DATE: 31 MAY 08
http://www.hi.chinanews.com.cn
ANDY WILL DONATE HIS OLYMPIC TORCH FOR AUCTION TO HELP IN EDUCATION OF THE QUAKE AREAS

It is leant that Andy will go to Sanya in Hainan island on June 3, to take part in Sun Beam Loving Care activity.

At that time, Andy will donate his own Olympic torch for auction, the proceeds will be used to form a Sun Light Torch Education Fund, in support of education in Sichuan.

According to sources, some Olympic torch bearers .....will also auction their Olympic torch on the same day.

APPLE DAILY/SINA.COM/YULE.SOHU.COM/WEN WEI PO
60 ARTISTES SHOW GRATITUDE IN THE NAME OF LIFE

The programme conveyed the gratitude of Sichuan people have for the assistance coming from all over the country & from internayopnal organizations. Faced with such a big disaster, love makes the world filled with courage! The Sichuan people will be stronger, with determination progress forward with courage & confidence to rebuild better homes!

60 over famous artistes coming from mainland, HK & Taiwan participated in the show, from HK were Jackie Chan, Alan Tam, Andy Lau, Jacky Cheung, Leon Lai, Sammi, Andy Hui, Mirium, Dnise, Gigi Lai, Joey, Daniel & others. Mainland artistes included Chen Dao Ming, Feng Xiao Gang, Han Hong, Hu Bing, & others, while form TW were Wang Li-hom, Dave Tao, Richie Ren, Jacky Wu, Alex Su & others.

Some of them paid their own air-tickets, some leave their work, just to come here to cheer for the people. In Chengdu they were distributed to the various disaster zones for visits.

The programme related real life situations, interviewing the people involved, a programme strung together with loads of compassion. Some on the heroic occurrences, heart-moving moments, & some incidences that were not known by many were presented.

4 news songs were specially composed for the programme, The Space of Life, We R Together, Gratitude in Heart & Way to Go China & Sichuan.

At the start of the progamme, video clips of the quake were shown, follwed by a minute of silence. All the performing artistes were dressed in the white tee shirts with words In The Name of Life.

Many of the guests & audience held flags of China, with green ribbons on their hands, meaning Propagating courage. The audience were all overwhelmed with tears throughout the show.

Lines were open online for the audience to send special wishes to cheer the quake victims. Whenever the singer performed onstage, the audience waved their flags, it was a scene of unison.

The crying little girl who lost contact with her parents & was consoled by Premier Wen had found her parents. Her father called her via phone, on hearing his voice the girl again cried, her father was not able to visit her as he has to take care of the villagers, being the head of a village.

Chang Guo Li accompanied a small girl on wheel-chair named Ren Yu Si, Andy too came to the side of the girl, when she called him uncle, Andy asked if she could called him Brother , he told her, "You are our pride, don't be nervous, I shall get a group of brothers & sisters to sing for you." Andy stroke her face, making her very happy.

Together with LL, Sammi & others , Andy sang Pledge, Andy encouraged the people, "The road in future, we shall walk together!"

Many of the guests & audience held flags of China, with green ribbons on their hands, meaning Propagating courage. The audience were all overwhelmed with tears throughout the show.

Lines were open online for the audience to send special wishes to cheer the quake victims. Whenever the singer performed onstage, the audience waved their flags, it was a scene of unison.

The crying little girl who lost contact with her parents & was consoled by Premier Wen had found her parents. Her father called her via phone, on hearing his voice the girl again cried, her father was not able to visit her as he has to take care of the villagers, being the head of a village.

Chang Guo Li accompanied a small girl on wheel-chair named Ren Yu Si, Andy too came to the side of the girl, when she called him uncle, Andy asked if she could called him Brother , he told her, "You are our pride, don't be nervous, I shall get a group of brothers & sisters to sing for you." Andy stroke her face, making her very happy.

Together with LL, Sammi & others , Andy sang Pledge, Andy encouraged the people, "The road in future, we shall walk together!"

PETER LAM'S PRIVATE JET TO TRANSPORT THE SINGERS

East Asia boss Peter Lam personally led a group of singers to attend the Sichuan programme, as the flights in Chengdu are very packed daily, not everyday they can get flight back to HK. To relieve singers who have been busy with the visits, & be able to get back to HK for a good rest, so as to attend another quake relief show on June 1, Peter sent out his private jet to Sichuan to bring the singers back to HK, immediately after the show.

Sammi & Andy camt to Sichuan together, many HK reporters followed them. A photo of two of them on the plane has become the cover picture of a HK weekly, Sammi on seeing the pic, laughed, "Wah! So lovey-dovey! What if they thought we are lovers! Haha."

