Flora Chan to Move Back to the United States
Flora Chan (陳慧珊) was one of TVB’s Top Five Fadans from the mid 1990s, along with Maggie Cheung (張可頤), Ada Choi (蔡少芬), Kenix Kwok (郭可盈), and Jessica Hsuan (宣萱). Since becoming a mother in 2007, Flora entered semi-retirement and prioritized her family over her career, even planning to move back to the United States shortly.
Starring in various TVB dramas and loved by audiences for her cool professional roles, Flora won the TVB Best Actress award for Family Man <絕世好爸> in 2002. Her characters, Annie Kong in Healing Hands 2 <妙手仁心II> and Isabelle in Triumph in the Skies <衝上雲霄> are two of Flora’s most popular and memorable roles.
In 2006, Flora married her manager, Mike Chung, and gave birth to her daughter, Mira, one year later. In 2010, Flora returned to TVB for Suspects in Love <搜下留情>, where she costarred with Joe Ma (馬德鐘). Unfortunately, her last drama flopped with disappointing ratings, and had difficulties getting her acting career back on track.
After Flora’s husband announced bankruptcy in early 2012, it was reported that Flora would return to TVB to film Triumph in the Skies 2 in order to help her husband with his financial problems. However, two months before filming, Flora ultimately decided not to be in the drama. Flora had already agreed on the terms of the contract, but she suddenly turned down the role. Flora felt that the drama required her to film scenes in too many different countries, and she did not want to be apart from her young daughter. It was reported that TVB has been treating her very well, allowing Flora to pull out from Triumph in the Skies 2, they continued to offer her roles in upcoming TVB dramas.
According to one of her friends, Flora plans to move back to the United States with her family in the future. Flora has always enjoyed a casual lifestyle. She has been acting for more than 10 years, and feels that now is the time for her to begin a new path. Flora wishes to remain at her daughter’s side to teach and raise her. When her daughter grows older, Flora worries that she will lack the knowledge to teach her properly. Therefore, Flora is pursuing a Masters degree in English at Hong Kong University.
After receiving her degree she may decide to become a teacher, and she will move back to the United States permanently once her daughter is a little older. Flora believes the education system there would provide a better learning environment for her daughter.
Source: Next Magazine #1182 via kuangaitvb.com
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hah. the “education system there would provide a better learning environmen for her daughter”
american school systems arem’t as great as it seems…i’m studying education right now and there are so many flaws in it and it’s only those who have the money who have access to a good education..which i guess flora has. but if i were her, i wouldn’t think american schools are any better than hong kong
You haven’t been educated in Hong Kong. You wouldn’t know.
There is a lot of pressure in the type of educational system in Hong Kong. 99.9% of the students hire private tutors and have tons of homework and assignments to do every day.
If a person is self-disciplined himself/ herself, I don’t see any problems in having a good education in North America.
It’s true that there is immense pressure for students studying in Hong Kong. If her daughter studied in US, she would probably open up more doors to better career opportunities globally. Learning English would be an important factor too. It’s common for Hongkongers to have strong Cantonese accent when they are speaking English.
Living environment is very bad in Hong Kong these days. Smog is all over Hong Kong all the time. Not great for health. It is very expensive to find a decently spacious apartment to live (even to rent). Each sq. ft. in an okay area will sell HK$10,000/sq. ft. It means a 800 sq.ft. apartment will easily sell for HK$8,000,000 in a decent (not upscale) area, such as North Point, Pofulam, Wan Chai. Renting of a similar apartment would cost easily HK$18,000 to HK$20,000 a month. If Flora wants to send her daughter to an international school, it would cost her another HK$10,000+ per month. I am sure she wouldn’t want her daughter to learn English with Hong Kong accent.
If they are self disciplined then what’s the problem learning in hong kong? The american education system sucks.
At least the American education system had produced some very famous smart & creative entrepreneurs (i.e. Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs to name a few).. What has the HK education system produced? The kids do good in school by “cramming” their studies. Are they actually absorbing anything?
