Four Celebrities Who Left Hong Kong for Better Lives
Hong Kong’s fast pace of living and recent unstable political climate is expected to result in a third wave of locals leaving the city. Here’s a look at four celebrities who have chosen to settle overseas to find greater happiness in their lives.
Boss of Her Own Interest-based Businesses in Taiwan: Mandy Chiang
Former Emperor Entertainment Group (EEG) artiste Mandy Chiang (蔣雅文) gave up her entertainment career in Hong Kong and moved to Taiwan in 2012 to enjoy a slower pace of life. Although many Hong Kongers dream about setting up their own cafes in Taiwan to escape the hectic lifestyle, Mandy revealed that the costs of starting a business are not small, contrary to popular belief.
Having moved to Taiwan for many years, she has since opened stores in Taipei and Hualian cities selling handmade alcohol-infused glutinous rice balls and creative DIY products. Mandy revealed that she had brought only two months’ of living allowances to Taiwan back then, and encountered many difficulties trying to set up her own business. Now the owner of a grocery shop, cafe and apparel store, she enjoys the satisfaction her job brings despite being very busy.
Chasing Their Dreams in England: Mark Lui and Jade Leung
Having lived in England once, Mark Lui (雷頌德) and his wife Jade Leung (梁家玉) preferred the country’s education system over Hong Kong, and decided to immigrate there for the sake of their three sons’ further studies. As Mark is a civil engineering graduate of Imperial College London, he took charge of the interior design of their current luxury home in England, combining modern and English country-style elements to create an elegant and tasteful home.
Praising her husband on Instagram, Jade was very satisfied with the kitchen in their luxury apartment which he had designed. Working towards her dream of becoming a legit chef, she diligently attends professional culinary courses locally, and even earned herself a chance to showcase her cooking at a Michelin-starred restaurant.
Since relocating, the pair had hosted many celebrity friends who dropped by including Michele Reis (李嘉欣), William So (蘇永康) and Aarif Rahman (李治廷). After completing her concert at the Hong Kong Coliseum last year, Sammi Cheng (鄭秀文) also traveled to England with her husband Andy Hui (許志安) along with Dicky Cheung (張衛健) with his wife, and the group were brought around for sightseeing by Mark and Jade.
Drawn to Thailand’s Friendly Smiles and Affordability: Mimi Lo
A popular tourist destination for Hong Kongers, Thailand is well-liked for its affordable shopping and food options. Mimi Lo (羅敏莊) and her husband Power Chan (陳國邦) fell in love with the Land of Smiles after frequent vacation trips there and were motivated to relocate permanently there due to Hong Kong’s sky-high property prices. A few years ago, Mimi had already invested in a property in Bangkok targeted at foreigners for a sum of $3 million Hong Kong Dollars, and the family of three hopes to relocate there in 2022.
To help others like themselves who are keen to emigrate there, Mini especially started a Facebook page to share her experience of property-viewing in Thailand, collaborating with local property developers. Besides creating videos introducing local real estate, she even went a step further and set up her own property-viewing trips, personally leading groups to view the latest properties in Bangkok.
To pave the way for their daughter Jan Chan’s (陳禛) education, Mimi had personally visited local schools and hostels some time back. Many renowned English and American international schools have campuses in Thailand, and also offer ideal facilities at a lower cost than in Hong Kong, with a more lively curriculum compared to Hong Kong’s demanding and traditional curriculum. Since Jan is already enrolled in an international school in Hong Kong, the couple expect a seamless transition to a local international school for her secondary education.
Enjoying Family Life in Canada: Linda Chung
Growing up in Vancouver, Canada, Linda Chung (鍾嘉欣) had taken part in the Miss Chinese International pageant, which launched her career and rise in Hong Kong, becoming a popular actress at TVB. In 2015, she married her husband Jeremy Leung and had two children while putting her career on the backpedal to enjoy family life.
The family of four live in a 4,000-foot mansion reportedly worth about HK$16 million. With their home located in a safe and comfortable neighborhood with many renowned schools nearby, Linda would bring her kids out for playtime regularly, such as a skiing trip last Christmas.