After staying for a while, Andy suddenly headed to an old lady who was having lunch. As there were too many people, Andy inched himself forward & yelled, "Don't push don't go around me." After some jostling, he finally got near to this lady.

Her name is Chao Ting Xiu, age 75, coming from Mian Zhu. Actually Andy had seen her hands very oily, he personally took out a tissue paper to wipe for her, them change to another tissue paper to wipe away the sweat on her face.

On seeing this younger handsome man, the old lady smiled broadly from ear to ear, she was shy to show her toothless mouth.

She told the reporter, "Before this I do not know who he is, I am already 70 over, I have never heard of his name, I don’t know he is a star. Also I don't understand what he was saying to me, so I say what I want to say, but this baby is good, he is meticulously caring, he is very good to the elders, he listens to what I said patiently. Today, I am very happy. "

They went to the make-shift hospital at the quake-site, Chengdu Hospital & Chengdu Fire Station, brining with them their sincerity to the medical staff & patients, encourage them & show their respect! Their bring smiles to the disaster area.

They set off at 8 in the morning, went to Bao Guang Temple to attend a praying ceremony. The artistes put their hands, together with the chief & 100 over monks chanted Heart Sutra & Amithaba. It was sunny when the ceremony started, but during chanting the sky began to drizzle, as if crying for the victims.

Andy, Chang Guo Li, Ge You knelt down sincerely to pray. Sammi who is a Christian stood at the back, did not follow the rite but had shown her respect.

After the prayer, they set off to a relief center in Mian Zhu, which was once a car park, when quake struck, 500 lost their lives. They met the manager, the artistes shook hands with the workers who were busy cleaning the site, listened to their problems, many of them are now homeless. The artiste observed a minute of silence for the deceased victims.

After about an hour then went to a make-shift hospital set up at the quake area, the staff & patients were delighted with their visit. They asked for handshakes & photo-taking. As it is an open area, with mainly tents, it was harder to control the crowd, staff, patients, media, onlookers, thronged the area, at one stage it was a chaos.

Andy yelled, "Please maintain order, otherwise we are going to leave. "Then only they became quieter.

Andy walked to a75 year-old lady who was crushed on the back during the quake, he consoled her, "Do not worry! We'll take care of you!"

The granny related her pain in losing her grandchildren to Andy's ear in Sichuan language. Andy listened, at the same time helped to wipe away her tears, & helped her to clean the food left on her.

Many wanted to get near to the artistes, when they were about to leave their were reluctant to see them go, the artistes encouraged them.

After that they went to Chengdu army hospital, the staff & patients were thankful for their visit, at the open space they set up a welcoming ceremony, the medial staff forget their tiredness while the patients forgot their pain, some in chairs, on the bed, came to see them. The artistes shook their hands & encouraged them.

Chang Guo Li led by cheering them on, everyone echoed his words, it was a overwhelming moment. It was a rare opportunity to see the artistes, some fell down, but they did not mind.

An injured said to Feng xiao Gang, "V happy to see you all, please convey this to the other artistes. Thanks for coming, this makes us forget about our pain."

After this they visited a fire station, the firemen were the very first to come to the rescue. The artistes praised their courage.

When the visit was over it was already 6 pm, the whole day they had only water & biscuits to eat, but no one complained, t hey know they are more fortunate than the victims.

After 2 days of visits, Andy, Sammi & Joey all agree that personal experience at the quake sites is different from what they had seen on TV.

Andy showed his relief on seeing recovery at the quake areas progress faster than he had expected, this is because the country has poured much resources & money , what was seen before was a misery, now he can see some smiling faces, their aim is to bring smiles to the disaster areas. He sang praises, "The Chinese has strong will power to live!"

PICS ON DAY 1 VISIT

At Cha Xiao Xin radio interview yesterday, Andy said on the quarries of his 100K donation, "Even the Chinese people have been misunderstood for years, not to say I, there will be people who can understand me at the end on this matter."

They arrived in Chengdu airport at about 1 in the afternoon, left in a special passage way as arranged by the customs before they were whisked off immediately to a hotel. Policemen were deployed to open the road for them.

After about half an hour in the hotel, they took a tour coach to another hotel where Feng Xiao Gang, Chen Dao Ming, Chang Gao Li & others were picked up. An official government car led the way, setting off onto the road that was solely used for transporting relief items.

They passed through ruins & rubble, & arrived at a ruined primary school at Dujiangan.

