her career in entertainment. But she was in TVB, who is notorious with artist’s image. Her image was pure next door girl, so the managers must have told her to make it seem to go all in, then come back in 2-3yrs. Also HK fans are bit crazy, they literally still hate a girl after 10yrs+ just because she went back on her words >_> they don’t believe in a person can change? And they get older, and things happen 10yrs ago should be counted as history and everyone should move on? That’s my take on why she abandoned entertainment industry and now come back
They don’t CHOOSE to respond in English, she ALLOWS them to respond in English.
My mom didn’t let me respond in English when I was home, so it forced me practice my Cantonese. This is something I’m eternally grateful to her for as an adult because knowing another language really is useful in the real world.
If Linda did the same then maybe she won’t have to move back to HK just to get her kids to practice Cantinese
@tungamy completely agree, your first sentence is bang on.
my parents were the same as your mom. my brother and I can’t discuss politics but we can hold conversations in cantonese just fine – and we’re born and bred in the UK. don’t have to move back to HK just to practice Cantonese. seems like linda is using her kids as an ‘excuse’ just to return to HK
@tungamy
Like many parents, Linda is thinking her kids are more talented than what they really are. Saying that her child ‘chooses’ to respond in English is basically implying that they are quick learners of both languages but has the ability to choose what to use. The reason they are responding in English is the that the ratio of English taught whether by family or tablets whatever, is bigger than Chinese….
@jimmyszeto No, it doesn’t imply that they’re quick learners at all. It means the children hear English at home all the time (her husband is a native English speaker, I believe), so the children will naturally respond in English. If the 3 year old goes to daycare, then that child is guaranteed to hear English and therefore speak it…unless that child goes to a Cantonese daycare.
@sas318
Maybe her words are translated incorrectly but If Linda used the word ‘choose’ then it is indirectly implying that the the child is skilled in both variations but ‘chose’ to reply in English. If it is a natural habit then it is not a choice then is it? I agree though that what you said is probably what she meant but maybe mis-translated slightly….
@jimmyszeto Children do NOT choose which language to speak; they speak the language they hear the most. Linda is saying their household speaks English much, much more than Cantonese.
Also, it is pointless for one parent (Linda) to speak Canto but her husband does not. They’ll speak English to each other, and the children will hear that and naturally reply in English.
@sas318 So you agree with me it’s not the child’s choice then since the article states that Linda said the child ‘chooses’ to reply in English?.
@jimmyszeto Yes, I agree with you. No way a 3 year old is self aware enough to CHOOSE which language she wants to reply in.
@tungamy
well, my friend who was born in hk and went to international school there. he speaks perfect english but his cantonese sounds like an abc. then my brother in-law who came here when he was 3 and only spoke cantonese at home, speaks both perfect english and cantonese. couple of my abc friends spoke cantonese at home growing up, speak perfect cantonese. i think it’s really the environment you’re exposed to. if your friends and family speak to you only in one language then you would only speak that language but if your friend speaks to you in one and you are forced to speak the another at home, you would be good at that other language too.
@tungamy Lol…This woman BS’s alot as usual. Yup, alot of parents knowing their kids born in another country will excel in English rather than their mother tongue hence some of them enroll them in Chinese school so they will learn and keep the language other than English. But I do see some parents such as Linda Chung. I had a colleague once who is Chinese but came from Vietnam and all her daughter knows is English no viet or chi. The parents are so proud and often says you are in America you don’t need to know any other language besides English. Oh boy!! Talk about ignorance. haha lol… Tons can be like her I am sure and not at all shocking esp this Linda Chung as herself often like to mix in English/Chinese even talking to HK reporters. Her other V group ladies do not do it as often which I am sure are fluent as well. She probably now didn’t want to be a FT housewife in Canada probably not many there jobs anyway. Alot of foreign teachers in other countries a huge majority of them are from Canada. What can she do besides going back to HK and grab money while she still can and if kids get older will HK audience still give a crapzz about her? Lol…She’s no dummy. Not a good actress/singer but not totally a dummy. haha lol
@wm2017
my cousin’s husband from what i heard his parents forbidden them from speaking chinese at home while growing up. i think the kids either were born here or came here at an extremely young age, basically an age that you won’t worry they wouldn’t speak native english. i was appalled when i heard that b/c me and other families try so hard to get our kids exposed to a second language and yet there are parents who pride themselves for their children only speaking english. i honestly look down upon those parents, and sorry the kids too for not trying to learn themselves.
