HKTV will be uploading some of their series on YouTube. Hooray for overseas fans who want to watch (or re-watch) HKTV series!
First up is The Election! Watch how a political rookie faces off against a seasoned veteran in the Chief Executive race. (Read my recaps to follow along with the political context)
Night Shift is being uploaded! (Mandarin version)
To Be or Not to Be (Mandarin version)
Variety shows:
Gone With the Wind
Hot Talk
Cuisine Top Secret
Monday, September 21, 2015
Saturday, August 29, 2015
Wednesday, August 12, 2015
Thursday, July 23, 2015
Monday, July 13, 2015
Wednesday, June 17, 2015
Tuesday, June 09, 2015
Doom + 5 Promo Clips
Astro Promo #1
Episode 1 - "Promise"
Episode 2 - "Resurrection"
Episode 3 - "Monica"
Episode 4 - "Derailment"
Episode 5 - "Police Uniform"
7-min Preview
Episode 1 - "Promise"
Episode 2 - "Resurrection"
Episode 3 - "Monica"
Episode 4 - "Derailment"
Episode 5 - "Police Uniform"
7-min Preview
Wednesday, May 27, 2015
Tuesday, May 05, 2015
Beyond the Rainbow Promo Clips
Astro Promo #1
Astro Promo #2
Astro Promo #3
Astro Promo #4
9-min preview
Astro Promo #2
Astro Promo #3
Astro Promo #4
9-min preview
Friday, April 24, 2015
Wednesday, April 01, 2015
The Menu Soundtracks
The sub-theme song for The Menu is called "Can't Let Go", by an anonymous singer.
Thursday, March 05, 2015
Wednesday, March 04, 2015
The Election Episode 15 Recap [END]
Politics is like the entertainment circle, where politicians are the actors, each playing out their character's personality, image, background and motto. The television debate is a stage for them to perform. Every word or action can influence the voters. In the 1992 U.S. presidential election, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton had equal performances during the debate, but in the end, a simple action by Bush changed the voters' impression of him – he checked his watch.
The Chief Executive debate is about to start, yet Yip Ching (Angelica Lee) is nowhere to be found. The debate begins without her. Gei Man Wai (Isabel Chan) and Song Man San (Liu Kai-chi) take turns criticizing her no-show. Meanwhile, Yip Ching is rushing out of the venue to see the tape of her husband's car crash. She hears Song's speech in the background. Suddenly, she stops and turns back.
Song's speech outlines his political experience and ability to maintain Hong Kong's stability. As he finishes speaking, Yip Ching walks in. She takes her spot on the stage and explains that she was late because she had just discovered that her late husband had left something behind. But she ultimately realized that he would have rather she accomplish what he could not finish.
Yip Ching proceeds to give her speech:
Song blasts Yip Ching for using Wai Man Hin's name while allegedly being involved in a relationship with Cheung Kwai Lung (Gregory Wong). He says that someone with such a devious character is not suitable to be Chief Executive.
Cheung suddenly appears from the back. He poses a question to Song: Can someone with a mental illness be suitable for Chief Executive? He tells the audience that he has a video clip that will explain the relevance of this question. Gei is pressured by the media members in the audience to allow Cheung to play the clip.
The clip shows Song throwing things at "Luk Wai To". Song claims that the clip is fake, but Cheung argues that everyone can clearly see that it is Song in the video. However, he acknowledges the video is fake, and if he can create such a sophisticated video of Song, then how easy is it for someone to create a fake audio clip of him and Yip Ching?
After the debate, Sum Suet Lai (Violet Li) is furious at her staff for allowing Cheung to play the video and speak for so long. She is informed about the post-debate polling results: 70% of people thought Yip Ching did better. However, she directs her staff to report on the news that 70% of people thought Song did better instead.
Cheung waits for Sum outside HKMG. He advises her not to place all her bets on Song given the latest polls. If Yip Ching manages to pull off a win, then her son will face extradition. But Cheung offers her a reprieve: if HKMG can report neutrally for the remainder of the campaign and Yip Ching does end up victorious, he promises to convince her to help Sum's son. It is a win-win situation for Sum since her son will be saved no matter who wins.
Cheung leaves instructions for the team to continue campaigning while he goes away for a few days. Yip Ching is worried about Cheung and goes to his house. She sees him struggling to pick up something from the ground and confronts him about his eyesight. He finally admits that his vision was damaged by the car crash. However, he refuses to rest because he needs to go to Taiwan to find Song's doctor.
Song tells his team that they must grab as many votes as they can now. Kong Yat Dong (Samson Yeung) interrupts the meeting with a message from Mr. Wong. Mr. Wong has said that with the threat of Song's illness hanging over their heads, he will arrange for Song to step down in a respectable fashion and have someone else take his place. This does not sit well with Song, who grabs Kong by his genitals and tells him to let Mr. Wong know that he is perfectly healthy.
A second debate between the candidates is set to occur. Supporters from both sides protest loudly in the audience. In Yip Ching's speech, she says that the true spirit of democracy is to promote one's views through peaceful and rational means while respecting other people's views.
Next, it is Song's turn to speak. In the middle of his speech, he feels very sick and rushes off the stage. Later on, he spins it to say that it was because he was extremely saddened to see the supporters from both sides fighting against each other.
Kong visits the Labour Association with a suitcase of cash. He pays them $1000 per guaranteed vote, but tells them to say that the money came from Yip Ching. Afterwards, Yip Ching is investigated by the ICAC on allegations of vote-buying. She tells the media that her financial records will show that she cannot afford to buy any votes.
Cheung calls Yip Ching from Taiwan. He has good news as he has found Song's doctor and is confident that he can persuade the doctor to talk about Song's illness. The doorbell rings in his hotel room. He opens the door to a man who asks if he is Cheung Kwai Lung. Cheung senses something is wrong and immediately tries to close to door, but the man forces his way in. Yip Ching hears the commotion on the other end of phone.
The next day, Yip Ching storms into Song's office, demanding to know where Cheung is. Song denies having knowledge of Cheung's whereabouts, but says that there is a price to pay for becoming Chief Executive. Yip Ching vows to have Song investigated for the disappearance of Cheung.
With two days left until the election, a heavy storm hits Hong Kong. Yip Ching is invited to meet with the outgoing Chief Executive, Kwok Yat Choi (Leung Kin Pin). It turns out that prior to going to Taiwan, Cheung had asked Kwok to find out about the video of Wai Man Hin's car crash. In the clip, a sound resembling a gunshot can be heard moments before the car crashed. Kwok admits that the government had deliberately kept this fact from the public to maintain the political stability of Hong Kong.
On election day, the voter turnout reaches 80%. The votes are being tabulated at the convention centre, though neither candidate has arrived yet. Song is shown struggling to get up from the floor of his bathroom with a pool of blood underneath him. Yip Ching is giving a final speech on the radio. She promises to commence a new round of political reforms if elected. It will include a open nomination process for Chief Executive so that every single person, rich or poor, will have an equal opportunity to choose their own future.
With only one more region to account for, Song leads by about 3000 votes. An election official announces that the final votes have been counted. Outside, a few homeless people gather by the radio to listen to the final results. The official declares that by a margin of 2200 votes, the new Chief Executive of Hong Kong is... (static).
The Chief Executive debate is about to start, yet Yip Ching (Angelica Lee) is nowhere to be found. The debate begins without her. Gei Man Wai (Isabel Chan) and Song Man San (Liu Kai-chi) take turns criticizing her no-show. Meanwhile, Yip Ching is rushing out of the venue to see the tape of her husband's car crash. She hears Song's speech in the background. Suddenly, she stops and turns back.
Song's speech outlines his political experience and ability to maintain Hong Kong's stability. As he finishes speaking, Yip Ching walks in. She takes her spot on the stage and explains that she was late because she had just discovered that her late husband had left something behind. But she ultimately realized that he would have rather she accomplish what he could not finish.
Yip Ching proceeds to give her speech:
"Fairness" is my campaign slogan and at the centre of my platform. Some people may think this word is very simple or even vague, but it is most directly related to today's societal issues. The business sector might think that if I become Chief Executive, for me to create fairness, I will do anything it takes to close the wealth gap. But let me clarify, I am no Robin Hood. I talk about fairness because in the last 20 years, our society has become increasingly twisted and in need of change. There have been well-known people who have urged our youth to protest less and work harder and they will be able to change their living standards one day. It sounds reasonable, but when I pass by construction sites and see the workers working hard every day, I ask myself how many of them can actually afford to buy the homes that they are constructing? When I visit low-income families, the parents tell me that there are many extra-curricular activities for their kids at school, but they cannot even afford to pay the basic registration fees. In a city where people's livelihoods only get harder, where most people do not share in the fruits of prosperity, where even the most prepared people are deprived of opportunities because of the established beneficial relationships between politics and business. These are like ticking bombs, and regardless of the efforts of those in power, even if they resort to violence, they cannot maintain true stability.
I am a political rookie. I do not know how to use political tactics or spin my words. But let me ask you, do you really need this kind of Chief Executive? You should still remember the empty promises from past Chief Executives. Is that the kind of Chief Executive you need? To me, the most important thing for a Chief Executive is to put the interests of all 8 million Hong Kong citizens as their first priority, to give each and every hard-working citizen the chance that they deserve. This is the fairness that I am talking about. This idea does not come from me, it comes from my late husband Wai Man Hin. Five years ago, Hong Kong had the opportunity for change, but unfortunately, a tragedy forced us to remain in the same place. I really hope everyone can cherish the next opportunity for change.
Song blasts Yip Ching for using Wai Man Hin's name while allegedly being involved in a relationship with Cheung Kwai Lung (Gregory Wong). He says that someone with such a devious character is not suitable to be Chief Executive.
Cheung suddenly appears from the back. He poses a question to Song: Can someone with a mental illness be suitable for Chief Executive? He tells the audience that he has a video clip that will explain the relevance of this question. Gei is pressured by the media members in the audience to allow Cheung to play the clip.
The clip shows Song throwing things at "Luk Wai To". Song claims that the clip is fake, but Cheung argues that everyone can clearly see that it is Song in the video. However, he acknowledges the video is fake, and if he can create such a sophisticated video of Song, then how easy is it for someone to create a fake audio clip of him and Yip Ching?
After the debate, Sum Suet Lai (Violet Li) is furious at her staff for allowing Cheung to play the video and speak for so long. She is informed about the post-debate polling results: 70% of people thought Yip Ching did better. However, she directs her staff to report on the news that 70% of people thought Song did better instead.
Cheung waits for Sum outside HKMG. He advises her not to place all her bets on Song given the latest polls. If Yip Ching manages to pull off a win, then her son will face extradition. But Cheung offers her a reprieve: if HKMG can report neutrally for the remainder of the campaign and Yip Ching does end up victorious, he promises to convince her to help Sum's son. It is a win-win situation for Sum since her son will be saved no matter who wins.
Cheung leaves instructions for the team to continue campaigning while he goes away for a few days. Yip Ching is worried about Cheung and goes to his house. She sees him struggling to pick up something from the ground and confronts him about his eyesight. He finally admits that his vision was damaged by the car crash. However, he refuses to rest because he needs to go to Taiwan to find Song's doctor.
Song tells his team that they must grab as many votes as they can now. Kong Yat Dong (Samson Yeung) interrupts the meeting with a message from Mr. Wong. Mr. Wong has said that with the threat of Song's illness hanging over their heads, he will arrange for Song to step down in a respectable fashion and have someone else take his place. This does not sit well with Song, who grabs Kong by his genitals and tells him to let Mr. Wong know that he is perfectly healthy.
A second debate between the candidates is set to occur. Supporters from both sides protest loudly in the audience. In Yip Ching's speech, she says that the true spirit of democracy is to promote one's views through peaceful and rational means while respecting other people's views.