There were few hundreds of army people helping with relief work, the artistes yelled to cheer them on! & Shook their hands. After that they visited the army camp @ Jinan to show concern to the soldiers. On the way they greeted the victims, some victims cried on seeing Andy Lau.

When the artistes used the toilet facilities at the petrol kiosk, passer-bys came to ask for autographs & handshakes.

TA KUNg PAO

........The artistes left for Sichuan yesterday. They were casually dressed. Even the usual dark shades were not used, except for Joey, she was with an aura of a star, not only in dark glasses, she lugged an LV bag, visiting the disaster-hit area but dressed classily.

The artists arrived on time at the airport, after a group photo, Andy was the first to dart into the customs. When asked what he had brought with him , he said, "Don’t need to bring anything." He turned down all other questions.

HEROES WERE VERY EXCITED TO SEE THE ARTISTES

The entourage continued with the visit, they went to 5 separate army camps, visited the PLA who has been for days doing the rescue work. There are 500 army personnel in each camp.

The rescue heroes on seeing the artistes whom they see on the screen in the usual days were very excited. Smiles appeared immediately on their once-serious faces! Among them, Chang Guo Li, Chen Dao Ming & Andy Lau are the most popular!

Chang Guo LI, Chen Dao Ming & Feng Xiao Gang represented the artistes to thank the army on the stage. They praised that they are very courageous & their contribution is greatly appreciated, hope that they too take good care of themselves.

Though Andy has only few words, he kept telling them that the victims depend on their hard work in rescuing their lives & in rebuilding their homes, hope that they persist till the end! & go all the way! The army too responded with a resounding yell: way to go!

They sang songs together, their voices merged into one with words of encouragement mingling in!

At the 5th camp, the army sent a leader to relate to the entourage the events in their rescue work, many were touched, the artistes presented 3 big banners to the army, on them were words written by the artistes from the 3 regions, Andy wrote; we shall walk the path in future together!

On leaving Dujingan, with deep feelings, Andy said to the People's Liberation Army, "You have all worked hard! You all are the most courageous people!"

They were welcome warmly wherever they went, it was quite a chaotic scene. On seeing this, Andy actively took the lead, he stood out to maintain order, telling them not to push.

Under much emotion, visit to the army camp was over! It was 8:15pm when they went back. After a night rest they will visit the hospitals tomorrow.

The reporters noted that traffic control to the disaster-hit area is very stringent, non-relief vehicles were not allowed in, the rental car by the media were stopped by the security, when the vehicles leave the disaster zone, they were stops where the vehicles are sterilized.

Gordon Chan sent the three of them to the airport. Andy was the first one at the customs, he appeared in a rush, faced with many waiting reporters, he said, "Recently have too many interviews, today we are not making any, tak to you again when we are back."

Accordingly, Alan Tam will go tomorrow

SOURCE: ENT.TOM.COM
ALEX FONG SPEAKS UP FOR ANDY
VISITING DISASTER-HIT AREA COMES FROM THE HEART NOT JUST A SHOW

Andy interest in magic started from watching Stephen Fung, who once performed in front of him. After learning from the professional, not even a year later he is quite good at it, with his talent. He can even challenge Stephen.

Once in Taiwan he met Jay, after knowing Jay too is good in magic, he pitted skill with him, it is no wonder the first person Jay thinks of to work with in this movie is Andy.

The story is about a famous magician, acted by him, Andy will play his teacher, but Andy is not too interested to play his teacher, & suggested Jay to change the content, having 2 magicians pitting skill. It is a little like the Western movie The Prestige, 2 magicians appreciating one another, but in pitting to be World�fs No1 went all out to harm the other As the new movie involves big scenes on magic, Jay Chou has the intention of inviting American company that specializes in special effect to be in charge of that section.

PRODUCTION COST WILL BE MORE

The estimation production cost will be much more than hat of Secret which was HK$15 million, probably in the range of HK 100 million. As Jay has been very keen with the movie, if Andy after reading the script agrees to act in it, he is willing to reduce most of his other work, so as to concentrate on the movie preparation. But as Andy & Jay are both famous for being busy, it is not easy to fit into their work schedule, Andy has incessant movie offers,

such as in the middle of next month he will act in Andrew Lau's love movie, followed by a new movie by Johnnie To, it will be end of the year before he can work with Jay.

The reporter tried to confirm with Andy yesterday on the collaboration with Jay, he did not give any response.

As for jay Chou's managerial company in TW, he gave a very conservative & he hopes to have a chance acting with him, but he has not talked on anything concrete."

Reminder: Storyline quite similar to The Prestige

In the new movie to be directed & acted by Jay Chou, & Andy Lau, the 2 leads will pit magic skills. The Prestige, Hollywood movie screened 2 yrs ago in HK has similar storyline.

