Stephen Chan Falls from TVB Favor Due to “Beloved Protege”

It was not the first time that TVB was plagued by a corruption scandal. In the past, TVB handled these scandals in a low-key manner. However, when Stephen Chan Chi Wan was arrested on March 12th by the ICAC due to corruption allegations, TVB abandoned its former low-key style. The TVB evening news disclosed Mr. Chan’s name immediately and round- the-clock news headlines continued to follow. Mr. Chan’s personal blog at the TVB site was immediately shut down. Who would have believed that “Sixth Aunt” Mona Fong’s favorite, Stephen Chan, would be treated in this way?

Stephen’s Chan’s former personal assistant, 28 year-old Edthancy Cong Pei Kun, was also arrested by the ICAC. Founder of Idea Empire Advertising and Production company, Ed was able to secure artists at “preferential prices” to appear in projects and public events due to his close relationship with Mr. Chan. The ICAC also arrested TVB variety show producer, Chin Kwok Wai (best known for “Beautiful Cooking”), TVB artist Ning Chun, and TVB Market Development Director, Chan Wing Sun.

It was rumored that Mr. Chan fell out of favor with Mona Fong in late 2009 due to his close ties with Ed. Last year, Ed’s Idea Empire company produced a theater version of Mr. Chan’s “Be My Guest” show and launched three books by Mr. Chan. Ed’s company also assisted in the production of “All Singers for TVB 2009 Anniversary.” According to reliable sources, Mona Fong was aware of Mr. Chan’s dealings and urged him to resign in January 2010, prior to the ICAC arrest.

From Personal Assistant to “Beloved Protege”

Prior to meeting Mr. Chan, Ed Cong was a former policeman. One year, he and his friend went car racing. His friend died in a traffic accident as a result. Although the court ruled the incident as an accident, Ed decided to resign from the police force.

In 2007, Mr. Chan received a threatening letter with a knife. He decided to hire an additional assistant. Through his godmother’s friend, Mr. Chan met Ed. In November 2007, Mr. Chan was involved in a traffic accident and could not walk around on his own. Ed was responsible in assisting Mr. Chan get from one place to another. In 2008, Mr. Chan fired his other assistant. Mr. Chan and Ed’s friendship strengthened. They went out to eat together and attend shows. Ed even moved in to live with Mr. Chan.  The public saw the pair as homosexual friends. Each time Mr. Chan had a dinner meeting with an important guest, he would introduce Ed as, “This is Ed, my apprentice!”

Due to Ed’s handsome physique, Mr. Chan encouraged him to become an actor. But Ed was interested in opening his business and soon founded Idea Empire Advertising and Production company. According to company registry data, Ed is the director of six separately registered companies. When asked why one of Ed’s company was registered under Mr. Chan’s home address, Mr. Chan said, “He knows my house has good feng shui.”

Allegedly, Ed continued to manage additional matters for Mr. Chan. Although this caused Mr. Chan to take blame in certain cases, he never scolded Ed. A close source said, “For example, one time, a sponsor approached Mr. Chan about a ribbon-cutting ceremony. Mr. Chan told the sponsor to follow up with Ed. When Ed asked for a fee of $100,000 (HKD), the sponsor was shocked by the sky-high price.”

“One time, Mr. Chan told an artist about a sponsored event and that the details should be followed up with Ed. When Ed discussed the fees with the artist, the price was very low. The artist still accepted the job. Afterwards, the artist found out that Ed’s company negotiated a much higher fee with the sponsor , thus cutting a high middleman’s fee. The artist complained about the incident to a TVB executive, who in turn informed Mona Fong.”

Allegedly, Ed often used his relationship with Mr. Chan to benefit from business deals. A staff from a public relations firm said, “Ed often trumps Mr. Chan’s name. If a firm uses Ed’s company to book an artist for an event, TVB’s entertainment news programs will definitely feature the event.”

One singer who spoke on the condition of anonymity said, “Earlier, Ed opened a modeling agency. He recruited several singers to film several promotional clips. Since we heard that Mr. Chan wanted us to film the promotional clip, how can we refuse? But [afterwards] I believe that Mr. Chan may not have known about the incident after all!”

Allegedly, an insider at TVB had tipped the ICAC about the “corrupted” practices of Mr. Chan in 2009. Since last year, the ICAC has been in touch with TVB regarding the investigation. Last year, after Li Bo An got promoted to General Manager, it was already rumored that Mr. Chan had lost favor with Ms. Fong. A TVB insider commented, “Ms. Fong has been dissatisfied with Mr. Chan since last year. Mr. Li is cost conscious and consults with Ms. Fong on the purchase of office furniture, with the intent of making savings for TVB. Thus Mr. Li has been heavily favored by Ms. Fong.”

“TVB has been collaborative regarding the current ICAC investigation. The executive management were well aware of it for some time. In fact, Ms. Fong asked Mr. Chan to resign in January 2010. Since Mr. Chan did not feel that he did anything wrong, he did not submit his resignation.” However, in February, it was rumored that Mr. Chan suddenly resigned and will leave his post in May. When reporters interviewed Ms. Fong at the time, she said, “Mr. Chan resigned? He…did not tell me.” (Did Ms. Fong try to keep Mr. Chan from leaving?) “Let’s not discuss it anymore. Why don’t you ask Mr. Chan?” At the time, Mr. Chan also denied submitting his resignation.

On March 18^th, Mr. Chan held a press conference at the Regal Hong Kong Hotel in Tsim Sha Tsui. Mr. Chan delivered a four minute speech regarding the corruption allegations. He thanked his friends for their concern and support. Although he acknowledged that changes have erupted in his life as a result of the ICAC investigation, Mr. Chan remained calm. He noted that he was not in the position to speak about the details of the case, but he closed the speech by saying, “The truth can not be falsified. And pretense can not become the truth.”

Excerpt from: Ming Pao Weekly # 2157, the Sun

Jayne: I love Stephen Chan’s show, “Be My Guest.” He is an intelligent, well-spoken and gracious man. For a man who rose the ranks in TVB so spectacularly while gaining the audience’s heart, it is a shock to see his down fall so suddenly. All the Hong Kong media are abuzz with the speculation that his downfall was a result of a power play among the inner TVB management elite.

Wong Hei has been one of the few artists to shun office politics and stand aside Stephen Chan to publicly lend his support. Although it seems unlikely that Mr. Chan will emerge unscathed from the corruption allegations (the media is already having a field day focusing on his same-sex friendships), I support you Mr. Chan!