@m0m0 idk. it was a different time back then, before Asia improved drastically, restoring some of its former glory. I might criticize China a lot (as it is due), but I also have a lot to thank them for. If not for their current economic influence, the US (Hollywood at least) still won’t give a shit about us anywhere. But back then, Asia was still recovering and it was in an embarrassing state of negligence…so to know and speak the native language gives the impression that you haven’t assimilated and still live in the shadows of that culture at that time.
@coralie
assimilation was probably the idea but turning one’s back on your own culture and language, don’t think that’s necessarily a good thing. my friends and i grew up about the same time too, never felt the pressure to not speak in our mother tongue just to assimilate. i’d think my cousin’s husband grew up around the same times as i did maybe at most a decade more.
@jayne pls approve my comment. I think I commented one too many times
@wm2017 True…though there have been other HK celebrities who had moved to Canada but were still able to keep their entertainment roots alive by getting involved at the local TV and radio stations that are geared towards the Chinese-speaking communities there (Anita Lee and Dominic Lam are two examples who come to mind)…she could’ve followed Anita’s example (she got involved in the industry over there almost immediately upon arriving there, even when she was pregnant and her kids were still young). Now that I think about it, I’m guessing maybe Linda still owes TVB some shows from her contract and she has to return to fulfill that? Either that or she’s completely BSing and just trying to get attention…
@llwy12 Most likely Linda wants to take advantage of her fan base and wider exposure already in Hong Kong, and she already knows how the business works over there as opposed to starting over in Vancouver.
@wm2017 I think she wanted to spend the early childhood years with her children as she didnt want to miss out on important milestones. She never said she was quitting the entertainment industry
@tungamy she is using her kids as an excuse to return to HK…please! she can’t sing, she can’t act, so please don’t return to do so. as for practising cantonese, it’s a language which constantly requires usage.
Uh oh, here we go again. We all know know that Linda is a mediocre singer and actress. Come to think of it, very few of them can sing, or act, or do both together. That is why I appreciate Tony Leung and Jacky Cheung. However if she moves back to Hong kong, her choice. She is an adult and that decision is between her and Jeremy, not anyone who decides she should stay in Vancouver. I wish her and her family well.
I am actually forced to speak Cantonese as my parents don’t know much English. But ironically, learned all my Cantonese from watching TVB dramas lol. I’m now learning Mandarin from watching lots of mainland series. If your kids are naturally interested in Chinese culture, I feel like learning the language isn’t too difficult if your foundation is already in Chinese.
@coralie
Same. Learnt Cantonese from all the TVB drama whilst growing up. Didn’t watch mandarin dramas so stuck now….
@jimmyszeto how are you with reading Chinese? I think reading Chinese subtitles really helped me understand Chinese better, which translated over to Taiwanese/Mandarin dramas. Since they all use the same written language, once I grasped what they were saying via subs, I slowly got accustomed to what they’re saying in Mando. And now while I can’t say I can speak Mandarin, I can at least understand some Mandarin when I watch TV or when people talk to me. It’s really a case of learning subs, grasping contextual clues and then repetition of the same words over and over again.
@coralie
I can probably read less than 30 words of Chinese. My fault for quitting the couple of hours of Sunday school when I was a child. Had previously thought if could read Chinese then it would be easy to learn mandarin?
@coralie LOL…same…I also learned my Cantonese mostly from watching TVB dramas, though in my case, my family also spoke it at home so that helped (though it depended on who I was interacting with, as my brother and I spoke in English while my parents and I spoke in Cantonese). With Mandarin, I actually learned that in high school and college, as by that time, I wanted to learn the language “properly”, including being able to read and write it (though I still supplemented the learning by watching a lot of Taiwanese dramas, since Mainland entertainment industry wasn’t too developed back then).