The Prestige was played by Christian Bale & Hugh Jackman who were magicians. They were actually good pals admiring each other's talent. In a failed collaboration they became enemies.

They vowed to design magic skill which was more dangerous & terrific to counter one another. There was a pretty lady Scarlett Johnasson who was entangled between the 2 handsome men. Not sure of Jay Chou has such a plot in mind?

WEN WEI PO
ANDY WILL LEAD A TEAM TO VISIT ORPHANS IN THE HOSPITAL

.......... The first batch of artistes representing HK Artiste Guild to set off included Andy, Sammi Joey & Denise. After arriving in Chengdu today, they will get an understanding of the disaster situation, tomorrow they will visit victims & orphans in the hospital to show their love & concern, & will give them relief items. As there is outbreak of epidemics in the disaster heavily hit areas, these areaa are out of bounds to outsiders, they movement is strictly restricted, but this will not hinder their show of love.

WEN WEI PO
EAST ASIA SINGERS SING FOR THE RESCUE HEROES

All the singers under East Asia turned up for the recording if a new song Friends, Cannot Forget The Day When You Appear!

The song is dedicated to the relief workers including the frontline rescue workers & the medical staff. The song is written by Peter Kam , with lyric written by Andy Lau. Proceeds from the song will be given to the rebuilding of homes of the victims.

Andy Lau, Sammi & Joey will represent Artiste Showing Love & Concern Motion for 512 to set off today to the quake areas to send the warmth.

The singers who turned up 2 nights ago included Andy Lau, Andy Hui, Sammi, Denise Ho, Ivava Wong, Wilfred Lau, Chet Lam, A17 & others. Mirium & Richie were not in HK, they will have their parts added in later.

2 days ago, Andy got the song only early in the morning, he had started work very early in the day to complete writing the lyrics, all done within 7 hrs. The song will be brought to the quake-hit areas for the frontline workers.

Andy said he started writing the lyric of the song at 8 in the morning 2 days ago, completed finally at 3 pm. Andy who has been busy with disaster relief activities these days, has a hoarse voice, he is not able to sing this song.

Andy & others are setting off today. The initial plan was to visit Beichuan �ADujiangyan Irrigation System, Mianyang , the heavily affecrted area, but due to the frequent aftershocks, Andy is still not sure about the latest arrangement, but they are always in touch with the Central Government in HK, & will compromise whenever necessary. The main thing is not to add burden to the disaster area.

Said Andy, "We rushed to record this song, the reason is because not many people can visit the disaster areas, bringing this song to them is to let them know many are concerned about them, it is a gift to the rescue & medical workers."

Some mainland netizens feel that during this period of time artistes visiting the area will only hinder the progress of rescue work, in addition some artistes need assistants to follow them, their appearance will only add trouble.

On this, said Andy, "That is the reason why we have not set off earlier, we do not go through the TV channel to go there, we apply through the Central Govt, when there is a need we will go, if we can give support we will go, if there is the slightest inconvenience we shall postpone the date. In actual fact it has been 10 days since we got the invitation from the local disaster relief committee to participate in the activity, & we have promised them, we trust the other artistes will act on this direction."

When asked if he is worried about safety, Andy replied, "There is nothing to worry, never thought of own safety, even if there is , it is not for me think now, everyone will be careful.

(Do his parents stop him from going?) how can they ever think that way, they seem not to worry at all, rather many Sichuan fans keep leaving messages regarding the local situation, advising vaccinations & other things to take care of. Of course there are some concerns but never said 'You don�ft come' that kind of words. "

Before he sets off he had consulted his family dr, had anti-tetanus jab, & he has received the necessary injections , there is no need for anymore injections for his liver, but he has not received flu vaccination yet, if he visits a hospital he will wear a mask.

Andy said that he was worried initially that the artistes will give inconveniences to the local people by their visit, but after some detailed understanding from the concerned unit, he then decided on the trip tomorrow, May 29. He is bringing along some medicines. Andy who is very enthusiastic with charity work, with his character, no matter how big or small the hardship are he is sure to lend a hand.

APPLE DAILY
ANDY SETS OFF TOMORROW TO SICHUAN

SOURCE: MING PAO
JACKY CHEUNG CALLS NOT TO ADD CHAOS TO DISASTER AREA
ARTISTES VISITNG THE AREA ONE AFTER ANOTHER

Sichuan quake relief activities is going non-stop, Andy has planned to lead a team to Sichuan for a visit tomorrow, the entourage include Joey, Sammi. However, they will gauge the situation of the disaster-hit area, if not, they will only attend the fundraising activity, going on May 30. The other 2 singers LL & Jacky Cheung are on standby ready to lend a hand whenever called.