Becoming a full-time mother, Linda would return to Hong Kong only for public appearances or to meet up with old friends, always staying for just a few days so she could return back to her family in Canada. She last appeared in 2018’s Another Era <再創世紀>, as the drama had stopped over in Vancouver for a month of location shooting, making it convenient for her to balance both work and family commitments. The actress is now temporarily back in Hong Kong, getting ready to film TVB drama Children’s Hospital.
Source: Cosmopolitan HK
This article is written by JoyceK for JayneStars.com.
had no idea that mimi moved to thailand. not a bad choice but still a 3rd world country. i wonder if it is like vietnam that you could get around knowing just chinese.
that mandy girl, almost forgot about her. i think she made her debut and then disappeared shortly after. the rumor mill back then always churning up about dirty behind the scene deals inside her company.
@m0m0
Thailand and Vietnam are NOT 3rd world countries.
@anon
Yes many people get that impression even though they have never been there. Many people think China and other Asian countries are third world countries too. I find it sad that people just form a false impression without ever coming to any country to find out for themselves.
@m0m0 I’m living in vietnam for work. Vietnam is not a 3rd world country…..
@aktf
Really? Which city are you living in? If you live in the city, it is pretty modernized but if you go to the country side then it looks old fashioned.
@m0m0 Dude, which hole did you crawl out from? “Third World” is such an outdated concept. LMAO!
Thailand is considered as developing economy by IMF. Nowadays, if I hear anyone who calls a developing nation “third world”, their motive is purely discrimination, not economy comparison. I hope your statement was purely out of ignorance. As if we don’t have enough discrimination issues already….
@rika @aktf @anon
developing country could be a 3rd world country. change of semantics doesn’t change what it really is https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/third-world-countries
@m0m0 They are defined as developing but so is China, and I dont think anyone would say China is a Third world country.
@megamiaow
Actually many people that I know, including even some immediate family members still call China a third world country. But it is out of ignorance as they rarely travel and are unaware of the world. They are anti China and other countries like Thailand and all too. They only think highly of South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore.
@m0m0
worldpopulationreview.com is not a source for credibility and legitimacy.
@anon Exactly! I facepalmed when I saw that.
@m0m0 So you conveniently chose a source which labels developing countries as “third world countries” just to justify your point?
“Worldpopulationreview.com” is not a credible source. It is owned by Namecheap Inc., a company that sells web hosting and domain registration services. You can verify it by doing an ICAAN search yourself.
IMF has labelled Thailand as an emerging and developing economy. A Namecheap site clearly lacks both authority and credibility to dictate the categorization of world economies.
@rika @anon
you could call out anything that you don’t agree as untrustworthy. non-developed countries is everything other than developed that is a wide range. 3rd world country might be an offensive term to some but in a few years, the term non-developed would people off too.
@m0m0 You know what? Continue to believe what you like and justify yourself with the most non credible resources.
“Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.
I will not reply you any more as time is too precious of a commodity to waste on imbeciles.
@m0m0
Have you been to Thailand before? It depends on what you mean by third world. My former friend who goes there every year since her husband is from Thailand(Chinese born in Thailand) says it is third world too. But that is just her opinion and maybe she was comparing to America. However, the term third world is outdated.
Linda Chung left? IF we don’t hear from her then you can say she’s left HK? lol
@wm2017
Linda Chung never left Vancouver, her heart was always here. She’s only in HK for money, so suckers like TVB would pay her 3 mill HKD to film a series.
@anon Is Linda chung that great to worth HKD$3mil? TVB definitely love her.
TVB should invest wisely. That HKD$3mil could be used to groom other artists, give them proper acting classes or even with more varieties of singers… instead of same singers for the theme songs & similar melody
Wonder how long will TVB sustain? Maybe in 5 years or lesser if they don’t improve. It’s so competitive now unlike in the 80s with limited choices of drama & access.