Next, it is Song's turn to speak. In the middle of his speech, he feels very sick and rushes off the stage. Later on, he spins it to say that it was because he was extremely saddened to see the supporters from both sides fighting against each other.
Kong visits the Labour Association with a suitcase of cash. He pays them $1000 per guaranteed vote, but tells them to say that the money came from Yip Ching. Afterwards, Yip Ching is investigated by the ICAC on allegations of vote-buying. She tells the media that her financial records will show that she cannot afford to buy any votes.
Cheung calls Yip Ching from Taiwan. He has good news as he has found Song's doctor and is confident that he can persuade the doctor to talk about Song's illness. The doorbell rings in his hotel room. He opens the door to a man who asks if he is Cheung Kwai Lung. Cheung senses something is wrong and immediately tries to close to door, but the man forces his way in. Yip Ching hears the commotion on the other end of phone.
The next day, Yip Ching storms into Song's office, demanding to know where Cheung is. Song denies having knowledge of Cheung's whereabouts, but says that there is a price to pay for becoming Chief Executive. Yip Ching vows to have Song investigated for the disappearance of Cheung.
With two days left until the election, a heavy storm hits Hong Kong. Yip Ching is invited to meet with the outgoing Chief Executive, Kwok Yat Choi (Leung Kin Pin). It turns out that prior to going to Taiwan, Cheung had asked Kwok to find out about the video of Wai Man Hin's car crash. In the clip, a sound resembling a gunshot can be heard moments before the car crashed. Kwok admits that the government had deliberately kept this fact from the public to maintain the political stability of Hong Kong.
On election day, the voter turnout reaches 80%. The votes are being tabulated at the convention centre, though neither candidate has arrived yet. Song is shown struggling to get up from the floor of his bathroom with a pool of blood underneath him. Yip Ching is giving a final speech on the radio. She promises to commence a new round of political reforms if elected. It will include a open nomination process for Chief Executive so that every single person, rich or poor, will have an equal opportunity to choose their own future.
With only one more region to account for, Song leads by about 3000 votes. An election official announces that the final votes have been counted. Outside, a few homeless people gather by the radio to listen to the final results. The official declares that by a margin of 2200 votes, the new Chief Executive of Hong Kong is... (static).
Thursday, February 26, 2015
The Election Episode 14 Recap
In the 1960 U.S. presidential election, the campaign between Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy was very close. However, a knee injury to Nixon affected the voters' confidence in him and he was defeated. On the other hand, in 2008, the young and physically fit Barack Obama soundly defeated John McCain, who was rumoured to have cancer.
In Nixon's case, it was not the knee injury itself that hurt him; it was the fact that he appeared on the television debate looking sickly after his hospital stay.
The doctored audio clip of Yip Ching (Angelica Lee) and Cheung Kwai Lung (Gregory Wong) is released by HKMG. In it, Cheung pleads with Yip Ching to think about their relationship, but she tells him to wait until after the election because she must rely on Wai Man Hin's name to win. Gei Man Wai (Isabel Chan) personally vouches for the authenticity of the clip, saying that she recorded it a few months ago when she was still in a relationship with Cheung.
Speaking to the press, Yip Ching firmly denies a romantic relationship with Cheung. Cheung rebukes Gei in front of the media for making up this story as revenge against him.
Meanwhile, Song Man San (Liu Kai-chi) has been having hallucinations of Luk Wai To because of the side effects of his medication. He asks his doctor to switch to another medication, albeit a less effective one.
With the latest news about Yip Ching and Cheung, Tsui Kam Chuen (Daniel Kwok) is willing to switch sides. He goes to Song with two different statements that he has prepared for his press conference – one that continues to support Yip Ching and one that criticizes her as untrustworthy. Tsui offers to let Song choose which statement he should give.
In Nixon's case, it was not the knee injury itself that hurt him; it was the fact that he appeared on the television debate looking sickly after his hospital stay.
The doctored audio clip of Yip Ching (Angelica Lee) and Cheung Kwai Lung (Gregory Wong) is released by HKMG. In it, Cheung pleads with Yip Ching to think about their relationship, but she tells him to wait until after the election because she must rely on Wai Man Hin's name to win. Gei Man Wai (Isabel Chan) personally vouches for the authenticity of the clip, saying that she recorded it a few months ago when she was still in a relationship with Cheung.
Speaking to the press, Yip Ching firmly denies a romantic relationship with Cheung. Cheung rebukes Gei in front of the media for making up this story as revenge against him.
With the latest news about Yip Ching and Cheung, Tsui Kam Chuen (Daniel Kwok) is willing to switch sides. He goes to Song with two different statements that he has prepared for his press conference – one that continues to support Yip Ching and one that criticizes her as untrustworthy. Tsui offers to let Song choose which statement he should give.
At Tsui's press conference, he says that neither Song nor Yip Ching are desirable candidates and urges citizens to cast a "blank vote". Song analyzes this situation and deems it favourable for his campaign because he has enough guaranteed votes from loyal supporters. The blank vote movement will only affect Yip Ching's supporters and undecided voters.
The blank vote is a proposal which would allow voters to vote for none of the candidates in the election – essentially, a "none of the above" option. If more than 50% of the votes cast are blank votes, then the election is declared void and the whole process is restarted. The idea is meant to be a "safeguard" in case the nomination committee puts forth a slate of undesirable candidates (see post on electoral reform).
Ho Chun Pak (Samuel Kwok) and other senior DALP members have a meeting to discuss Yip Ching's latest scandal. They draft a statement that effectively abandons her as the DALP candidate, but Fong Kai Chiu (Alan Luk) convinces them to give her a chance to speak directly to the membership.
The next day, Yip Ching arrives at the DALP headquarters. Before she gives her speech, she asks to have a word with Ho. She tells him that she has nothing to lose in this election, but what about him? If Song wins, he will surely use his power as Chief Executive to oppress the DALP. As leader of a marginalized party, Ho would have next to no influence. At least if Yip Ching wins, he still has a chance of yielding some influence. She leaves him to think about this.
Speaking to the membership via webcast, Yip Ching states that an audio forensic expert can prove that the audio clip of her and Cheung is fake. In addition, she shows evidence that Tsui is only advocating for the blank vote because he made a deal with Song to drop his assault charges stemming from the protest. Yip Ching urges the membership to go out to vote in order to counter the blank vote movement. Lastly, she calls on Ho to say a few words. This time, he gives her his full endorsement.
Cheung pays a visit to Song. He says a bunch of stuff while discreetly leaving a recording device in Song's office. After Cheung leaves, Song has another hallucination of Luk Wai To. He hurls things at Luk, which, in reality, is just an empty chair.
After watching Song's outburst, Cheung deduces that he must have some kind of illness. He asks Poon Tsz Wan (Eunice Ho) to investigate further. Then, as he walks outside, a car races towards him and knocks him out. He regains consciousness at the sound of his phone ringing and manages to get up and stagger away. Meanwhile, Yip Ching notices Song's hand shaking uncontrollably while watching one of his speeches. She tries to call Cheung, but cannot reach him.
Poon finds Lee Tsz Kwan (Mimi Kung) at the hospital and questions her about Song's health condition, but Lee refuses to disclose anything.
Song meets with Sum Suet Lai (Violet Li), whose HKMG will be setting up the official debate between the Chief Executive candidates. He hands her a set of questions that he wants asked to himself and Yip Ching during the Q&A session. Kong Yat Dong (Samson Yeung) interrupts their meeting to inform Song that Poon has spoken to his wife. Upon hearing this, Song rips up the list of questions. He says that it is no longer necessary because he predicts that Yip Ching will not show up for the debate tomorrow.
Poon continues her investigation and finds out the name of Song's doctor. She goes to the clinic to look for him, but he has just stepped out. He meets with Song outside, who has a plane ticket ready for the doctor to fly to Taiwan immediately, no questions asked. Song tells the doctor to stay there until after the election and promises to appoint him to the board of the Hospital Authority afterwards.
With half an hour before the debate, Yip Ching is prepping backstage. Song comes in and asks to speak with her. He offers her a deal: if she skips the debate, he will give her the missing page from Wai Man Hin's death report, along with a video of the car crash. Yip Ching has to make one choice...
Election countdown: 22 days
The blank vote is a proposal which would allow voters to vote for none of the candidates in the election – essentially, a "none of the above" option. If more than 50% of the votes cast are blank votes, then the election is declared void and the whole process is restarted. The idea is meant to be a "safeguard" in case the nomination committee puts forth a slate of undesirable candidates (see post on electoral reform).
Ho Chun Pak (Samuel Kwok) and other senior DALP members have a meeting to discuss Yip Ching's latest scandal. They draft a statement that effectively abandons her as the DALP candidate, but Fong Kai Chiu (Alan Luk) convinces them to give her a chance to speak directly to the membership.
The next day, Yip Ching arrives at the DALP headquarters. Before she gives her speech, she asks to have a word with Ho. She tells him that she has nothing to lose in this election, but what about him? If Song wins, he will surely use his power as Chief Executive to oppress the DALP. As leader of a marginalized party, Ho would have next to no influence. At least if Yip Ching wins, he still has a chance of yielding some influence. She leaves him to think about this.
Speaking to the membership via webcast, Yip Ching states that an audio forensic expert can prove that the audio clip of her and Cheung is fake. In addition, she shows evidence that Tsui is only advocating for the blank vote because he made a deal with Song to drop his assault charges stemming from the protest. Yip Ching urges the membership to go out to vote in order to counter the blank vote movement. Lastly, she calls on Ho to say a few words. This time, he gives her his full endorsement.
Cheung pays a visit to Song. He says a bunch of stuff while discreetly leaving a recording device in Song's office. After Cheung leaves, Song has another hallucination of Luk Wai To. He hurls things at Luk, which, in reality, is just an empty chair.
After watching Song's outburst, Cheung deduces that he must have some kind of illness. He asks Poon Tsz Wan (Eunice Ho) to investigate further. Then, as he walks outside, a car races towards him and knocks him out. He regains consciousness at the sound of his phone ringing and manages to get up and stagger away. Meanwhile, Yip Ching notices Song's hand shaking uncontrollably while watching one of his speeches. She tries to call Cheung, but cannot reach him.
Poon finds Lee Tsz Kwan (Mimi Kung) at the hospital and questions her about Song's health condition, but Lee refuses to disclose anything.
Song meets with Sum Suet Lai (Violet Li), whose HKMG will be setting up the official debate between the Chief Executive candidates. He hands her a set of questions that he wants asked to himself and Yip Ching during the Q&A session. Kong Yat Dong (Samson Yeung) interrupts their meeting to inform Song that Poon has spoken to his wife. Upon hearing this, Song rips up the list of questions. He says that it is no longer necessary because he predicts that Yip Ching will not show up for the debate tomorrow.
Poon continues her investigation and finds out the name of Song's doctor. She goes to the clinic to look for him, but he has just stepped out. He meets with Song outside, who has a plane ticket ready for the doctor to fly to Taiwan immediately, no questions asked. Song tells the doctor to stay there until after the election and promises to appoint him to the board of the Hospital Authority afterwards.
With half an hour before the debate, Yip Ching is prepping backstage. Song comes in and asks to speak with her. He offers her a deal: if she skips the debate, he will give her the missing page from Wai Man Hin's death report, along with a video of the car crash. Yip Ching has to make one choice...
Election countdown: 22 days
Saturday, February 21, 2015
Second Life Theme Song
The theme song for Second Life is "Let Me Sing Again" (再任我唱), by Wilfred Lau, Joey Tang, Patrick Lui and Terence Yin.
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The sub-theme song is "Accompany You For Life" (伴妳一生), by Terence Yin.
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Another sub-theme song, "Know Mistake" (知錯), by Wilfred.
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The sub-theme song is "Accompany You For Life" (伴妳一生), by Terence Yin.
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Another sub-theme song, "Know Mistake" (知錯), by Wilfred.