Jacky urges those who wish to visit the area in this near future to think twice, do not visit blindly, to avoid adding chaos to the disaster-hit area. Recently some artistes had visited the area, said Jacky, "Jet Li & Jackie Chan had been, they had gotten the desired effect. Now the disaster zone is still under rescue work, visiting blindly not only will not only not help in anything, it adds chaos to the people there."

The activity to be held this Saturday, In the Name of Life, in Chengdu, is an official fundraising activity, close to 300 artistes coming from the 3 regions across the straits, Singapore & South Korea will take part

..........Sammi praised that Andy is already putting in so much, if there is anything not to perfection, at this moment what is needed most is compassion & tolerance, not negative news.

SOURCE: WEN WRI PO
THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE APPLYING TO GO TO QUAKE-HIT AREA EXCEEDS 10

At the fund-raising activities @ the shopping malls yesterday, Eric Tsang was asked on the artistes visits to Sichuan at the end of the month.

He said, "I know there are many who called to apply going, they will set off in batches on May 28, 29 & 30. I am not able to attend as I have to go to America with the Miss HK contestants for outdoor photo shoots. I will not be on time for the Chengdu Night, but Jackie Chan, Andy Lau will be there."

When asked if the list has been confirmed, he admitted it is still being planned, he indicated the number of phone calls is never before, it is more than few tens, as there are about 10 over people from mainland, in addition to 10 over from Taiwan, HK can at the most send 11 to 12.

He added the main thing needed at the moment is tents, there is not a lot to bring from HK to the quake area.

SOURCE: MING PAO
DONATION IS NOT USED TO COMPARE ONE'S COMPASSION

Andy's donation of 100K for quake relief was criticized to be too little, mainland director Feng Xiao Gang has come forward to defend for him. It was actually Femg's idea of asking a common sum of 100K each from those entertainment circle, so as to avoid media from using the sum to create news & compare wealth.

Andy has all this while remains silent , indeed he is one with deep cultivation.

Everyone knows the more you give the better it is in relief work, but there is no limit to even a small amount, who said one with popularity or is loaded must come forward with their own names to donate a big sum then only is reasonable?

As soon as the amount donated by eaach star was made open, criticisms flew online on the 100K, surprisingly there were responses.

How much one donate is not necessarily be made open to all, there is no need to compare. Some artistes by showing their faces is even more effective than giving money. They themselves taking out money from their own pocket is far less effective than calling others to donate.

Some media has used this to be headlines, this behavior brings no effect to disaster relief, this only adds to criticisms, giving pressure to the artistes who are working hard in the relief work.

The writer noted that some artistes because of busy with work were not able to take part in relief activities, they were pressurized, the managerial companies have to ask them to take off from work to appear openly in one or two occasions.

This show that relief work has changed, it is not coming directly from the heart, it is just to be answerable to the public to keep a good image, & avoid being attacked by the media.

The writer feels that Andy in maintaining his silence on being criticized unreasonably is indeed a virtue hard to come by, one who has a clear conscience will have his name cleared inally, as to the amount donated, how much you have done for the victims, does not reflect how much kindness you have, doing good does not need to be named, those acts that nobody knows, those that does not bring glory, is even more noble.

The public should not compare who & who donated how much, entertainment news is just reporting a part of the truth, always tend to magnify a small issue, to create topic, those with a mind will know how to differentiate the right from the wrong.

Despite having done so much he was being criticized negatively for his donation of 100K , which was given on the day when quake started. Netizens gossiped that with his status, it is too little, for days the topic was hotly debated online.

Andy remains silent all this while, yesterday Feng Xiao Gang strongly defended Andy on the accusation.

Feng indicated the amount of 100K was his (Feng's) own idea in asking artistes to give a collective sum of 100K each, the aim was to allay the media from using donation amount to compare wealth. He said, "Some media is all out to list how much each person donates, in actual fact, donation is a summation of effort given by all, it is not to compare wealth."

He added on that day the quake had just started, no one knew how serious the situation was, they only knew there was an earthquake, to avoid giving burden to others, he requested a common sum of 100K, after a discussion.

Andy is very concern with the situation of quake-hit areas, he plans to visit the place on Wednesday, at the interview by Ming Pao Weekly, he said he is yet to receive the approval from the government, relief work is the most important, he does not wish to add troubles to the local authority, only when it is suitable they will then go to the disaster area.

