Category: Hong Kong

After dinner drinks at Dragon-I with lawyers qualified in New York, Shanghai, India, Japan, New York, Indonesia, Singapore, England, Hong Kong and Beijing.

Photos taken last night.

Magical mystery man
He plays guru to celebrities and showbiz honchos, but who exactly is the Thai master they call White Dragon King?
By Foong Woei Wan
Straits Times, March 11, 2007

WHEN Martin Scorsese scored a Best Director Oscar last month for The Departed, an American remake of Infernal Affairs, he thanked Andrew Lau, the director of the Hong Kong film.

For days, Lau, his team and the Hong Kong movie industry basked in the reflected glory of the win.

Then Lau and his investor, Peter Lam, made their way to Pattaya, Thailand, to give thanks to their guru, a Chinese Thai man whom disciples call the White Dragon King.

The Hong Kong group – including friends like entertainers Richie Jen and Nat Chan – prayed at the self-styled prophet’s temple on March 3.

Like about 700 other devotees who thronged the temple that day, the celebrities wore white, walked around barefooted and waited in line to greet the guru. The next morning, the group and other disciples – by now a crowd of 1,000 – showed up at the temple again for an annual good luck ceremony.

‘I come here every year if I’m free,’ Lau told Apple Daily. ‘I can’t say what the White Dragon King’s instructions to me were, of course.’

The guru is much revered, and not just by Hong Kong celebrities, but much about his life is shrouded in mystery.

The White Dragon King began life as Chau Yun Nam and speaks Thai, Teochew and Mandarin. This much, at least, is known from Hong Kong reports.

But what he did in his early years, how he became a guru and even his age are the stuff of modern myth. Various versions of his story have been printed in Hong Kong and China.

Chau, 66 or 69, was most likely an electrical appliances or bicyle repairman, though some say he was a salesman.

More than 20 years ago, he either communicated with a white dragon deity or somehow began to believe that he was its reincarnation. In any case, he gave up his job and became a spiritual guide.

According to Hong Kong’s Next Magazine tabloid, he once turned away a group of tattooed men and tawdrily dressed women. Thereafter, to avoid offending him, his disciples decided to be decked in pristine white clothes whenever they called on him.

For about 18 years, the guru has played career consultant to Hong Kong celebrities. The region’s biggest names – Jackie Chan, Andy Lau and Tony Leung Chiu Wai – have gone on pilgrimages to meet the King. Others like Eric Tsang, Alan Tam, Rosamund Kwan, Shu Qi, Stephen Fung and Daniel Chan are known to throng the temple, too.

Tourists have followed in their footsteps, including some from Singapore.

All this has helped make the White Dragon King’s spacious temple an attraction like Bangkok’s Erawan Shrine, which houses the famous four-faced statue of Hindu deity Brahma.

LifeStyle zooms in on advice the guru has given and predictions he has made:

Before Leung became the toast of Chinese cinema, Chau reportedly foretold that he would be named Best Actor for the 1994 romance Chungking Express.

Leung won the Golden Horse and Hong Kong Film awards for the film in 1994 and 1995 respectively and has been a devout believer in Chau since, said the Sudden Weekly tabloid.

However, Leung has been visiting Chau without his girlfriend, actress Carina Lau. The guru has declined to meet her in recent years, saying they are not destined to know each other.

Media Asia chairman Lam, a long-time devotee of Chau, invited the guru to Hong Kong in 2002 to preside over a prayer ceremony for the filming of Infernal Affairs.

It was Chau’s first such visit to Hong Kong, and he caused a stir at the ceremony when he handed out fruits and hongbao of HK$100 each to the cast as well as reporters.

On Chau’s advice, Lam changed the crime drama’s four-word Chinese title, Wu Jian Xing Zhe (Continuous Traveller), to three characters: Wu Jian Dao (Continuous Hell).

The film made a killing at the box office, with HK$60 million in Hong Kong and S$1.2 million in Singapore.

So for the movie’s two sequels in 2003, Lam flew Chau to Hong Kong for the prayer ceremonies and premieres, too. For the record, both films were hits.