The Election Episode 13 Recap
No politician is a blank page; there are always hidden secrets on their page. During elections, candidates will use any method to reveal the secrets written on their opponent's page. Romantic rumours frequently appear on these pages. Exposing an opponent's romantic rumours is like triggering a time bomb for them. In the 1998 leadership race for the Democratic Party of Japan, news about an affair caused front-runner Naoto Kan to lose the leadership to his opponent Yukio Hatoyama.
HKMG releases the clip of Lee Tsz Kwan (Mimi Kung) having an affair with C.K. So (Shek Sau). Song Man San (Liu Kai-chi) plays victim in front of the media. He blames himself for not spending enough time for his wife because he has been so focused on the election. Of course, he throws in a few references to his great vision for Hong Kong as well.
Lee is staying at a hotel to avoid the media. Song comes to see her and asks her to do one thing for him. Later, Yip Ching (Angelica Lee) receives a call from Lee, asking to meet with her. When Yip Ching arrives at her hotel room, they chat and Lee apologizes repeatedly. All of a sudden, she falls sick.
At the hospital, Song angrily pushes his way through the throng of media. He is told by the doctor that his wife had taken a bottle of sleeping pills, but is now in stable condition. After the doctor wheels his wife away, Song turns to Yip Ching and smirkingly says that her election hopes are over.
Song walks outside to the waiting media group. He questions why Yip Ching was with his wife and what she had said to her to cause her to attempt suicide. He claims that he had already decided to resign to spend more time with his wife, but he now changes his mind because he cannot let an immoral candidate like Yip Ching become Chief Executive. Yip Ching comes outside and accuses Song of setting up the whole thing. They continue to trade words in front of the media.
Sum Suet Lai (Violet Li) directs her staff to make up a story about Cheung Kwai Lung (Gregory Wong) and Yip Ching based on the video clip of them sharing drinks at the cafe. When Cheung sees this news report, he goes to Gei Man Wai's (Isabel Chan) workplace and insults her in public, calling her a whore who opens her legs to get news stories.
Tsui Kam Chuan (Daniel Kwok) holds another rally outside the DNRA building. The protest quickly gets out of hand, causing injury to a DNRA staff. Song invites Tsui into his office to seek a peaceful resolution and offers to give him some benefits, but Tsui rejects this as Song had voted in favour of stripping his councillor position when he went to jail.
Yip Ching meets with leaders of several women's groups. They agree with her policies, but are skeptical about her as a candidate because of her rumours with Cheung. Yip Ching reaffirms her commitment to her late husband Wai Man Hin.
Gei, appearing to be drunk, forces her way into Cheung's house. When he refuses her advances, she asks whether it is because he likes Yip Ching. He adamantly denies this and pushes her out of the house. Then, Gei calmly walks out and meets up with Kong Yat Dong (Samson Yeung).
Tsui drops by Yip Ching's office and requests that she support him at a press conference as he has gotten into trouble for the violent protests. When she refuses, he angrily says that he knows what she and Cheung say behind his back. This arouses Yip Ching's suspicion. She and her team search for and find the listening device that Tsui had hidden in their office.
Gei is at a studio with audio clips of Yip Ching and Cheung from earlier that night. From Cheung's phrase "I do not like Yip Ching", she edits it to say "I do like Yip Ching", and from Yip Ching's words, she changes it to "If I want to win, I must use [Wai] Man Hin's halo."
Election countdown: 26 days
HKMG releases the clip of Lee Tsz Kwan (Mimi Kung) having an affair with C.K. So (Shek Sau). Song Man San (Liu Kai-chi) plays victim in front of the media. He blames himself for not spending enough time for his wife because he has been so focused on the election. Of course, he throws in a few references to his great vision for Hong Kong as well.
Lee is staying at a hotel to avoid the media. Song comes to see her and asks her to do one thing for him. Later, Yip Ching (Angelica Lee) receives a call from Lee, asking to meet with her. When Yip Ching arrives at her hotel room, they chat and Lee apologizes repeatedly. All of a sudden, she falls sick.
At the hospital, Song angrily pushes his way through the throng of media. He is told by the doctor that his wife had taken a bottle of sleeping pills, but is now in stable condition. After the doctor wheels his wife away, Song turns to Yip Ching and smirkingly says that her election hopes are over.
Song walks outside to the waiting media group. He questions why Yip Ching was with his wife and what she had said to her to cause her to attempt suicide. He claims that he had already decided to resign to spend more time with his wife, but he now changes his mind because he cannot let an immoral candidate like Yip Ching become Chief Executive. Yip Ching comes outside and accuses Song of setting up the whole thing. They continue to trade words in front of the media.
Sum Suet Lai (Violet Li) directs her staff to make up a story about Cheung Kwai Lung (Gregory Wong) and Yip Ching based on the video clip of them sharing drinks at the cafe. When Cheung sees this news report, he goes to Gei Man Wai's (Isabel Chan) workplace and insults her in public, calling her a whore who opens her legs to get news stories.
Tsui Kam Chuan (Daniel Kwok) holds another rally outside the DNRA building. The protest quickly gets out of hand, causing injury to a DNRA staff. Song invites Tsui into his office to seek a peaceful resolution and offers to give him some benefits, but Tsui rejects this as Song had voted in favour of stripping his councillor position when he went to jail.
Yip Ching meets with leaders of several women's groups. They agree with her policies, but are skeptical about her as a candidate because of her rumours with Cheung. Yip Ching reaffirms her commitment to her late husband Wai Man Hin.
Gei, appearing to be drunk, forces her way into Cheung's house. When he refuses her advances, she asks whether it is because he likes Yip Ching. He adamantly denies this and pushes her out of the house. Then, Gei calmly walks out and meets up with Kong Yat Dong (Samson Yeung).
Tsui drops by Yip Ching's office and requests that she support him at a press conference as he has gotten into trouble for the violent protests. When she refuses, he angrily says that he knows what she and Cheung say behind his back. This arouses Yip Ching's suspicion. She and her team search for and find the listening device that Tsui had hidden in their office.
Gei is at a studio with audio clips of Yip Ching and Cheung from earlier that night. From Cheung's phrase "I do not like Yip Ching", she edits it to say "I do like Yip Ching", and from Yip Ching's words, she changes it to "If I want to win, I must use [Wai] Man Hin's halo."
Election countdown: 26 days
Friday, February 20, 2015
Wednesday, February 18, 2015
The Election Episode 12 Recap
"Politics is almost as exciting as war, and quite as dangerous. In war you can only be killed once, but in politics many times." - Winston Churchill
Ho Chun Pak (Samuel Kwok) does not show up to film a promotional clip for Yip Ching (Angelica Lee). She knows that he has no intentions of helping her anyways. They go ahead filming with Yip Ching and Fong Kai Chiu (Alan Luk) instead.
Poon Tsz Wan (Eunice Ho) finds Professor Lin Chi-Yun (Simon Lo) and learns his back story. Eight years ago, he travelled to the United States with his wife to treat her cancer. She was successfully cured, only to be killed in a traffic accident shortly afterwards. He sees it as karma for what he has done in the past.
Poon discusses her findings with Cheung Kwai Lung (Gregory Wong). Before Lin had left for the US, he had been commissioned by Song Man San (Liu Kai-chi) to write an environmental report to assess the government's proposal to build an industrial zone. The report turned out to be favourable, silencing many critics and allowing the government to pass the bill. Cheung theorizes that Song may have paid Lin to write a fake report.
Yip Ching's event at the high school is underway. There are many protesters outside, but few supporters inside. As they wait, Cheung expresses confidence that she will get the required amount of supporters. The caption says that the event lasted for six hours. In the first 2 hours, there were less than 200 people, but after that, supporters poured in. In the end, there were over 3000 attendees for the event. Combined with the Internet supporters, Yip Ching got 423,700 supporters in total.
Song secretly visits Professor Lin in his hotel room. He promises to make Lin the environmental minister once he is elected, but Lin says that it is not what he came back for. He shows Song pictures of people with varying degrees of lead poisoning. The poisoning was caused by pollution of the water source in a village near the industrial zone, a fact that had been known to Lin but purposely omitted from his report because Song had paid him $200 million. Song feigns sorrow after learning about the poisoning and assures Lin that he will do something about it. He asks Lin to give him all the information he has collected so that he can forward it to the relevant government department.
Song shreds all the information once he returns to his office. Meanwhile, Poon collects a water sample from the water source near the industrial zone.
A former legislative councillor, Tsui Kam Chuan (Daniel Kwok), has just been released from prison after serving his sentence for burning a flag. He promptly holds a rally in front of the DNRA office. He declares that his party, known as the "Frontline Alliance", will back Yip Ching for the election. Later, he shows up unannounced at Yip Ching's office and offers his help for her campaign, but she is resistant as they have different ideologies.
Tsui Kam Chuan is a parody of legislative councillor Raymond Wong Yuk-man, as they both have the nickname "Mad Dog". The Frontline Alliance is a reference to either the League of Social Democrats or People Power. Both are political parties co-founded by Wong (he is no longer part of either party) that take a radical approach, using tactics such as protests and filibusters.
On her radio show, Poon exposes the evidence about the lead poisoning and raises questions about Song's role in this incident.
Song is hounded by reporters outside the DNRA building. He denies that the environmental report is fake and says that he will ask the government to investigate the exact reasons for the lead poisoning. Tsui arrives on the scene with his supporters. He challenges Song to drink a bottle of water from the poisoned source and demands that he apologize and resign. Song deftly avoids confrontation by leaving.
Afterwards, Tsui goes to Yip Ching's office again. Cheung politely humours with him and sends him off. Once he is gone, they talk bad about him. But unbeknown to them, Tsui has bugged their office and can hear every word that they say.
Yip Ching and Cheung go to see Professor Lin. They try persuade him to reveal the truth. Cheung recalls an incident in which Lin had insisted that any report must be accurate to the decimal point because it was his duty to let the public know the truth. Lin eventually agrees to do an interview on Poon's radio show tomorrow.
The next day, Professor Lin is on his way to Poon's place when Song's assistant comes to say that Song wants to see him. Lin is taken to the rooftop where Luk Wai To had died. Song uses both threats and promises to make Lin back down from going on Poon's show. Instead, Lin goes on the air at HKMG. He publicly admits that his report was riddled with mistakes because he had been distracted by his wife's illness and states that Song had nothing to do with the incident.
Yip Ching's poll numbers have pulled to within 9% of Song's. She and Cheung have a light moment at the cafe where they swap beverages. A family at another table is recording a video which catches them in the background. In Sum Suet Lai's (Violet Li) office, Song gives her a video clip of a woman who has cheated on her husband. That woman is his wife...
Election countdown: 28 days
Ho Chun Pak (Samuel Kwok) does not show up to film a promotional clip for Yip Ching (Angelica Lee). She knows that he has no intentions of helping her anyways. They go ahead filming with Yip Ching and Fong Kai Chiu (Alan Luk) instead.
Poon Tsz Wan (Eunice Ho) finds Professor Lin Chi-Yun (Simon Lo) and learns his back story. Eight years ago, he travelled to the United States with his wife to treat her cancer. She was successfully cured, only to be killed in a traffic accident shortly afterwards. He sees it as karma for what he has done in the past.
Poon discusses her findings with Cheung Kwai Lung (Gregory Wong). Before Lin had left for the US, he had been commissioned by Song Man San (Liu Kai-chi) to write an environmental report to assess the government's proposal to build an industrial zone. The report turned out to be favourable, silencing many critics and allowing the government to pass the bill. Cheung theorizes that Song may have paid Lin to write a fake report.
Yip Ching's event at the high school is underway. There are many protesters outside, but few supporters inside. As they wait, Cheung expresses confidence that she will get the required amount of supporters. The caption says that the event lasted for six hours. In the first 2 hours, there were less than 200 people, but after that, supporters poured in. In the end, there were over 3000 attendees for the event. Combined with the Internet supporters, Yip Ching got 423,700 supporters in total.
