TVB denies chasing Wong Hei out of the company

Lately, there have been rumors that due to actor Wong Hei’s close relationship with TVB’s GM Stephen Chan, his workload at the company was greatly reduced to the point that he does not have enough ‘shows’ to fulfill his contractual obligation – as a result, even though Wong Hei’s per series contract is scheduled to expire at the end of September, TVB has suggested that he pay a monetary fine to terminate his contract early (prior to September). With these rumored actions, it appears that TVB is trying to chase Wong Hei out of their company. Yesterday, TVB’s External Affairs Director Tsang Sing Ming responded on behalf of TVB and denied the reports, claiming instead that Wong Hei had to film in the Mainland and therefore did not have time to discuss renewing his contract. However, on the other side, Wong Hei claims that TVB’s response is “not consistent with the truth”. It appears that both sides are standing by their responses.



Mr. Tsang expressed that when he heard the report, he requested clarification from Artists Department head Virginia Lok as well as both the production and artists departments. The response that he received was that 1) TVB did not try to chase Wong Hei out of the company – his contract is set to expire in September, however due to Wong Hei having to go to the Mainland to film series, he has not had time to discuss renewing his contract with them, 2) TVB did not request for Wong Hei to pay a monetary fine in order to terminate his contract early, as he has already completed all of the work that TVB has given him, 3) Wong Hei is currently hosting the 10-episode variety show “Hong Kong Back Then” and the company will accommodate his schedule to complete filming of the show, plus he is also doing voiceover work for the show “Human Planet” for TVB’s Pearl Channel, so cannot say that he doesn’t have enough work.



Mr. Tsang indicated that Wong Hei has been with TVB for 16 years and throughout that time, the series he has participated in as well as the variety shows he has hosted have all been well-received by audiences – both sides have a good working relationship and the company definitely recognizes his talent. He indicated that the company is not opposed to collaborating with Wong Hei again – just like with other artists such as Adam Cheng, Damian Lau, Eddie Cheung, etc., who have returned to TVB to film series, TVB’s doors will always be open for Wong Hei. (But Wong Hei was the one who stated that someone told him to pay a monetary fine and terminate his contract early?) In response, Mr Tsang said that it may have been a communication error and the Artists Department will seek clarification from Wong Hei directly. (Is the situation due to Wong Hei’s close relationship with Stephen Chan?) Mr Tsang expressed that Stephen Chan is the company’s General Manager and is in charge of production, so having a close relationship with artists is normal. He emphasized that there are absolutely no parties or cliques in the company and that TVB utilizes artists based on their capabilities.



Asked about Mr Tsang’s response to the situation on behalf of TVB, Wong Hei would only respond: “Mr Tsang was only reading the information that was given to him by the Artists Department that is not consistent with the truth – it is not his fault.”



Source: MingPao

Translation: llwy12 @ AsianFanatics