Mr. Chow,
Why are you so anti America?? How do you know how our system works?? I personally feel even though the system in the US may not necessarily be the best in the world, but it should be good in some ways since many succeed and do learn. I have heard that they are very competitive in many asian countries and have heard many stories about how strict and traditional they are which as we can see did not work. Not saying US is the best but I am sure that the US’s educational system has some value if not, why do so many spend so much money sending their kids here to study?? They do that for a reason..
the american education system isn’t as tough as it used to be. kids these days are in the 3rd grade and don’t know how to do simple math. the math in NY public high schools has changed and been made easier because the students are failing. it’s partly the board of education’s fault for the lack of teachers, and partly the parents. i’ve volunteered in after school programs for years and all these kids don’t have parental guidance at home because they’re always out working. i know the parents are only trying to earn money for the kids, but unfortunately it’s affecting the kids negatively
This applies to kids in Hong Kong as well. Rich parents will hire private tutors for their kids, but poor parents can’t. Rich parents can afford to send their kids of those expensive international schools if they wish, while poor parents just do whatever they can. This is true in all big cities as the cost of living is very high in New York.
I believe the standard of education has changed a lot, too, in Hong Kong so as to meet the needs of the kids these days.
We should not blame our schools or teachers. We should blame high tech. It spoiled us …… people nowadays don’t know how to spell, how to write, how to do simple arithmetic, or how to talk. Netizens like to use funny language when they chat. Sooner or later no one will have good language and math skills.
I agree with this part : “We should blame high tech. It spoiled us …… people nowadays don’t know how to spell, how to write, how to do simple arithmetic, or how to talk. Netizens like to use funny language when they chat. Sooner or later no one will have good language and math skills.”
However, even though the teacher/parents cannot be wholly blamed, to a certain extent they have an important role to play in making sure the younger generation make good use of the technology available instead of being a slave/dependent of it.
Personally I would like my daughter to study in U.K. not because
the education is great but it is less strict. I want her to enjoy her childhood as long as possible because it makes you a happier person.
I watched a documentary which imply that having a happy childhood will help you later in life when you may need to overcome lots of life obstacles.
My niece is studying in H.K., also using private tutors but she’s been complaining about stress since she was 10 yrs old.
^ I suppose the good thing about overseas education is that it seems more liberal and supports individuality – relatively speaking. (And people think it sounds good when they tell others that they’ve been educated in the US/Canada/UK… I had a friend from Vietnam who hated it over here, but she stuck it out as attending a British uni is “better recognised.” Sad.)
Random, but top 5 fadans? What about Esther Kwan or Marianne Chan? The latter seems to be so underrated.
I think Esther Kwan was more established than Marianne Chan in those days.
I loved Marianne Chan/ Bobby series 🙂
Yeah, I think it’s actually top 7 Fadans from the mid 1990’s including Esther and Marianne~
Flora fell into the group of five fadan with Maggie, Ada, Kenix and Jessica.
She will definitely get a job when she gets back to the US. Just go join her younger sister at where their father used to teach. Her sister is a second grade teacher and her father taught 4 th grade. The father is the most terrible teacher ever. He dont know anything hes teaching n he wears his dirty socks all over the classroom n even put his stinky feet on the table. He yells at his students n every one of his students want him dead!!! He always make students copy foolish old man 100 times in addition to many hoeworks of copying the chapters word by word! Deos she really think that US has a better education? Everyone goes to school and talk about *. Teachers kept talking about their lives n still hasnt teach a lesson. Students jumps on tables and throws chairs around. They put tacks on a teachers chair , kicked a teachers’ leg until she wears a leg brace and push a teacher down the stairs and break her neck. Middle schoolers have sex in the restroom n some gets arrested right out from the school. Schools shootings r not surprising. So flora realy want to bring her daughter back to massachusetts cape cod?!?!!
Hey she should come to Canada instead!
Yeah, it should be safer than the US. However, if it was me, I would choose to study in my home country unless the education system is really bad. I don’t think HK education system is inferior to the US.
Flora Chan was born in Hong Kong and emigrated to Boston, Massachusetts, at a young age. Probably Boston was considered as her home country since she grew up and had her education there.
Hong Kong people now pay more attention to Pu Tung Wa than English. Unless Flora wants her child to learn Pu Tung Wa and Hong Kong English, there is no point for her to raise her child there unless Flora pursues her acting career in Hong Kong and Mainland China.