Song secretly visits Professor Lin in his hotel room. He promises to make Lin the environmental minister once he is elected, but Lin says that it is not what he came back for. He shows Song pictures of people with varying degrees of lead poisoning. The poisoning was caused by pollution of the water source in a village near the industrial zone, a fact that had been known to Lin but purposely omitted from his report because Song had paid him $200 million. Song feigns sorrow after learning about the poisoning and assures Lin that he will do something about it. He asks Lin to give him all the information he has collected so that he can forward it to the relevant government department.
Song shreds all the information once he returns to his office. Meanwhile, Poon collects a water sample from the water source near the industrial zone.
A former legislative councillor, Tsui Kam Chuan (Daniel Kwok), has just been released from prison after serving his sentence for burning a flag. He promptly holds a rally in front of the DNRA office. He declares that his party, known as the "Frontline Alliance", will back Yip Ching for the election. Later, he shows up unannounced at Yip Ching's office and offers his help for her campaign, but she is resistant as they have different ideologies.
Tsui Kam Chuan is a parody of legislative councillor Raymond Wong Yuk-man, as they both have the nickname "Mad Dog". The Frontline Alliance is a reference to either the League of Social Democrats or People Power. Both are political parties co-founded by Wong (he is no longer part of either party) that take a radical approach, using tactics such as protests and filibusters.
On her radio show, Poon exposes the evidence about the lead poisoning and raises questions about Song's role in this incident.
Song is hounded by reporters outside the DNRA building. He denies that the environmental report is fake and says that he will ask the government to investigate the exact reasons for the lead poisoning. Tsui arrives on the scene with his supporters. He challenges Song to drink a bottle of water from the poisoned source and demands that he apologize and resign. Song deftly avoids confrontation by leaving.
Afterwards, Tsui goes to Yip Ching's office again. Cheung politely humours with him and sends him off. Once he is gone, they talk bad about him. But unbeknown to them, Tsui has bugged their office and can hear every word that they say.
Yip Ching and Cheung go to see Professor Lin. They try persuade him to reveal the truth. Cheung recalls an incident in which Lin had insisted that any report must be accurate to the decimal point because it was his duty to let the public know the truth. Lin eventually agrees to do an interview on Poon's radio show tomorrow.
The next day, Professor Lin is on his way to Poon's place when Song's assistant comes to say that Song wants to see him. Lin is taken to the rooftop where Luk Wai To had died. Song uses both threats and promises to make Lin back down from going on Poon's show. Instead, Lin goes on the air at HKMG. He publicly admits that his report was riddled with mistakes because he had been distracted by his wife's illness and states that Song had nothing to do with the incident.
Yip Ching's poll numbers have pulled to within 9% of Song's. She and Cheung have a light moment at the cafe where they swap beverages. A family at another table is recording a video which catches them in the background. In Sum Suet Lai's (Violet Li) office, Song gives her a video clip of a woman who has cheated on her husband. That woman is his wife...
Election countdown: 28 days
Friday, February 13, 2015
The Election Episode 11 Recap
"In our age, there is no such thing as keeping out of politics. All issues are political issues, and politics itself is a mass of lies, evasions, folly, hatred and schizophrenia." - George Orwell
Song Man San (Liu Kai-chi) is shaken by the video clip of his wife. He tells his assistant to check every inch of his office and home for hidden cameras. Later, Song meets Yip Ching (Angelica Lee) in a remote area. He asks her to hand over the video since he had already cancelled the deal with Ho Chun Pak, but she says she will keep a copy in case he pulls any more dirty tricks. Privately though, she makes Cheung Kwai Lung (Gregory Wong) delete the video, which had been sent to them by the same anonymous person.
Protesters demonstrate outside of Yip Ching's campaign office, demanding that she step down because of the hostage incident. Meanwhile, Sum Suet Lai (Violet Li) ramps up her effort to slander Yip Ching via HKMG's various channels. She orders extra coverage linking Yip Ching to the death of the elderly hostage. In addition, she makes up fake poll numbers, citing that an "independent source" has found that Yip Ching's approval ratings have dropped to 9.88%.
Yip Ching arrives at a high school to give a speech and is met with protesters outside. Inside, she walks into a largely empty auditorium as the parents' and teachers' associations have boycotted the event. She delivers her speech to an audience of 13.
On the other hand, Song prepares for a speech at a gala in front of many prominent business people. During his speech, he is interrupted by a man. The man spews off a bunch of environmental facts, then presents a gift to Song. Later on, Song opens the gift in his office and is stunned to see a broken finger.
At night, Cheung waits for Gei Man Wai (Isabel Chan) outside her home. He wants to see the clip of the environmentalist at the gala, which has been kept out of the news by the DNRA-friendly media. In exchange, he promises to give her exclusive news and first interview if Yip Ching decides to withdraw from the election.
After watching the clip, Cheung recognizes the man as Lin Chi-Yun (Simon Lo), a former professor that used to help the government with their environmental assessments, but had mysteriously disappeared eight years ago. Cheung finds it odd that Song would act as if he didn't know the professor even though they had worked together before.
Facing rapidly declining support, Yip Ching decides that they must do something bold. She will host another event at the high school. If the number of attendees plus online supporters reaches 300,000 people (10% of eligible voters), then she will continue with her campaign. Otherwise, she will announce her withdrawal from the election. Although it is a risky plan, Cheung supports it. He says the quickest way to get the word out is to go through HKMG.
They set up a live interview with Gei on the pretense that Yip Ching will announce her withdrawal from the election. However, Yip Ching uses the on-air opportunity to announce the event at the high school. When Sum realizes what is happening, she orders the live broadcast to be cut immediately.
Song calls his team into his room and tells them that he has reached a deal with Ho to join the DNRA along with 120 other party members. He wants to hold a press conference at the same time as Yip Ching's event to devalue her public support.
That night, Song's assistant Kong Yat Dong (Samson Yeung) sneaks into Song's office and attempts to steal the file with Ho's statement. He is shocked to find that the file contains only blank paper. He quickly leaves the office, but Song is already waiting outside. Song says that the purported deal with Ho was just a trick to find the mole in the team. He is enraged that his loyal assistant would betray him, but Kong insists that he is only helping. He explains that he ruined the deal with Ho because Mr. Wong would not be happy to see a collaboration between Song and Ho. Song asks about Kong's relationship with Mr. Wong, but Kong says that the only important thing is for Song to win the election.
Kwan Suk Mei (Candy Chu) announces that she will file a lawsuit against Yip Ching for causing the death of her father. During the press conference, Poon Tsz Wan (Eunice Ho) puts Cheung on the speaker phone to share Lee King Shun's thoughts about the incident. Lee spent a long time thinking about why Yip Ching would enter the building. If it was only to play hero and win votes, it was not worth the risk since the extra votes would be meaningless if she had be killed. He concludes that the only explanation is because she truly wanted to save the hostages. He asks citizens to ignore the media reports and use their own minds to analyze the facts. In the end, this speech clears yet another hurdle for Yip Ching...
Election countdown: 33 days
Song Man San (Liu Kai-chi) is shaken by the video clip of his wife. He tells his assistant to check every inch of his office and home for hidden cameras. Later, Song meets Yip Ching (Angelica Lee) in a remote area. He asks her to hand over the video since he had already cancelled the deal with Ho Chun Pak, but she says she will keep a copy in case he pulls any more dirty tricks. Privately though, she makes Cheung Kwai Lung (Gregory Wong) delete the video, which had been sent to them by the same anonymous person.
Protesters demonstrate outside of Yip Ching's campaign office, demanding that she step down because of the hostage incident. Meanwhile, Sum Suet Lai (Violet Li) ramps up her effort to slander Yip Ching via HKMG's various channels. She orders extra coverage linking Yip Ching to the death of the elderly hostage. In addition, she makes up fake poll numbers, citing that an "independent source" has found that Yip Ching's approval ratings have dropped to 9.88%.
Yip Ching arrives at a high school to give a speech and is met with protesters outside. Inside, she walks into a largely empty auditorium as the parents' and teachers' associations have boycotted the event. She delivers her speech to an audience of 13.
On the other hand, Song prepares for a speech at a gala in front of many prominent business people. During his speech, he is interrupted by a man. The man spews off a bunch of environmental facts, then presents a gift to Song. Later on, Song opens the gift in his office and is stunned to see a broken finger.
At night, Cheung waits for Gei Man Wai (Isabel Chan) outside her home. He wants to see the clip of the environmentalist at the gala, which has been kept out of the news by the DNRA-friendly media. In exchange, he promises to give her exclusive news and first interview if Yip Ching decides to withdraw from the election.
After watching the clip, Cheung recognizes the man as Lin Chi-Yun (Simon Lo), a former professor that used to help the government with their environmental assessments, but had mysteriously disappeared eight years ago. Cheung finds it odd that Song would act as if he didn't know the professor even though they had worked together before.
Facing rapidly declining support, Yip Ching decides that they must do something bold. She will host another event at the high school. If the number of attendees plus online supporters reaches 300,000 people (10% of eligible voters), then she will continue with her campaign. Otherwise, she will announce her withdrawal from the election. Although it is a risky plan, Cheung supports it. He says the quickest way to get the word out is to go through HKMG.
They set up a live interview with Gei on the pretense that Yip Ching will announce her withdrawal from the election. However, Yip Ching uses the on-air opportunity to announce the event at the high school. When Sum realizes what is happening, she orders the live broadcast to be cut immediately.
Song calls his team into his room and tells them that he has reached a deal with Ho to join the DNRA along with 120 other party members. He wants to hold a press conference at the same time as Yip Ching's event to devalue her public support.
That night, Song's assistant Kong Yat Dong (Samson Yeung) sneaks into Song's office and attempts to steal the file with Ho's statement. He is shocked to find that the file contains only blank paper. He quickly leaves the office, but Song is already waiting outside. Song says that the purported deal with Ho was just a trick to find the mole in the team. He is enraged that his loyal assistant would betray him, but Kong insists that he is only helping. He explains that he ruined the deal with Ho because Mr. Wong would not be happy to see a collaboration between Song and Ho. Song asks about Kong's relationship with Mr. Wong, but Kong says that the only important thing is for Song to win the election.
Kwan Suk Mei (Candy Chu) announces that she will file a lawsuit against Yip Ching for causing the death of her father. During the press conference, Poon Tsz Wan (Eunice Ho) puts Cheung on the speaker phone to share Lee King Shun's thoughts about the incident. Lee spent a long time thinking about why Yip Ching would enter the building. If it was only to play hero and win votes, it was not worth the risk since the extra votes would be meaningless if she had be killed. He concludes that the only explanation is because she truly wanted to save the hostages. He asks citizens to ignore the media reports and use their own minds to analyze the facts. In the end, this speech clears yet another hurdle for Yip Ching...
Election countdown: 33 days
Saturday, February 07, 2015
The Election Episode 10 Recap
Elections are always full of changing factors. To get the citizens' votes, you must first win their hearts. Voters can easily be influenced by their emotions. Often a single quote, decision, old news story, accident or even natural disaster can change the course of an election. In 2004, a shooting incident caused the hot favourite to lose the presidential election in Taiwan. In 2012, a hurricane allowed Barack Obama to save his low approval ratings and win re-election.
An assassination attempt was made on Taiwan's incumbent president, Chen Shui-bian, on the day before the 2004 presidential elections. He suffered non-life threatening injuries and narrowly won the election the next day. There was speculation that the incident was staged in order to win sympathy from the citizens. (Wikipedia)
During the 2012 US presidential elections, Hurricane Sandy hit the east coast of USA. President Obama's reaction to the storm was widely praised and is said to have contributed to his successful re-election. (Wikipedia)
The Commissioner of Police personally visits Yip Ching (Angelica Lee) to discuss Lee King Shun's (Wu Kwing Lung) demand to see her. Yip Ching finally recalls where she had encountered Lee before. Eight years ago, when she was a radio broadcaster, she uncovered a scandal in which he used his police officer status to obtain free sexual services. Her persistent coverage of the story eventually led to his arrest. Realizing the cause for Lee's resentment, she agrees to his request.