In preparation, Andy has received psychological counseling to have his won mood adjusted, he said the psychologist told him if he can bring entertainment to the victims it is enough, he can kick footballs, draw with the children, he can be involved in some simple activities to give the victims a sense of social belonging. This is because the victims not only lose family member, the society cohesion is also lost.

He added visiting the quake-hit area is not to put on a false act, put on a false front for others, it is to let them see we are all in a group, we shall face the disaster & negativity together.

SOHU.COM
ANDY RECRUITED INTO HAINAN 'LOVE COMPASSION SUN BEAM MOTION' TO VISIT THE ORPHANS

Hainan radio & television broadcast co-joining Chengdu Press, Hainan province Tourist Board, Youth association has formed a 'Love & Compassion, Sun Beam Motion' since May 21.

HK artiste Andy Lau has volunteered to be invited for the above activity, at the end of May he will visit the children who have lost family members in Chengdu.

At the end of June, 80 of the orphans from the quake-hit areas will head off to Hainan for psychological recovery treatment. A special relay activity has been arranged. If this activity is approved, 80 Olympic torch bearers will become volunteers to protect the flame & help the children to finish the relay of the flame of love relay at San Ya, Hainan island.

http://ent.cnwest.com/
JACKIE, ANDY, JACKY TO ATTEND SICHUAN SPECIAL QUAKE RELIEF ACTIVITY

According to Sichuan TV station, a special programme for quake relief will be held on May 30 in Chengdu. The programme is a live telecast to the world, a co-joint activity of Sichuan TV station, Chengdu TV station, Phoenix cable, Sichuan People�fs Broadcast, Sina, & others.

The programme will last 3 hours, other than participation of the Sichuan stars, Jackie Chan, Andy Lau, Jacky Cheung, Alan Tam, Ge You, Feng Xiao Gang, Chen dao Ming, Chang Guo Li, & others will render their support.

The writer ( Mummy Jie) learnt from the workers later that actually Andy had been on the alert, once he arrived ( at the TVB studio for JSG recording ) he slipped into the VIP dressing room, no matter what he just won't come out.

Never know that Shirley Kwun together with her village of people, assistant, hairdresser, make-up artists marched into the room, saying she wanted to share the room with him!

Andy had no chance to say No, he also has not much to talk to Shirley, it was quite an embarrassing sight. Andy had no choice but to come out of the VIP room, he was finally caught by a group of reporters, they surrounded him to ask questions on his rumored gf.

When the reporter asked him to have photo taken with Kwun, Kwun suddenly went behind his back, Andy was left feeling awkward. After a big circle, then only she stood still for a photo together, indeed giving Andy a hard time.

In the short interview, Andy spoke in English. When talking on his feelings working with the other singers to raise funds, tears welled up in his eyes, his voice cracked, he said the present disaster is devastating, he hopes the victims get better soon, he promises that he will wholeheartedly support Sichuan, calling it a responsibility as a Chinese.

CNN will broadcast a special programme tonight at 7pm, 'Earthquake in China, from disaster hit to rebuilding' , going deep into the magnitude-8 big quake in Sichuan.

WEN WEI PO/QQ.COM/TA KUNG PAO
NINE STATIONS TO CHEER FOR THE HEROES

The slogan for the night is 'Way to go China, Cheer for you, Hheroes.'

TVB & ATV will send representatives , Andy Lau & Alan Tam will both attend. Jackie Chan will reach Chengdu at 2 pm on the same day from Korea.

TVB senior officer said the pgr will telecast live, but as Mandarin will be used, after some re-dubbing the prg will be telecast a little later. TVB artistes are participating actively, they hope to bring relief items to the victims, the names of those going will be announced later.

Eric indicated representatives from Artiste Guild, Andy Lau, Alan Tam & others will set off on May 28 to the disaster-hit areas.

As too many show keenness in going, including Sammi, Joey, Mirium & others, they have to wait till Sichuan approve the number of visitors before they are sure of who are going. They may choose those who are physically & mentally stable to go, so as not to trouble the local relief workers. All the artistes are to foot their own expenses.

Major media organizations, associations, representatives from across the straits turned up, including TVB, ATV, Cable TV, RTHK, Commercial Radio, Metro Broadcast, Universal Music group, East Asia, Gold Label Records, Emperor Group, Chinese Artiste association of HK, ......... & others, artistes present included Eric Tsang, Gordon Chan, Andy Lau, Sammi, Andrew Lau, Ng See Yuen, ..., Feng Xiao gang, Zhang Guoli , Richie Ren, Chang Xiao Yan, Chang Bao Hua, Leo, Edmund Leung, Justin, Hins, Kenny Kwun, Yumiko, �c..