@bennyjr
I think TVB is done within 10 years. As China’s entertainment industry becomes more developed and influential. Hong Kong’s entertainment industry will slowly fade further and eventually die out.
@anon
Time will tell all so let’s see. I still remember back then when HK was ruling the entertainment industry and China, k dramas,kpop and others did not exist yet. Those were the days and I feel so sad that the HK entertainment industry is like a dynasty that is on the verge of collapse. Unless they merge with Chinese and other companies and work with them. They may still have a chance..
@hetieshou If Hong Kong can produce dramas with a greater international audience in mind, it will have a greater chance of long-term relevancy. Netflix offers a worldwide platform that allows Hong Kong to broadcast its dramas beyond its traditional markets.
TVB won’t fold, but the station still produces smaller, low budget dramas for its local market. There are a few dedicated productions, such as the upcoming “Big White Duel 2” and “Children’s Hospital” with bigger casts which has a larger market in mind, such as China and Southeast Asia. But they are still not produced with a larger international market with streaming platforms such as Netflix in mind.
I think smaller stations such as ViuTV can leap forward in the international market by exploring edgier content.
However, with increasing censorship from the Chinese government in the near future, this will limit content creativity. Operating under these restrictions will make it harder, but not impossible for Hong Kong productions to increase its international exposure if it is willing to continue to innovate.
@jayne
You are right and if Hk can cater to the international audience then they have a chance to remaining relevant in the long term. It is sad thar the Chinese government has so many restrictions which will stop the creativity and expansion to the international community. Time will tell how the HK movie and drama industry will do.
With TVB,they are truly going downhill. I miss the good old days which are gone. They do not want to invest in anything and go cheap on everything hoping to profit more. They make too many modern series but do not to invest in any good ancient and wuxia series. I guess they still cannot compare to China productions with a big budgets and all.
@hetieshou I love the old TVB wuxia dramas. I wonder why they dont make them anymore
@luye They cost a lot more to produce. From hair costume makeup to backdrops, props, martial arts choregraphing.
I wonder what the heck happened to the Historical streets that TVB built for those productions….maybe dismantled.
I do miss them too. China still does them, and some of them are decent.
@megamiaow
Exactly and knowing how cheap a TVB is, I doubt they would put out the money to make those Wuxia series again.
I heard the old TVB studio was shut down and was going to be used as a tourist site for visitors to visit. They moved over to the new one that they are using now in 2003 I think.
China does many great wuxia and Xian Xia series so how can tvb compete with them? I still miss the good old Wu Xia series from tvb though. I doubt tvb can ever make another great wuxia series again. So sad…
@luye
Me too and I think it is because they cost a lot more money to produce and TVB is getting cheaper and cheaper. Modern series are a lot easier to make as Wu Xia series you have to have costumes, hair, props, and so many things that modern series do not need to have. Plus with the big budgeted and grand China productions, can TVB compete with them? Back then TVB did not have much competition but now they have a lot more competition so of course they cannot keep up.
Lol. I wonder did Power Chan and Mimi Lo name their daughter Chinese name after Donnie Yen atv drama Fist of Fury? Never heard of Mandy Chiang before so had no idea who she is. What about Winnie Yeung and Fiona Yuen didn’t they moved away from Hong Kong also? About Linda Chung I thought she married into a rich family but still had to stick with tvb really?
@cutie777 As Linda grew up in a modest family, she always gave the impression that she values money as it doesn’t come easily. She was never one to spend lots of money on designer labels. Even her wedding in Canada was kept relatively simple, and she rented gowns for the wedding instead of splurging.
Linda’s husband, Jeremy Leung, is the nephew of former TVB executive, Norman Leung, and also has his own chiropractor clinic in Vancouver. However, Linda is also worth millions so perhaps her wealth is on par with her husband’s net worth.
Without her first pregnancy, Linda probably would not have gotten married so soon and taken such a long acting hiatus. While she is a dedicated mom, she did stop acting suddenly so it is understandable she still wants to stay relevant by acting in a TVB drama. Then she can continue to maintain her popularity and earn income through less strenuous means such as ads and endorsements.