Sum Suet Lai (Violet Li) sets up an interview for Song Man San (Liu Kai-chi) to comment on the hostage situation. He puts the blame squarely on Yip Ching for failing to defuse the situation earlier when Lee had committed other hostile actions.
At the hostage site, Yip Ching speaks to Lee from outside. He tells her to come inside the building or else he will kill the hostages. He gives her 30 minutes to consider her options. A gunshot is heard coming from inside as she retreats.
Meanwhile, Cheung Kwai Lung (Gregory Wong) meets up with Poon Tsz Wan (Eunice Ho), who has dug up information from Lee's police career. Cheung takes interest in a particular bank robbery case from 2010. Grabbing the information, he rushes to get to the hostage site.
Song watches the unfolding situation with Sum in her office. He reckons that Yip Ching is in a lose-lose situation whether or not she decides to go inside. If she does, she will probably not make it out alive. If she doesn't and anything happens to the hostages, she will have to shoulder all the blame.
Back at the hostage site, the police have decided that it would be too risky for Yip Ching to go inside. Just then, they receive a call from one of the hostages, who says that she will be the first one to be killed if Yip Ching does not come inside soon. Yip Ching decides that she must go inside, because as she puts it, "It is not that I don't fear death, but I have no other choice."
Yip Ching slowly walks into the building where Lee awaits her. He is quite aggravated at first, but she gradually calms him down by appealing to his sense of duty to protect citizens as a police officer. Just as he appears to be softening, two hostages make an escape through the back door, prompting Lee to fire a shot.
Cheung arrives at the scene and pushes his way through the police line. He shouts to Lee that he wants to talk to him. He says that they have seen each other before, during the 2010 bank robbery case. Lee slowly edges outside, holding Yip Ching as hostage. Cheung, claiming to be one of the hostages in the robbery case, describes Lee's heroics on that day, including how he said that one must be courageous in the face of difficulty. Cheung points to Yip Ching and says that she is doing exactly that by standing for election. Lee is touched by these words and drops his gun.
Later on, they get word that an elderly man had died from a heart attack after being held in the hostage situation. HKMG arranges for the man's daughter, Kwan Suk Mei (Candy Chu), to give a tearful interview in which she blames Yip Ching for indirectly causing her father's death. She alleges that Yip Ching aggravated Lee, causing him to fire the shot, which in turn, triggered the old man's heart attack.
The media gather outside Yip Ching's campaign office. She tries to explain her decision to negotiate with Lee, but Kwan suddenly appears and continues to argue that Yip Ching is responsible for her father's death.
Song meets with Ho Chun Pak (Samuel Kwok) to discuss their deal again. He tells Ho that this is the perfect timing to resign from the DALP. It will deal another blow to Yip Ching while she is already facing huge pressure from the aftermath of the hostage situation. Ho wants a higher position than what was previously offered, which Song agrees to.
Yip Ching and Cheung receive another anonymous text message telling them that Ho will quit the DALP tomorrow.
Ho holds a meeting with his supporters in the DALP and announces that he will officially resign from the party tomorrow morning. He is interrupted by a phone call from Song, who abruptly calls off the deal. Ho returns to the meeting room and grudgingly tells everyone to forget about their whole plan. Meanwhile, in his office, Song is furious as he watches a video clip of his wife in bed with C.K. So (Shek Sau).
Election countdown: 49 days
An assassination attempt was made on Taiwan's incumbent president, Chen Shui-bian, on the day before the 2004 presidential elections. He suffered non-life threatening injuries and narrowly won the election the next day. There was speculation that the incident was staged in order to win sympathy from the citizens. (Wikipedia)
During the 2012 US presidential elections, Hurricane Sandy hit the east coast of USA. President Obama's reaction to the storm was widely praised and is said to have contributed to his successful re-election. (Wikipedia)
The Commissioner of Police personally visits Yip Ching (Angelica Lee) to discuss Lee King Shun's (Wu Kwing Lung) demand to see her. Yip Ching finally recalls where she had encountered Lee before. Eight years ago, when she was a radio broadcaster, she uncovered a scandal in which he used his police officer status to obtain free sexual services. Her persistent coverage of the story eventually led to his arrest. Realizing the cause for Lee's resentment, she agrees to his request.
Sum Suet Lai (Violet Li) sets up an interview for Song Man San (Liu Kai-chi) to comment on the hostage situation. He puts the blame squarely on Yip Ching for failing to defuse the situation earlier when Lee had committed other hostile actions.
At the hostage site, Yip Ching speaks to Lee from outside. He tells her to come inside the building or else he will kill the hostages. He gives her 30 minutes to consider her options. A gunshot is heard coming from inside as she retreats.
Meanwhile, Cheung Kwai Lung (Gregory Wong) meets up with Poon Tsz Wan (Eunice Ho), who has dug up information from Lee's police career. Cheung takes interest in a particular bank robbery case from 2010. Grabbing the information, he rushes to get to the hostage site.
Song watches the unfolding situation with Sum in her office. He reckons that Yip Ching is in a lose-lose situation whether or not she decides to go inside. If she does, she will probably not make it out alive. If she doesn't and anything happens to the hostages, she will have to shoulder all the blame.
Back at the hostage site, the police have decided that it would be too risky for Yip Ching to go inside. Just then, they receive a call from one of the hostages, who says that she will be the first one to be killed if Yip Ching does not come inside soon. Yip Ching decides that she must go inside, because as she puts it, "It is not that I don't fear death, but I have no other choice."
Yip Ching slowly walks into the building where Lee awaits her. He is quite aggravated at first, but she gradually calms him down by appealing to his sense of duty to protect citizens as a police officer. Just as he appears to be softening, two hostages make an escape through the back door, prompting Lee to fire a shot.
Cheung arrives at the scene and pushes his way through the police line. He shouts to Lee that he wants to talk to him. He says that they have seen each other before, during the 2010 bank robbery case. Lee slowly edges outside, holding Yip Ching as hostage. Cheung, claiming to be one of the hostages in the robbery case, describes Lee's heroics on that day, including how he said that one must be courageous in the face of difficulty. Cheung points to Yip Ching and says that she is doing exactly that by standing for election. Lee is touched by these words and drops his gun.
Later on, they get word that an elderly man had died from a heart attack after being held in the hostage situation. HKMG arranges for the man's daughter, Kwan Suk Mei (Candy Chu), to give a tearful interview in which she blames Yip Ching for indirectly causing her father's death. She alleges that Yip Ching aggravated Lee, causing him to fire the shot, which in turn, triggered the old man's heart attack.
The media gather outside Yip Ching's campaign office. She tries to explain her decision to negotiate with Lee, but Kwan suddenly appears and continues to argue that Yip Ching is responsible for her father's death.
Song meets with Ho Chun Pak (Samuel Kwok) to discuss their deal again. He tells Ho that this is the perfect timing to resign from the DALP. It will deal another blow to Yip Ching while she is already facing huge pressure from the aftermath of the hostage situation. Ho wants a higher position than what was previously offered, which Song agrees to.
Yip Ching and Cheung receive another anonymous text message telling them that Ho will quit the DALP tomorrow.
Ho holds a meeting with his supporters in the DALP and announces that he will officially resign from the party tomorrow morning. He is interrupted by a phone call from Song, who abruptly calls off the deal. Ho returns to the meeting room and grudgingly tells everyone to forget about their whole plan. Meanwhile, in his office, Song is furious as he watches a video clip of his wife in bed with C.K. So (Shek Sau).
Election countdown: 49 days
Wednesday, February 04, 2015
Sunday, January 25, 2015
The Election Episode 9 Recap
The 2022 election campaign loosened its advertising rules and allowed candidates to run television ads. Hence, television has become an important channel of communication between candidates and voters.
Song Man San (Liu Kai-chi) is filming an ad for his campaign with his wife Lee Tsz Kwan (Mimi Kung). In the middle of filming, he suddenly feels unwell and goes back to his van to rest. He vomits and discovers that he is losing his hair.
Reporters ask Yip Ching (Angelica Lee) for her thoughts about Song's massive television campaign. She professes admiration for her opponent's huge budget and says that she can probably only afford to rent a bus and speak to citizens one-on-one. Ho Chun Pak (Samuel Kwok) shows up at her campaign site and is asked how he feels about losing to her in the internal election. He answers that he will fully support her election campaign.
However, his tune completely changes once they are away from cameras. He tells her that he wishes to see her lose and will instruct all party members to reject any of her requests. Yip Ching tries to reason with him that if she wins the election, he would yield incredible influence as leader of the ruling party. But she warns that if she loses, she will push Fong Kai Chiu to be the new leader of the DALP.
During one of Yip Ching's radio interviews, a man calls in and berates her for using "justice" as her campaign slogan when she is just another self-interested politician. The call gets cut off, but Yip Ching can't shake the feeling that the voice sounds familiar.
Song is surprised to see his wife smoking when he arrives home. Lee confronts him about his brain tumour, which she found out about after testing one of his pills. He instantly erupts into a rage and demands to know whether anyone else knows about his illness. She is clearly intimated as he screams that nothing can stop him from continuing in this election.
Ho is personally greeted by Sum Suet Lai (Violet Li) at the HKMG headquarters. She takes him to see a "friend", who turns out to be Song. Song wants to work together with Ho to bring down Yip Ching. He promises to appoint Ho to an important portfolio if he becomes Chief Executive. Their first plan of action is for Ho to quit the DALP along with core members of the party.
Meanwhile, Yip Ching is campaigning on the streets. Cheung Kwai Lung (Gregory Wong) receives an anonymous text message telling him about Song and Ho's secret pact. Suddenly, a bottle of acidic substance is thrown from the building above. Yip Ching immediately tends to the volunteers, while Cheung rushes up the stairs to catch the perpetrator. The attacker kicks him away and runs out onto the street. He is chased by a police officer, whom he knocks out and steals his gun.
Lee opts to stay at her office late at night instead of going home. She is upset that her husband is only focused on the election and nothing else. C.K. So (Shek Sau) comforts her before suggesting that they go out for dinner. In the car, C.K. leans in to help her with her seat belt, then kisses her. They continue making out while Song watches from a distance.
Song goes to see Gei Man Wai (Isabel Chan). He entices her to have sex with him by offering to give her an "explosive" story about the DALP. She happily obliges.
Ho holds a meeting with a group of DALP members, where he badmouths Yip Ching in front of them. He proposes that they all quit the DALP and form a new party together. Everyone agrees to consider the idea for a few days.
The perpetrator of the acid attacks rips one of Yip Ching's posters on the street and is noticed by two police officers. He runs into a building with about a dozen people and pulls out a gun on them. One hostage manages to escape and alerts the cops. The suspect is identified as a former police officer, Lee King Shun (Wu Kwing Lung). He demands to see Yip Ching...
Election countdown: 50 days
Song Man San (Liu Kai-chi) is filming an ad for his campaign with his wife Lee Tsz Kwan (Mimi Kung). In the middle of filming, he suddenly feels unwell and goes back to his van to rest. He vomits and discovers that he is losing his hair.
Reporters ask Yip Ching (Angelica Lee) for her thoughts about Song's massive television campaign. She professes admiration for her opponent's huge budget and says that she can probably only afford to rent a bus and speak to citizens one-on-one. Ho Chun Pak (Samuel Kwok) shows up at her campaign site and is asked how he feels about losing to her in the internal election. He answers that he will fully support her election campaign.