I definitely agree with the second part of your comment – that if you’re naturally interested in the culture, learning the language isn’t too difficult….that was exactly why I was able to pick up Mandarin so quickly – combination of being interested in the culture and also already knowing Cantonese….
@llwy12 yup the knowing Cantonese part and reading Chinese subs helped my Mandarin dramatically. If I dunno what something means, contextual clues help a lot too. I’m now fine-tuning comprehension by reading lots of Chinese novels (although really I just enjoy reading free stories in general.)
I thought about taking Chinese in HS and college, but I thought I was taking the easy way out by learning it in school instead of other languages. Now I regret my decision because I sucked in other languages and my Mandarin is abominable lol
@coralie So true! Knowing Cantonese definitely helps! Speaking from personal experience…in my Mandarin classes back in HS and college, there were students who’d never had exposure to another language other than English and almost all of them struggled through the class (and they couldn’t understand why I caught on to the language so quickly, lol). Even the ones that knew other languages such as Spanish or French also struggled because Mandarin was such a different animal with all the characters and tones and such.
I also took French and Italian throughout HS and college as well, yet now, can barely understand 2 sentences in those languages, lol…so yea, the interest in the language is important but continuing to pursue the language through supplementary things such as reading books, newspapers, watching TV, etc, is truly what makes the difference…
@llwy12 I agree that Chinese is so hard. I remember my class struggled in HS too. They were confused because Chinese doesnt have an alphabet. But when we got to Korean, the class said it was much easier because there is an alphabet
@luye Absolutely! Though comparing Mandarin and Cantonese, the harder one to learn is actually Cantonese….at least Mandarin only has 4 tones and it’s pretty straightforward pronunciation-wise….Cantonese has 6 to 9 tones depending on who you ask (some even claim there are actually 11 tones!) and pronunciation is not straightforward at all, lol.
I heard the same thing about Korean too….in school, I had some friends who took Korean as their elective language and they would always say how much easier it is to learn than Chinese….
@coralie I mostly learnt this way but I have been told TVB accent is for TV only, not how they speak in real life lol
I can read traditional chinese, albeit takes me slightly longer. After chinese school , my source of learning was reading chinese mangas and novels.
If you dont actively pursue learning the language, especially when young, it wont stick. If Linda wants them to learn chinese more, then yes moving to HK will work, BUT – their English is definitely going to suffer. You cant have it perfect both ways.
@megamiaow
I think TVB and real life Hk cantonese are the same. However, lots of scripted cringeworthy phrases in TVb dialogue, I doubt anyone would use. Probably a lot more cursing, slang and exaggerated words in real life. Not the most pleasant form of chinese or of any language….
@jimmyszeto Even in American shows too; the dialogue is different from the way people usually speak
@megamiaow Depends. if they go to international HK school, their English will almost be close to native fluency, like Jackson Wang. His English is really slangy though lol.
And I didn’t realize this, but when I speak Cantonese nowadays I realize I have an accent too…but I sound like those old black and white film people. I notice this is true for people who grew up watching TVB…like even ilikeweylie from YouTube. I thought her canto sounded funny, but then I heard myself speak and I have the same accent!
I took one term of Chinese school at age 16…going to Chinese classes as a first grader. You can imagine the kiddies surrounding me and how embarrassed I was.
If people have the motivation and desire to learn another language, nothing’s impossible. Just harder. They need to have a foundation in that language to make it easier to grasp the language, and an environment conducive to that lingo as well as a natural interest in learning more.
I thought she said her family would comes first and now she’s turning the other way around no kidding? I don’t think now it’s a good time to travel to Hong Kong because of the virus going on especially you planning to bring your kids with you. Heard her husband is rich they could have opened up a business or something instead travel back and forth unless she’s still have a contract with the entertainment and I do wonder too does her husband speak Cantonese? If not how can her kids doesn’t speak cantonese much?
I could care less whether she returns to TVB or Shaw Brothers, but I was hoping that I wouldn’t see any more news coverage of her since she’s now “retired”, but that dream will be short-lived.
Next week, Eliza Sam makes a come back to the industry.