More than a hundred reporters came for the event. It is indeed 'one call, hundred responded'.

The press con lasted a short 15 minutes, Andy Lau was first to give a speech, he thanked all those who support the motion, in a sobbing voice ,

he said, "After the big earthquake in Sichuan, the artistes are able within a short period of time organizes activities, everyone has put in their hearts & effort, but this concern is not short lasting, rebuilding takes 3, 5 or 7 years, we promise to help in the rebuilding of homes for the victims, I especially wish to thank the the Liaison office of Central People' s Government and the Hong Kong Film Development Fund for their assistance in laying on the fundraising concert that will take place on 01 June at the West Kowloon Reclamation Site. As the time is too rushed, we are not able to apply for permit from the relevant department, but I trust the activity will get a warm response & support from all, may blessings bestowed upon Sichuan & China. "

After that spokesman Cheung Po Wah announced the latest 2 activities, namely on may 25 from 2 to 6 pm, 9 shopping centers in HK will hold activities with the Hk residents, they can send their wishes on a heart shaped paper, & paste on a big poster with the word Promise, to send encouragement & blessings to the Sichuan people. The card will be brought to Sichuan at the end of the month at the visits. There will also be charity sales at apm, & other places.

The 2nd activity is a big show on June1, to be held at West Kowloon Reclamation Site , a marathon performance will be put up, minimum entry fee is HK420.

Since after the quake, Andy has been involved day & night in the relief work, on May 28 he will visit Sichuan Mianyang area.

He disclosed that of late he has started attending psychological instructor's training, he hopes to put it to good use in the disaster area. Will he be worried that he will cry? Said Andy, "I don't know, I think I am ready, we will start from the children."

As it is coming up too soon, Andy has no time to go for vaccinations, but he is not worried, as there are vaccination centers in Sichuan, & the govt has liaised with them, he just need to bring some dried food.

How does his family think about this? Replied, "They have not told me not to go. "

One of his fans is also a volunteer, he thus know quite a bit of the happenings there.

It was said there is possibility of magnitude 6 aftershocks, many have been sleeping outdoors, they may need the care from other people

Andy said they have not thought of the problem of sleeping, they will sleep in wherever arranged by the organizer. He does not wish to affect the relief work too much, giving troubles to others is to be avoided.

He mentioned the 3 main points in the 7-year pledge, including helping the orphaned, rebuilding the educational & housing of the disaster area, he is pleading for the sum in the 10 year rebuilding, the Artiste Guild has earlier received permission from Social Welfare Dept to form a trust fund, committee members include Eric, Alan, Gordon, representatives form the law & accountancy circles.

When asked the fund needed for the visit? Andy said he is not too sure, but he said,

"If the artistes are going, the airfare & expenses will be borne by me."

SOURCE: WEN WEI PO
ANDY WENT ONLINE TO SALUTE SICHUAN PEOPLE

Andy Lau who is the one to gather the people for activities, yesterday at 3 am through his official website salute the people in Sichuan! He wrote, "It is coming to 10 days, miracles come continuously, this makes me believe that 'We are undefeatable!'

Aftershocks may want to shatter the inherent responsibilities of the servicemen, the flood may want to diminish the will power of the family members, epidemic challenges the responsibility of the medical staff, (we have) only one word "Stop Dreaming"

1,300,000,000 hearts are ready to share all the bad, 1,300,000,000 pairs of eyes are witnessing a firm unwavering nation, here is cheers to the angles in & out of the disaster zones.....

SOURCE: MING PAO
ANDY: WE'RE UNDEFEATABLE!
ENCOURAGES FELLOW COUNTRYMAN IN CHINA WITH HIS BLOG

Other than encouraging words he posted a pic of a severely handicapped person, despite difficulty in walking, step by step he went to the fund collection center by the roadside, to donate helping victims in home building, it is very touching.

Andy sends his best wishes, saying that 'The sun after the dark cloud is brighter & warmer.' With this he encourages everyone not to give up easily.

SOURCE: WEN WEI PO
ARTISTES WILL HOLD FUND RAISING ACTIVITIES IN 9 SHOPPING CENTERS THIS SUNDAY

It is coming to more than a week after the quake, residents in HK are still actively donating money, fund raising activities put forth by The HK Performing Artistes Guild come one after another, one of which is has been confirmed to be held this Sunday May 25.

It has the sponsorship of 3 big property business organizations to hold activities in 9 shopping centers, including Harbor City at the Wharf, Times Square, Plaza Hollywood, Su Hung Kai�fs APM, New Town Plaza, East Point City, Sino Group lends out Olympia City, China HK City, & Tuen Mun Town Plaza.