However, his tune completely changes once they are away from cameras. He tells her that he wishes to see her lose and will instruct all party members to reject any of her requests. Yip Ching tries to reason with him that if she wins the election, he would yield incredible influence as leader of the ruling party. But she warns that if she loses, she will push Fong Kai Chiu to be the new leader of the DALP.
During one of Yip Ching's radio interviews, a man calls in and berates her for using "justice" as her campaign slogan when she is just another self-interested politician. The call gets cut off, but Yip Ching can't shake the feeling that the voice sounds familiar.
Song is surprised to see his wife smoking when he arrives home. Lee confronts him about his brain tumour, which she found out about after testing one of his pills. He instantly erupts into a rage and demands to know whether anyone else knows about his illness. She is clearly intimated as he screams that nothing can stop him from continuing in this election.
Ho is personally greeted by Sum Suet Lai (Violet Li) at the HKMG headquarters. She takes him to see a "friend", who turns out to be Song. Song wants to work together with Ho to bring down Yip Ching. He promises to appoint Ho to an important portfolio if he becomes Chief Executive. Their first plan of action is for Ho to quit the DALP along with core members of the party.
Meanwhile, Yip Ching is campaigning on the streets. Cheung Kwai Lung (Gregory Wong) receives an anonymous text message telling him about Song and Ho's secret pact. Suddenly, a bottle of acidic substance is thrown from the building above. Yip Ching immediately tends to the volunteers, while Cheung rushes up the stairs to catch the perpetrator. The attacker kicks him away and runs out onto the street. He is chased by a police officer, whom he knocks out and steals his gun.
Lee opts to stay at her office late at night instead of going home. She is upset that her husband is only focused on the election and nothing else. C.K. So (Shek Sau) comforts her before suggesting that they go out for dinner. In the car, C.K. leans in to help her with her seat belt, then kisses her. They continue making out while Song watches from a distance.
Song goes to see Gei Man Wai (Isabel Chan). He entices her to have sex with him by offering to give her an "explosive" story about the DALP. She happily obliges.
Ho holds a meeting with a group of DALP members, where he badmouths Yip Ching in front of them. He proposes that they all quit the DALP and form a new party together. Everyone agrees to consider the idea for a few days.
The perpetrator of the acid attacks rips one of Yip Ching's posters on the street and is noticed by two police officers. He runs into a building with about a dozen people and pulls out a gun on them. One hostage manages to escape and alerts the cops. The suspect is identified as a former police officer, Lee King Shun (Wu Kwing Lung). He demands to see Yip Ching...
Election countdown: 50 days
Tuesday, January 20, 2015
The Election Episode 8 Recap
"There are no morals in politics; there is only expedience." - Vladimir Lenin
Yip Ching (Angelica Lee) walks into the DALP office with Fong Kai Chiu (Alan Luk) and her campaign team. Ho Chun Pak (Samuel Kwok) gives her a warm welcome and expresses his hope that the internal election will be a friendly competition with no hard feelings in the end. However, discontent is written all over his face as he turns away.
Both sides prepare for the internal election in 10 days. Ho instructs his team to call every single party member and offer whatever money or favours it takes to get their vote. In another room, Fong analyzes the situation for Yip Ching. With 1,334 party members, they require at least 600+ votes to win. The youth faction can control about 200 votes, while Fong's wife, Mary (Anita Kwan), can influence the women's vote. Cheung Kwai Lung (Gregory Wong) takes Fong aside to tell him that the best way to defeat Ho is to find scandalous material. Meanwhile, an aide delivers a package to Mary.
The DNRA members are discussing a vote-buying scheme. They have contacted immigration centres and senior homes who can provide voters for a fee. However, Song Man San (Liu Kai-chi) is not happy with the numbers. He shouts that he needs 100,000 votes to ensure victory, not a couple thousand. He excuses himself from the meeting when his vision suddenly starts to blur. He staggers to the washroom and is soon staring at a sink full of blood from his nosebleed.
Later that night, Cheung quietly observes Fong hugging his assistant, Kelvin (Oscar Chan). On the ride home, Mary confronts Fong about the pictures of him and Kelvin that were given to her in the package. Fong agrees to a divorce, but pleads with her to continue to support Yip Ching.
Song meets secretly with his doctor to see the results of a CT scan he had done earlier. The scan shows that he has a brain tumour. The doctor advises him to immediately undergo surgery, but Song refuses and asks to be treated with medication for the time being.
The next day, Fong briefs Yip Ching before a meeting with the women's associations. Cheung senses that something is wrong. Later, he casually asks Fong about his wife and receives an awkward response. Cheung warns Yip Ching that they cannot trust Mary anymore because of her martial problems with Fong, but Yip Ching dismisses this as silliness.
In the meeting, Mary starts by saying that the ideal candidate should have good policies, qualities and foresight to lead the DALP. She is unexpectedly cut off by Yip Ching before she can name the candidate that best fit these criteria. Yip Ching goes on to give her own speech, outlining her philosophy and urging the party to unite together to win the election. Cheung waits anxiously outside for the meeting to finish. When Yip Ching comes out, she tells him that she ultimately heeded to his advice because she noticed that Mary had taken off her wedding ring.
Poon Tsz Wan (Eunice Ho) learns about the DNRA's vote-buying scheme from a source. Before each of the last few elections, a DNRA member would visit the senior home's boss. Afterwards, the senior home would receive donations from various sources. On election day, buses would arrive at the senior home to bring seniors to the polling stations and the seniors' hands would be stamped to remind them which candidate to vote for.
Poon is summoned to see Sum Suet Lai (Violet Li), who orders her to drop the story immediately. Poon staunchly refuses and is fired on the spot. She decides to release her story through the Internet.
Kelvin is called into Ho's office. It turns out that Ho had deliberately placed Kelvin near Fong to seduce him. Now he wants Kelvin to accuse Fong of sexual misconduct in front of everyone during the internal debate session. Kelvin appears reluctant, as he has developed a real relationship with Fong.
Cheung comes up with an idea to defeat Ho. He wants to paint Ho as an unsuitable candidate for Chief Executive by exposing the low-hand tactics that Ho uses to blackmail his own party members. However, this meant that they would have to reveal Fong's relationship with Kelvin. Yip Ching opposes this idea, but Fong is willing to take the plunge to help her win.
That night, Yip Ching receives a phone call from Kelvin. He makes her promise that she will defeat Ho and protect Fong. Shortly afterwards, Ho discovers that Kelvin has committed suicide at the DALP office.
One of the DNRA members is investigated by the ICAC for the vote-buying allegations. Song convinces him to turn himself in and admit that he had acted alone on the scheme, without any approval from the party or Song. The next day, Song puts on a show in front of the media, publicly expressing his disappointment in the actions of individual party members and promising to conduct a full internal review of the party's ethical standards.
Yip Ching and Ho are all set to go against each other in the internal debate. Ho unreservingly attacks Yip Ching, blaming her for Kelvin's suicide and questioning her motives for joining the DALP. She deftly rebuts against his criticisms and delivers her message of bringing renewal to the party. The two candidates continue with the heated debate...
The caption states that Yip Ching won the internal election with 775 votes versus Ho's 448 votes. Five days later, she formally submits her application forms with 633 nomination ballots and becomes Hong Kong's first ever female candidate for Chief Executive.
Election countdown: 62 days
Yip Ching (Angelica Lee) walks into the DALP office with Fong Kai Chiu (Alan Luk) and her campaign team. Ho Chun Pak (Samuel Kwok) gives her a warm welcome and expresses his hope that the internal election will be a friendly competition with no hard feelings in the end. However, discontent is written all over his face as he turns away.
Both sides prepare for the internal election in 10 days. Ho instructs his team to call every single party member and offer whatever money or favours it takes to get their vote. In another room, Fong analyzes the situation for Yip Ching. With 1,334 party members, they require at least 600+ votes to win. The youth faction can control about 200 votes, while Fong's wife, Mary (Anita Kwan), can influence the women's vote. Cheung Kwai Lung (Gregory Wong) takes Fong aside to tell him that the best way to defeat Ho is to find scandalous material. Meanwhile, an aide delivers a package to Mary.
The DNRA members are discussing a vote-buying scheme. They have contacted immigration centres and senior homes who can provide voters for a fee. However, Song Man San (Liu Kai-chi) is not happy with the numbers. He shouts that he needs 100,000 votes to ensure victory, not a couple thousand. He excuses himself from the meeting when his vision suddenly starts to blur. He staggers to the washroom and is soon staring at a sink full of blood from his nosebleed.
Later that night, Cheung quietly observes Fong hugging his assistant, Kelvin (Oscar Chan). On the ride home, Mary confronts Fong about the pictures of him and Kelvin that were given to her in the package. Fong agrees to a divorce, but pleads with her to continue to support Yip Ching.
Song meets secretly with his doctor to see the results of a CT scan he had done earlier. The scan shows that he has a brain tumour. The doctor advises him to immediately undergo surgery, but Song refuses and asks to be treated with medication for the time being.
The next day, Fong briefs Yip Ching before a meeting with the women's associations. Cheung senses that something is wrong. Later, he casually asks Fong about his wife and receives an awkward response. Cheung warns Yip Ching that they cannot trust Mary anymore because of her martial problems with Fong, but Yip Ching dismisses this as silliness.
In the meeting, Mary starts by saying that the ideal candidate should have good policies, qualities and foresight to lead the DALP. She is unexpectedly cut off by Yip Ching before she can name the candidate that best fit these criteria. Yip Ching goes on to give her own speech, outlining her philosophy and urging the party to unite together to win the election. Cheung waits anxiously outside for the meeting to finish. When Yip Ching comes out, she tells him that she ultimately heeded to his advice because she noticed that Mary had taken off her wedding ring.
Poon Tsz Wan (Eunice Ho) learns about the DNRA's vote-buying scheme from a source. Before each of the last few elections, a DNRA member would visit the senior home's boss. Afterwards, the senior home would receive donations from various sources. On election day, buses would arrive at the senior home to bring seniors to the polling stations and the seniors' hands would be stamped to remind them which candidate to vote for.
Poon is summoned to see Sum Suet Lai (Violet Li), who orders her to drop the story immediately. Poon staunchly refuses and is fired on the spot. She decides to release her story through the Internet.
Kelvin is called into Ho's office. It turns out that Ho had deliberately placed Kelvin near Fong to seduce him. Now he wants Kelvin to accuse Fong of sexual misconduct in front of everyone during the internal debate session. Kelvin appears reluctant, as he has developed a real relationship with Fong.
Cheung comes up with an idea to defeat Ho. He wants to paint Ho as an unsuitable candidate for Chief Executive by exposing the low-hand tactics that Ho uses to blackmail his own party members. However, this meant that they would have to reveal Fong's relationship with Kelvin. Yip Ching opposes this idea, but Fong is willing to take the plunge to help her win.
That night, Yip Ching receives a phone call from Kelvin. He makes her promise that she will defeat Ho and protect Fong. Shortly afterwards, Ho discovers that Kelvin has committed suicide at the DALP office.
One of the DNRA members is investigated by the ICAC for the vote-buying allegations. Song convinces him to turn himself in and admit that he had acted alone on the scheme, without any approval from the party or Song. The next day, Song puts on a show in front of the media, publicly expressing his disappointment in the actions of individual party members and promising to conduct a full internal review of the party's ethical standards.
Yip Ching and Ho are all set to go against each other in the internal debate. Ho unreservingly attacks Yip Ching, blaming her for Kelvin's suicide and questioning her motives for joining the DALP. She deftly rebuts against his criticisms and delivers her message of bringing renewal to the party. The two candidates continue with the heated debate...
The caption states that Yip Ching won the internal election with 775 votes versus Ho's 448 votes. Five days later, she formally submits her application forms with 633 nomination ballots and becomes Hong Kong's first ever female candidate for Chief Executive.