Hong kong education is not inferior to the u.s. And if it were me I would def. Want my child to learn mandarin , China will surpass the u.s. In the future, and plus I don’t want my child becoming a white wash banana who dates a gweilo.
@Mr.Chow,
Sorry, but once again you are being so bias and racist with your Gweilo BS. I think karma may bite back at you when your kids one day fall in love with one and elope with them… That’s when you will regret everything that you are saying now…
Wow… while I know racism exists in the world, it’s still sad to see it so blatent.
When it comes to the internet these days, it’s hard to tell if people are genuinely racist or whether they’re being deliberately controversial…
Some should keep their racist comments to themselves though and stop imposing them on others.
Give me a break.. China’s unable to support itself unless they steal other people’s ideas or pirate other countries’ goods. Without jobs from the US, Europe and other parts of the world shipped to them, they’ve really got nothing. Their economy is already slowing down since many things are not made in china anymore. Many jobs are now shipped to South America and SE Asian countries because everything out of China is either toxic or crap.
Who’s financing the deficits for the rest of the world? Like it or not, China’s the future (for the next 2 to 3 decades, at least) and if you can’t see that, well my friend, good luck to you.
China wants to advance their economy,but sadly a lot of their products are imitations, counterfeits, hazardous,etc.. Many that I know are boycotting Chinese products, especially food since they are afraid of it being poisoned or contaminated. If China wants to advance and move ahead,they had better have more real and safe products for people to consume and purchase before people boycott all of their goods. That’s when their economy will be badly hurt…
I find it sad… China’s so hungry for power, wanting to compete with – wanting to overhaul – America as the greatest economic power. They’ve let quality control fall to the wayside and I’ve a feeling they DO NOT care about their own people – simply treating them as commodities. There’s such a huge wealth disparity over there and I’m not sure why they aren’t doing more to help the poor. It’s particularly disheartening when I read news of someone with strange bodies (e.g. world’s tallest/shortest, extra limbs); the parents will usually hope they get a world record or publicity, hence more money to feed the family or to pay for the person’s medical bills.
I also watched a documentary on BBC where a certain place in China was labelled “ghost town/city”; there were nice facilities and many buildings, but most of the housings were unoccupied. Again, they were so keen on urban development that they failed to see what their people wanted.
I remember reading someone’s thoughts on the Beijing Olympics and likening the people to “pixels on a computer screen”. That particular line stuck in my head as I really do feel China suppresses any sort of individuality.
Rambling Minds, if you don’t see that China is already on its way down, I feel completely sorry for you. The others are right.. People are completely boycotting imports from China everywhere. Your gov’t may have money, but many common people in your country are still dirt poor. When the economy goes to hell, your high ranking gov’t officials will take the money and move to America.. possibly Hawaii.. and leave you guys asking for foreign help.
china may be rich but they’re the most unethical a$$holes out there. they don’t give a crap about human rights. I would never say I’m Chinese because it’s such a shame. I will only say I’m a Canadian.
“china may be rich but they’re the most unethical a$$holes out there. they don’t give a crap about human rights. I would never say I’m Chinese because it’s such a shame. I will only say I’m a Canadian.”
You sound like you are unable to distinguish Chinese as an ethnicity and culture from the current Chinese government that is formed by the CCP.
Rambling – if you follow what economists are saying, they are already predicting a crash in China that will make the US/World wide crash look tiny in comparison. Public Works projects are by far one of the primary reason for China’s strong growth… whole city blocks have been built by the government that remain completely uninhabited. One hong kong based analyst was estimating something like 64 million unused flats in China.
Once the public works slows down, and the market starts to balance, it’ll be a massive correction.
yeah come to Canada! personally I would never want to have my child educated in hk. so much pressure and I don’t want them to be brainwashed with pro-china material
it’s so much better to be brainwashed by anti-china material.
“It was reported that TVB has been treating her very well, allowing Flora to pull out from Triumph in the Skies 2, they continued to offer her roles in upcoming TVB dramas.”
TVB is bending over backwards to accomodate their old artists. The current artists are all leaving for more money so TVB is trying to pull all strings to entice people to come back.
Flora was never one of my favourite actresses but I think she’s actually a nice person. You never seem to hear scandals or gossips about her personal life. I guess I agree with Sandcherry as she considers the US to be her home rather than Hong Kong and thus prefers her daughter to be educated there.
where does she get the money for her masters degree?