@anon
Mothers hoping to return to the industry hoping to jump straight back into similar previous roles will receive a huge shock. The just don’t have that appeal any more! That’s why many females leads don’t marry till very late and the likes of Yang Mi distancing herself from the child….
“I speak Cantonese to them, but they choose to respond in English. As Chinese, we should be able to speak our own language, and learn others as well.”
Funny how she contradicted herself. She admitted that her children speak English, then in the next sentence says they should be able to speak Cantonese. Her own children don’t even do that.
What’s the point of Linda being the only parent to speak to her children in Cantonese? Isn’t her husband a native English speaker?? The dad will speak English to them, he and Linda will speak English to each other. The children will hear more English at home for sure, so they will naturally reply in English.
If she wants her children to be fluent in Canto, they’ll either need to go to Chinese school in Canada (good luck actually using it since their friends will all speak English) or need to grow up in Hong Kong.
@sas318
What Linda does not get is that vaguely understanding what she is asking in Cantonese, is not enough for the child to respond in Cantonese. It’s not that they choose to respond in English, they don’t know how structure the sentence to respond in Cantonese. Case solved!
In my opinion, Linda Chung just tried to give people a good excuse for her to move back to Hong Kong …………. to get her children to speak Cantonese/Chinese. She herself still enjoys her acting and singing career and the glamourous life of being an artiste in Hong Kong.
Being an artiste in Vancouver/Toronto is never the same as an artiste in Hong Kong. Chinese business corporations in Canada rarely invite artiste for any event promotions. Even if they do, the remuneration is very small vs. the ones in Hong Kong, and there is hardly any sponsors for their products.
As for TV and filming opportunities, there is no comparison vs. the ones in Hong Kong. Otherwise, Lam Ka Wah, Louise Lee Sze Kee, Ha Yu, Lau Dan, Harwick Lau, Paul Chun would not have gone back to act/film drama series/movies in Hong Kong.
If Linda Chung really cares about her family and her children, she should stay in Vancouver. Hong Kong is not quite the same now, in terms of economic, political, entertainment, and prosperity conditions. Lot of Hong Kong people are applying for immigration overseas due to the current turmoil in Hong Kong.
I agree with most of the writers above, it is very hard to have her children speak Cantonese if English is the language they speak at home. Her children may understand Cantonese, but they will not be able to apply in sentences in their response.
Being Cantonese with roots in Guangdong, having visited China before in Guangdong and many provinces of China. All I’ll say is this..
If she wants to teach her kids Chinese. She should teach them mandarin. If she doesn’t understand mandarin. Put them in mandarin school.
Cantonese is practically useless these days. I will catch hate for this but it’s the truth even when you go to Guangdong. Everybody speaks mandarin when you go about your day. When you do business with the Chinese, you speak mandarin. When you shop on the streets, you speak mandarin. That includes in cities like Guangzhou.
If I had kids I would speak mandarin and put them in mandarin school. Aside from cultural identity, Cantonese has little practicality at present and into the future outside of Hong Kong and some deep-rooted old Chinese communities abroad. That’s nothing compared to the 1.4 billion Chinese that speak the official language – mandarin.
@anon as much as I love Cantonese, I absolutely agree with you on this. Or better yet, if they (kids) can speak Canto fluently at home and learn Mandarin through immersion schools or Chinese school, that would be even better. Cantonese is a native tongue to HKers and people of Guangdong. But Mandarin is the dialect to learn as that will be a much greater asset to have in the future.
In regards to Linda coming back for the sake of her kids learning Chinese… sounds like complete hogwash to me. I understand the importance, sure, but how is she going to sustain her marriage if she lives in HK full time and travels back occasionally? That’s just asking for marital conflicts. And the reward being for the sake of her children’s Chinese? Doesn’t make any sense. I rather she just straight up says she wants to come back to act/sing and continue on working on her career. Although I am not a fan of hers, I understand that as a modern day woman, you want to have your own career too on top of establishing a family. Unfortunately, she chose to marry someone in Canada. So for her to have her cake and eat it too? Some things will have to be sacrificed. Let’s see if she chooses her career at the end or her marriage.