Election countdown: 62 days
Tuesday, January 13, 2015
Once Upon A Song Soundtracks
The theme song for Once Upon A Song is called "Doing a Good Show" (做場好戲), sung by William So, Charles Ying, Kate Yeung, Jason Chan, Lesley Chiang and Benji Chiang.
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William So sings the sub-theme song, "Even If No Longer Friends" (即使不再是朋友). Bernice Liu is featured in the MV.
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Kate Yeung's song from the series, "Naturally Gifted' (得天獨厚)
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The sub-theme song by Evelyn Choi, "Chasing Rainbows" (追蹤彩虹)
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The ending theme song by Kelvin Kwan, called "Not Mentioning A Word" (隻字不提)
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Jason Chan's song in the series, "One Word, One Tear" (一字一淚)
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"Miracle" (奇蹟) by Kate Yeung
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Evelyn Choi's song, "Losing What Was Gained" (得而復失)
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Charles Ying sings "Love is a Game" (愛即是遊戲)
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William So sings the sub-theme song, "Even If No Longer Friends" (即使不再是朋友). Bernice Liu is featured in the MV.
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Kate Yeung's song from the series, "Naturally Gifted' (得天獨厚)
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The sub-theme song by Evelyn Choi, "Chasing Rainbows" (追蹤彩虹)
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The ending theme song by Kelvin Kwan, called "Not Mentioning A Word" (隻字不提)
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Jason Chan's song in the series, "One Word, One Tear" (一字一淚)
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"Miracle" (奇蹟) by Kate Yeung
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Evelyn Choi's song, "Losing What Was Gained" (得而復失)
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Charles Ying sings "Love is a Game" (愛即是遊戲)
Friday, January 09, 2015
Wednesday, January 07, 2015
The Election Episode 7 Recap
Two-thirds of Hong Kong's land is part of the New Territories, which naturally turns the indigenous inhabitants living there into big landlords. Their influence have affected Hong Kong's politics since the Handover. In 2012, a triad-affiliated dinner almost forced a Chief Executive candidate to step down.
Cheung Kwai Lung's (Gregory Wong) case is effectively over with the alleged victim Tse Mei Mei disappearing to Malaysia. Upon hearing this news, Song Man San (Liu Kai-chi) instructs his assistant to ensure two things - that Yip Ching's poll numbers do not rebound and that she does not secure any more nomination ballots.
Yip Ching's team sums up the number of nomination ballots that they have so far. Originally, they had reached the magic 600 number, however, 17 nominators have now decided to pull their support after Cheung's case. Since the remaining nominators are affiliated with either the DNRA or the DALP, the only chance they have left is the Heung Yee Kuk. Yip Ching notes that the Heung Yee Kuk have always supported the DNRA, but Cheung says that they may be able to persuade them by offering to revoke a law that abolished the Small House Policy.
The Heung Kee Kuk is the constituency representing the rural inhabitants in the New Territories. The Small House Policy, known colloquially as "Ding Kuen" (丁權), grants indigenous male villagers the right to build one small house over his lifetime. It was meant to improve the poor housing standards in rural areas, but has been increasingly under criticism due to the inadequate housing supply in Hong Kong.
At the Heung Yee Kuk, Yip Ching is greeted by the vice-chairman Sing Chi-Keung (Peter Lai) and informed that the chairman is meeting with an old friend. Just then, Song steps out from the chairman's office. He delightedly tells Sing that he has spoken to the chairman about reinstating the Small House Policy. Knowing that there is no point in meeting with the chairman anymore, Yip Ching is just about to leave when Sing invites her to lunch and says that he can give her 22 nomination ballots.
At lunch, Sing complains that he does not have any power as vice-chairman. He wants to challenge the chairman by supporting Yip Ching. He introduces her to a man named Leung Yat Hong (Wong Man Piu), who can connect her with the 22 nominators. Leung invites Yip Ching to go to his real estate agency after lunch so that they can discuss further.
Meanwhile, at the DALP office, Ho Chun Pak (Samuel Kwok) gives Fong Kai Chiu (Alan Luk) a gift for his wedding anniversary. He asks Fong to drop out of the DALP's internal elections and endorse him instead, but Fong declines. Ho shrugs it off and says that perhaps he might change his mind tomorrow. Back in his own office, Fong is furious after seeing the USB that was inside the gift. His assistant, Kelvin (Oscar Chan), comes in with the latest poll numbers that show Fong only trailing Ho by 1%. However, Fong tells him to issue a memo announcing his withdrawal from the internal election. When Kelvin asks why, he points to the video clip on the USB, which show them hugging and kissing.
The next morning, Yip Ching's meeting with Leung is reported in the news. Leung is discovered to have triad affiliations, sparking allegations of "black gold" politics. Yip Ching issues a statement denying that she knew about Leung's background and says that she even paid Sing back for the meal.
"Black gold" politics is a term borrowed from Taiwan to refer to politicians associating with gangsters and obtaining illegal contributions. In 2012, key members of CY Leung's campaign team were photographed having dinner with members of the Heung Yee Kuk and an ex-triad leader nicknamed "Shanghai Boy". CY Leung's camp admitted that they met with Heung Yee Kuk members to discuss rural issues concerning them, but denied inviting Shanghai Boy or knowing about his background. They also claimed that they each paid $500 for the dinner to avoid contravening election rules. Another candidate, Henry Tang, was brought into the scandal when Shanghai Boy claimed in an interview that they had vacationed together. Henry Tang filed a police report, saying that he felt "threatened".
A suspicious van crashes into the HKMG headquarters. The media quickly draw links between this incident and the earlier reports about the triad-affiliated dinner. Leung makes things worse by appearing in an interview where he asserts his relationship with Yip Ching.
Poon Tsz Wan (Eunice Ho) reveals her findings about Wai Man Hin to Yip Ching. There is evidence which strongly suggests that businessman Cheuk Tin Fan (Felix Lok) had paid Wai in exchange for Wai's support of a land-use amendment that would allow Cheuk's corporation to build houses on their land. Yip Ching remarks that this information just might turn out to be advantageous at this time.
Yip Ching meets with Cheuk. He admits that Wai had helped him with the land-use amendment, but Wai's real intent was because it would provide more housing for Hong Kong citizens. Yip Ching returns the money that Wai had kept in his safety deposit box, meaning that Cheuk still owes her a favour. She wants him to give her his nomination ballot since having the wealthiest man in Hong Kong stand on her side would break the rumours that she was desperate enough to associate with the triads. However, Cheuk tells her that he is not free to make a choice and can only give his ballot to Song.
Meanwhile, Cheung goes to see Leung. He tries to convince Leung that Song is not trustworthy and offers double the amount that Song is paying them. However, Leung discovers that he is trying to tape record their conversation. He drags him to the rooftop and tells him to jump off the building. Cheung hesitantly sits on the ledge until Leung pulls him back at the last moment.
Cheuk indirectly lends his support to Yip Ching by naming her to the board of directors for his new charity fund. When asked, he states that he believes she is an honest and trustworthy individual with a desire to do good for society. He adds that if she was really involved with any of the alleged incidents, the police would have taken action already. After watching the press conference, Song thinks quietly for moment, then calls his wife, Lee Tsz Kwan (Mimi Kung) to tell her to come home early for dinner.
That night, when Lee arrives home, Song and his assistant are already waiting for her. As she goes to the kitchen to cook dinner, Song calmly pulls out a hammer from his briefcase, taking care not to leave any fingerprints on it. He walks out to the garden and smashes the window from the outside. Hearing the noise, Lee rushes out from the kitchen. She is shocked to see Song hand the hammer to his assistant, who takes it and clobbers Song's arm.
At the hospital, Song tells the police that he had been attacked in his home by an unknown man. At Song's silent urging, Lee reluctantly adds that the attacker warned Song to drop out of the election.
The police invite Yip Ching to the station to aid their investigation. She knows that unless she can find evidence to prove her innocence, her name will continue to be linked to the triads. She asks her publicist to prepare a statement declaring her withdrawal from the election. Cheung calls her and pleads with her not to give up, but she hangs up on him.
Yip Ching walks out into the media scrum outside and gives her speech:
Five days later, the police confirm that there is no evidence linking Yip Ching to Song's assault. Half a month before the registration deadline, Yip Ching announces that she has joined the DALP and will represent the youth faction to compete against Ho Chun Pak in the internal election.
Election countdown: 69 days
Cheung Kwai Lung's (Gregory Wong) case is effectively over with the alleged victim Tse Mei Mei disappearing to Malaysia. Upon hearing this news, Song Man San (Liu Kai-chi) instructs his assistant to ensure two things - that Yip Ching's poll numbers do not rebound and that she does not secure any more nomination ballots.
Yip Ching's team sums up the number of nomination ballots that they have so far. Originally, they had reached the magic 600 number, however, 17 nominators have now decided to pull their support after Cheung's case. Since the remaining nominators are affiliated with either the DNRA or the DALP, the only chance they have left is the Heung Yee Kuk. Yip Ching notes that the Heung Yee Kuk have always supported the DNRA, but Cheung says that they may be able to persuade them by offering to revoke a law that abolished the Small House Policy.
The Heung Kee Kuk is the constituency representing the rural inhabitants in the New Territories. The Small House Policy, known colloquially as "Ding Kuen" (丁權), grants indigenous male villagers the right to build one small house over his lifetime. It was meant to improve the poor housing standards in rural areas, but has been increasingly under criticism due to the inadequate housing supply in Hong Kong.
At the Heung Yee Kuk, Yip Ching is greeted by the vice-chairman Sing Chi-Keung (Peter Lai) and informed that the chairman is meeting with an old friend. Just then, Song steps out from the chairman's office. He delightedly tells Sing that he has spoken to the chairman about reinstating the Small House Policy. Knowing that there is no point in meeting with the chairman anymore, Yip Ching is just about to leave when Sing invites her to lunch and says that he can give her 22 nomination ballots.
At lunch, Sing complains that he does not have any power as vice-chairman. He wants to challenge the chairman by supporting Yip Ching. He introduces her to a man named Leung Yat Hong (Wong Man Piu), who can connect her with the 22 nominators. Leung invites Yip Ching to go to his real estate agency after lunch so that they can discuss further.
Meanwhile, at the DALP office, Ho Chun Pak (Samuel Kwok) gives Fong Kai Chiu (Alan Luk) a gift for his wedding anniversary. He asks Fong to drop out of the DALP's internal elections and endorse him instead, but Fong declines. Ho shrugs it off and says that perhaps he might change his mind tomorrow. Back in his own office, Fong is furious after seeing the USB that was inside the gift. His assistant, Kelvin (Oscar Chan), comes in with the latest poll numbers that show Fong only trailing Ho by 1%. However, Fong tells him to issue a memo announcing his withdrawal from the internal election. When Kelvin asks why, he points to the video clip on the USB, which show them hugging and kissing.
The next morning, Yip Ching's meeting with Leung is reported in the news. Leung is discovered to have triad affiliations, sparking allegations of "black gold" politics. Yip Ching issues a statement denying that she knew about Leung's background and says that she even paid Sing back for the meal.
"Black gold" politics is a term borrowed from Taiwan to refer to politicians associating with gangsters and obtaining illegal contributions. In 2012, key members of CY Leung's campaign team were photographed having dinner with members of the Heung Yee Kuk and an ex-triad leader nicknamed "Shanghai Boy". CY Leung's camp admitted that they met with Heung Yee Kuk members to discuss rural issues concerning them, but denied inviting Shanghai Boy or knowing about his background. They also claimed that they each paid $500 for the dinner to avoid contravening election rules. Another candidate, Henry Tang, was brought into the scandal when Shanghai Boy claimed in an interview that they had vacationed together. Henry Tang filed a police report, saying that he felt "threatened".
A suspicious van crashes into the HKMG headquarters. The media quickly draw links between this incident and the earlier reports about the triad-affiliated dinner. Leung makes things worse by appearing in an interview where he asserts his relationship with Yip Ching.