Sushiroll, you wondered where she gets the money for her Masters Degree. I suppose a lot of these entertainers have a bit of cash stacked away somewhere for a rainy day. I don’t know how much they get for doing drama series but most of them seem to be pretty well off. The same goes for Flora I suppose, bet she’s no short of cash!!!
Australia is the better option, not saying UK and US aren’t good, but in Australia the environment is good, the pay is good the life is good and you can buy a house with a big backyard for the amount of a flat in hk!
nowadays, it doesnt matter what school we go to anymore. it’s soo hard to find a job even if we graduated from the best university T___T except if you are a engineer, doctor, etc LOL
We need to have a professional degree to get a decent job nowadays as there are too many university graduates.
Education systems in the US are not great but compared to the pressure in HK, I think she’s making a good decision.
Flora probaly wants to change her lifestyle, wants a more relax and carefree living than living in a compacted, competitive HK. Educationally, HK is better, but in US, you have the freedom to choose what you want to study. And in US, if you work hard, you will get rewarded monetarily, in HK, if you work hard, you will get a pat on the back. One thing her daughter would need to learn is fluent mandarin, if she learns that and fluent english- $$$$$$$$$$$$.
Why the hell does everyone think American education system is the best? Total BS. It’s worser than 3rd world countries. The only it better because it accessible to all. There no pressure over here like other Asian countries. Students don’t have to take entrance exams to middle school or highschool or university. They get Ds and still move on. Students over here aren’t hardworking! There no pressure for them to be. Psssh. Go to Japan. You be coughing blood if you think you can take it easy.
i have to agree…US education wasn’t what it used to be anymore…so many college students can’t even do basic math….
and you would prefer piling your kid with homework, tutoring and other special interest classes in the crazy competitive hk system? explain to me how that is better for them.
You clearly do not know jack about the American education system or you went through a “ghetto” education system. It’s very obvious w/ your english, spelling and grammar.. Just because you were not smart enough, don’t blame it on the education system. I’d like to see you enter an Ivy League or even mediocre university here w/o taking the SATs.. Middle school students have to take some sorta entrance exam if they wish to enter a more prestigious hs.. You’ve obviously been educated in the slums in both Asia & America..
i’m willing to bet students in Asia study harder than those Ivy leagues students. You don’t know jack crap if you think those Ivy schools are for the brightest. If you have money, you go there. Don’t be a tool. Stop being a gullible sheep eating up what the media feeds you. Just because Ivy league are the best in the US doesn’t mean it better than anyone else in the world!! Doofus
Darren:
If you are not happy with the American educational system, just send your kids to schools in Hong Kong, Korea or Japan. I am sure that your kids would “enjoy” a different kind of educational system.
This type of educational system does not suit every kid, but it may be good for yours.
Studying hard doesn’t make you smart, dumba**.. At least our Ivy League schools had produced the genius entrepreuners like Bill Gates & Mark Zuckerberg.. Even our mediocre colleges had produced Steve Jobs.. He made billions selling his innovative products to morons like you. My uncle was a product of an Ivy League (Princeton) and he didn’t get in w/ a big wad of cash.. He actually had the smarts to get in w/ a scholarship. What has your Asian educational systems produced? Ignorant prejudice losers like you?
Students don’t have to take entrance exams to middle school or highschool or university
In California, high school students have to take exit exams in order to pass high school.
That’s a bit different from entrance exams though. Students in Japan (for example) also need to take exams to pass, but then they go through ‘exam hell’ in order to get into decent high school etc…
I would never put my child through the Japanese education system (and I have taught in japan at the high school level).
I heard some jap’s high school give too much pressure on their students until some committed suicide because they didn’t get good grades.
Both the US and HK have very different educational systems, so to say that one is better than the other is a subjective opinion.
I think Flora is also entitled to her own choices when it comes to educating her child.
Bc she finds it is hard for her to earn $$$ in HK than in US. With her Bs degree from bOston and her fluent in english she can easy to find good job in US and has good life to raise her kid. Also If she lives in good location place in US definitely the education is best. In US the good location has good school and your kid can advance to popular universities and easy to have better life.
Though all depends on kid but good background jumpstart plays important role.