Hong Kongers had a scare when Chau reportedly predicted that ‘something bad’ would happen in the territory on the night of Feb 8, 2005.

He later told journalists that his advice was intended for only one of his Hong Kong believers, not everyone.

http://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/showthread.php?t=1761716

Friday, December 15, 2006
Clean up your act
By Suzanne Harrison

LATE-NIGHT REVELLERS know about the steam room concept. Sweating out the alcohol makes you feel better, doesn’t it? Maybe so, but tailored spa treatments and/or at-home techniques could be ideal for those suffering New Year burnout – particularly if you combine it with healthy eating and exercise.

Lawrence Brown, from Body Conscious in Central, says now is the time to make the most of promotions for “all those New Year resolutions”. He says it’s a good kick-start in conjunction with a new exercise regimen and diet.

“It will help to get the elimination system moving, improving results of exercise and diet. It’s best to start with a few treatments for maximum benefit. The number will depend on the client and usually there’s following up with maintenance every three weeks to a month.”

Body Conscious offers lymphatic drainage which helps the release of toxins and diminishes the appearance of cellulite, he says. It can be followed by a detoxifying seaweed body wrap.

“This increases the effect, releasing toxins through the kidney and bladder, promoting tissue regeneration and balancing the circulation.”

Samantha Arnold, spa director of the Four Seasons Spa, says there is an increased demand for detoxifying or purifying treatments at the beginning of each calendar year and at the start of summer.

But while pampering yourself at a spa is one New Year’s resolution that’s not difficult to keep, can it really complement a plan to help rid your body of an overload of seasonal toxins?

Continue reading “SCMP: Clean up your act” →

A new survey shows many Hong Kong employees work a lot of overtime – and some do as much as six extra hours a day, the Apple Daily reported on Monday. The survey was conducted by Legislative Council member Mandy Tam Heung Man, who interviewed 377 full time employees.

Some 75 per cent of people surveyed said they needed to work overtime. Nearly 20 per cent said they worked overtime for five days or more.

But nine per cent of those surveyed said they had to work, at least, an six additional hours each day.

The survey also found 17.8 per cent worked overtime for five times or more each week. Most needed to work an extra two to three hours.

Over 90 per cent of respondents said the heavy workload affected their health.

“Working overtime has a negative impact on the productivity of employees,” Apple Daily reported citing the survey.

The survey found 46.9 per cent of respondents had taken sick leave in the past three months due to sickness caused by excessive work.

It found employees who needed to work overtime took, on average, more than 4.5 days sick leave annually.

Ms Tam said excessive overtime definitely affected the health of employees.

“It is also counterproductive and affects the daily operations of the organisation. Employees expressed their wish to be paid for their overtime,” she added.

Ms Tam urged the government to introduce legislation to monitor working hours.

SCMP Sunday, October 8, 2006
BARCLAY CRAWFORD and FELIX CHAN

After splashing out a world record HK$116.6 million for a Chinese work of art, a mysterious mainland businessman claimed the bronze Buddha was a bargain and he would happily have paid double.

A beaming Cai Mingchao, manager of the Xiamen Harmony Art International Auction Company, outbid fierce competition to secure a rare Sakyamuni Buddha at a Sotheby’s auction in Hong Kong’s Convention and Exhibition Centre yesterday.

Mr Cai refused to reveal the source of his funds and laughed off suggestions he was a Beijing official in disguise. The short, plainly dressed man from Xiamen claimed there had been no central government involvement in the purchase. All he would say was he was part of a “group”.

Mr Cai said he wanted as many people as possible in China to see the 72.5cm tall Buddha. “As long as I am alive I will not sell this and it will not leave Chinese soil again,” he said. “We will exhibit it in a gallery or maybe a temple in Xiamen in about one year. I am not buying this for myself, I am buying it for everyone.
Continue reading “Record HK$116m to take Buddha home” →

Farewell lunch at Lei Garden for William, who returns to London this week.
L: Buvini, Nishrin, Clara and Sherry
R: Simon, William, myself and Christine