Poon Tsz Wan (Eunice Ho) reveals her findings about Wai Man Hin to Yip Ching. There is evidence which strongly suggests that businessman Cheuk Tin Fan (Felix Lok) had paid Wai in exchange for Wai's support of a land-use amendment that would allow Cheuk's corporation to build houses on their land. Yip Ching remarks that this information just might turn out to be advantageous at this time.
Yip Ching meets with Cheuk. He admits that Wai had helped him with the land-use amendment, but Wai's real intent was because it would provide more housing for Hong Kong citizens. Yip Ching returns the money that Wai had kept in his safety deposit box, meaning that Cheuk still owes her a favour. She wants him to give her his nomination ballot since having the wealthiest man in Hong Kong stand on her side would break the rumours that she was desperate enough to associate with the triads. However, Cheuk tells her that he is not free to make a choice and can only give his ballot to Song.
Meanwhile, Cheung goes to see Leung. He tries to convince Leung that Song is not trustworthy and offers double the amount that Song is paying them. However, Leung discovers that he is trying to tape record their conversation. He drags him to the rooftop and tells him to jump off the building. Cheung hesitantly sits on the ledge until Leung pulls him back at the last moment.
Cheuk indirectly lends his support to Yip Ching by naming her to the board of directors for his new charity fund. When asked, he states that he believes she is an honest and trustworthy individual with a desire to do good for society. He adds that if she was really involved with any of the alleged incidents, the police would have taken action already. After watching the press conference, Song thinks quietly for moment, then calls his wife, Lee Tsz Kwan (Mimi Kung) to tell her to come home early for dinner.
That night, when Lee arrives home, Song and his assistant are already waiting for her. As she goes to the kitchen to cook dinner, Song calmly pulls out a hammer from his briefcase, taking care not to leave any fingerprints on it. He walks out to the garden and smashes the window from the outside. Hearing the noise, Lee rushes out from the kitchen. She is shocked to see Song hand the hammer to his assistant, who takes it and clobbers Song's arm.
At the hospital, Song tells the police that he had been attacked in his home by an unknown man. At Song's silent urging, Lee reluctantly adds that the attacker warned Song to drop out of the election.
The police invite Yip Ching to the station to aid their investigation. She knows that unless she can find evidence to prove her innocence, her name will continue to be linked to the triads. She asks her publicist to prepare a statement declaring her withdrawal from the election. Cheung calls her and pleads with her not to give up, but she hangs up on him.
Yip Ching walks out into the media scrum outside and gives her speech:
Since the Handover in 1997, Hong Kong has had to wait 20 years to have only a limited democratic election. For me and many Hong Kongers, this democratic dream was not easily achieved. I believe most people will have a high standard for Chief Executive candidates. Even if they are not supremely talented, at the very least, they must be honest and trustworthy. I have always tried to do my best, but the events in the last few days have caused many citizens to be suspicious and disappointed in me. I believe I must be responsible to the citizens of Hong Kong. Ten minutes ago, I made a decision. This is the withdrawal statement that my colleague had just drafted.She holds up the statement, then dramatically rips it up in front of the cameras before continuing:
But now, I have changed my mind. I will join the election. No matter how many slanderous reports there are, I must continue on. My father, Councillor Yip Ming Sum, indirectly died because of his campaign against the triads. If I withdraw, will I be able to face him? My campaign team all quit their high-paying jobs to support me. If I withdraw, is that being responsible to them? And the nominators who trusted me to give me their nomination ballots, if I withdraw, how can I answer to them? Starting from now, I will do two things: fully cooperate with the police investigation to prove my innocence and work hard on my election campaign to gain the support of citizens. Finally, I want to say one thing to my opponent: No matter how many dirty tricks you use, you will not be able to pull me from the election stage. Only the citizens' votes can determine my political life.Behind the crowd, Cheung stands there, looking on approvingly.
Five days later, the police confirm that there is no evidence linking Yip Ching to Song's assault. Half a month before the registration deadline, Yip Ching announces that she has joined the DALP and will represent the youth faction to compete against Ho Chun Pak in the internal election.
Election countdown: 69 days
Monday, January 05, 2015
The Election Episode 6 Recap
In the 2012 election, the media exposed the backroom deals that took place, but what citizens saw was only the tip of the iceberg. Elections have and always will be a mixture of competition and backroom dealing.
In a radio interview, Yip Ching (Angelica Lee) is asked to comment about the dirt that netizens have dug up from Cheung Kwai Lung's (Gregory Wong) past. She continues to defend him despite the negative impact on her campaign.
Tse Mei Mei (Luvin Ho), the woman accusing Cheung of rape, faints in front of the courthouse just before she is set to testify. The case is delayed until she recovers. Rumours go around that she is purposely delaying the case until after the election, on orders from her husband, deputy minister Li Chong Chai (Jim Ping). Song is told that Yip Ching was seen meeting with Li before the trial. He orders his assistant to find out what benefits she may have offered to Li.
Song hires a team of people to slander Cheung on social media. They make numerous negative posts about him on social media platforms and also manipulate the search results to have "Cheung Kwai Lung, political dirtbag" come up as the first hit on search engines. Song is thrilled by this progress. On the other side, Yip Ching gathers her own team to retaliate in the online war.
Poon Tsz Wan (Eunice Ho) continues with her investigation into Wai Man Hin. She finds out from a retired reporter that Wai had once registered a foreign shell company to hide a sizable fund from an unknown source. She suspects that it may have been a political bribe, but there is no evidence.
Deputy Minister Li meets with Song and two other legislators. He tries to persuade them to support the D9 bill regarding land development in the New Territories. The two legislators are fearful that it will anger their constituents, however, Song agrees to help pass the bill. Speaking privately with Li, Song also offers him a position in his government if he is elected. In exchange, he wants to see Tse Mei Mei's speedy "recovery" to allow the rape case to proceed.
The Northeastern New Territories Development Plan is a proposal to demolish some villages in the New Territories and open up the land for development. It has been met with heavy resistance from the villagers, who stormed the Legislative Council building in June 2014 to try to prevent the passing of a bill that would fund the first phrase of the project. Despite strong protests and a filibuster by pro-democracy councillors, the bill was eventually approved.
Yip Ching visits Sum Suet Lai (Violet Li). She hopes that HKMG can report on the unpublished sex scandal involving Tse Mei Mei from two years ago. Yip Ching promises she can try all legal means to help Sum's son avoid extradition if she is elected, but Sum points out that she is no longer favoured to win. Nonetheless, Sum says that if the news channels report on the sex scandal tomorrow morning, it will mean that she is still placing her bet on Yip Ching.
Next, Yip Ching gets a call from Tse Mei Mei, who demands $5 million to not testify against Cheung. Yip Ching does not give an immediate response.
Sum calls Gei Man Wai (Isabel Chan) to her office and has her film a segment of the news broadcast about the sex scandal. Sum sends the yet-to-be released segment to Song to see what kind of deal he would make to her. Song suddenly excuses himself to go to the washroom, where it is shown that he has a nosebleed. When he returns to the room, he tells Sum that if she does not back the right candidate, her son will be extradited to the USA and HKMG's license will not be renewed due to a "basket of reasons".
A "basket of reasons" was used by the government to explain the rejection of HKTV's application for a TV license.
The next morning, the sex scandal is not reported in the news. Yip Ching quietly goes to take out money from her safety deposit box. At the same time, Cheung goes to Gei's house. He blackmails her with a tape recording of her trying to coax a government official into spilling secret information and gets her to hand over something that he needs.
The doorbell rings in Tse Mei Mei's hotel room. She opens the door to find Cheung. He shows her the video clip of her having sex with another man and threatens to release it if she testifies against him in court. Tse Mei Mei knows that she is caught. He gives her some money and urges her to fly to Malaysia to start a new life. When Yip Ching arrives at the hotel, Cheung is waiting for her at the door and tells her that Tse Mei Mei had already gone to the airport.
Song holds a press conference to announce his resignation as a legislative council member in preparation for his election run. Just when he finishes his speech, he feels dizzy as he looks around the room full of reporters...
In a radio interview, Yip Ching (Angelica Lee) is asked to comment about the dirt that netizens have dug up from Cheung Kwai Lung's (Gregory Wong) past. She continues to defend him despite the negative impact on her campaign.
Tse Mei Mei (Luvin Ho), the woman accusing Cheung of rape, faints in front of the courthouse just before she is set to testify. The case is delayed until she recovers. Rumours go around that she is purposely delaying the case until after the election, on orders from her husband, deputy minister Li Chong Chai (Jim Ping). Song is told that Yip Ching was seen meeting with Li before the trial. He orders his assistant to find out what benefits she may have offered to Li.
Song hires a team of people to slander Cheung on social media. They make numerous negative posts about him on social media platforms and also manipulate the search results to have "Cheung Kwai Lung, political dirtbag" come up as the first hit on search engines. Song is thrilled by this progress. On the other side, Yip Ching gathers her own team to retaliate in the online war.
Poon Tsz Wan (Eunice Ho) continues with her investigation into Wai Man Hin. She finds out from a retired reporter that Wai had once registered a foreign shell company to hide a sizable fund from an unknown source. She suspects that it may have been a political bribe, but there is no evidence.
Deputy Minister Li meets with Song and two other legislators. He tries to persuade them to support the D9 bill regarding land development in the New Territories. The two legislators are fearful that it will anger their constituents, however, Song agrees to help pass the bill. Speaking privately with Li, Song also offers him a position in his government if he is elected. In exchange, he wants to see Tse Mei Mei's speedy "recovery" to allow the rape case to proceed.
The Northeastern New Territories Development Plan is a proposal to demolish some villages in the New Territories and open up the land for development. It has been met with heavy resistance from the villagers, who stormed the Legislative Council building in June 2014 to try to prevent the passing of a bill that would fund the first phrase of the project. Despite strong protests and a filibuster by pro-democracy councillors, the bill was eventually approved.
Yip Ching visits Sum Suet Lai (Violet Li). She hopes that HKMG can report on the unpublished sex scandal involving Tse Mei Mei from two years ago. Yip Ching promises she can try all legal means to help Sum's son avoid extradition if she is elected, but Sum points out that she is no longer favoured to win. Nonetheless, Sum says that if the news channels report on the sex scandal tomorrow morning, it will mean that she is still placing her bet on Yip Ching.
Next, Yip Ching gets a call from Tse Mei Mei, who demands $5 million to not testify against Cheung. Yip Ching does not give an immediate response.
Sum calls Gei Man Wai (Isabel Chan) to her office and has her film a segment of the news broadcast about the sex scandal. Sum sends the yet-to-be released segment to Song to see what kind of deal he would make to her. Song suddenly excuses himself to go to the washroom, where it is shown that he has a nosebleed. When he returns to the room, he tells Sum that if she does not back the right candidate, her son will be extradited to the USA and HKMG's license will not be renewed due to a "basket of reasons".
A "basket of reasons" was used by the government to explain the rejection of HKTV's application for a TV license.
The next morning, the sex scandal is not reported in the news. Yip Ching quietly goes to take out money from her safety deposit box. At the same time, Cheung goes to Gei's house. He blackmails her with a tape recording of her trying to coax a government official into spilling secret information and gets her to hand over something that he needs.
The doorbell rings in Tse Mei Mei's hotel room. She opens the door to find Cheung. He shows her the video clip of her having sex with another man and threatens to release it if she testifies against him in court. Tse Mei Mei knows that she is caught. He gives her some money and urges her to fly to Malaysia to start a new life. When Yip Ching arrives at the hotel, Cheung is waiting for her at the door and tells her that Tse Mei Mei had already gone to the airport.
Song holds a press conference to announce his resignation as a legislative council member in preparation for his election run. Just when he finishes his speech, he feels dizzy as he looks around the room full of reporters...
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