The participating groups include Artiste Guild, TVB, ATV, Cable TV HK, RTHK, Commercial Radio & Metro Broadcast, each will send out representatives & staff in the 9 shopping centers to be with the residents.

The main aim is to let all the HK residents to part take with relief fund raising, esp in the young ones, to let them know how to show concern to the disaster victims when the country is facing a disaster. It is also hope that they know the disaster will not recover within a short period of time, it needs a long term support. In the activity, the young ones will write their wishes on cards, when the disaster relief work is more settled, the cards will be sent to the victims, as show of concern.

In addition, artistes such as Andy Lau, Alan Tam, Jay Chou will give out a piece each from a jigsaw puzzle to the children, the children can bring home a piggy bank to save money. On the 2nd year they can come to collect the 2nd piece, this will go on till the 7th year for the jigsaw puzzle to complete. The saving will increase year by year. This is in tandem with the aim of Pledge.

All the cinemas in HK will donate a dollar for each ticket sold from May 22 & May 25 to help in fund raising.

Andy has contributed in effort & cash to the Sichuan big earthquake. Other than donating at the very first hour he penned the lyrics for the song Pledge. For days he participated in the HK Performing Artistes Guild fund raising activities.

At his blog yesterday, with his Buddhist name Hui Guo, he posted a Heart Sutra(Prajnaparamitahrdaya-sutra) that was copied by him, for the souls of the deceased Sichuan quake victims.

He wrote, "Dear Brothers & sisters, what may worried you, we as a family shall continue to help finish the work for you well with all our hearts & effort! Please carry on with your journey well�c"

At his http://andylau.com blog he expressed his respect for the rescues workers. In the post titled 'Greatness', he wrote, "Mountains were ruined, land was ruined, lanes were ruined, roads were ruined, rooms were ruined, houses were ruined, what is left is the great nationality�c�c.. I feel very proud of your behavior, forever & ever remembering your action. "

TVB & ATV both telecast many special programmes on the big earthquake in Sichuan last week, including fund raising. TVB last Saturday prg set a rating record of 26 point, the number of audience hits 1.63 million. By 11pm, the average rating was 22 point, (about 1.38 million audience) . The one shown on Sunday has a rating of 27 point (1.69 million audience) with an average of 26 point. ATV on Saturday & Sunday shown 2 programmes, & scored an average of 6 & 5 point respectively.

10 over artistes participated yesterday in the 2 matches. The first match was male celebrity team against a team invited by the football association. The players were Eric Tsang, Alan Tam, Nat Chan, Haken, Andy Hui, Edmond Leung, Chin Ka Lok & others, only Laing Ping scored a goal. The team lost 1 to 3.

After that was female celebrity team against TVB all-female team, a total of 20 over people played, after 10 min or so, they drew at 1:1.

Andy who did not play led the spectators to sing the song Pledge. Fans cheered in support.

The artistes hand-in-hand formed a circle, wishing the Sichuan quake victims rebuild their homes & no more after-quakes.

After the matches the female players pleaded for donation with donation boxes from the public.

Alan looked very tired yesterday, the night before after TVB show he went to Jacky Chan�fs office for meeting & did not sleep till 4 am. The next day he rehearsed songs with Warner band at 8 am. He indicated when everything is more settled later, they shall make some visits. ...........

Andy who was supposed to be in Qing Dao & unable to attend TVB fund raising & yesterday activities, was able to make it to both. On the 200 over million raised, he is delighted, said, "Of course the more the merrier, hope it reach 3 to 400 million."

On the victims snatching the quake relief items, he said, " I don not know what to say, perhaps they were too scared, I too wish to tell them, the government will take care of it well, there is no need to fight, it may cause a panic this way."

As the person to call people by the Artiste Guild Andy indicated they will get the help of several organizations on their visits to the sites. There was a news that a movie such as Tha Banquet will be filmed later to raise fund, Andy said there are several versions, at the moment it has not been confirmed.

HK artiste circle participated actively in a fund raising activity for the Sichuan disaster yesterday in a 4 hour-long programme held in Tseung Kwan O TVB studio last night .

More than 50 singers & artistes participated, it was a strong cast, Sir Run Run Shaw who has just recovered from sickness shown his first public appearance, just to give support to the participants.

The fund raising activity main aim was to impart love with songs & auction items. The programme was to be 3 hours at first, but was extended to an hour & a half more.

The most encouraging part was cheques from the public amounting from 1 million to 500k continued to pour in, donations came incessantly, until 1:40 am the total amount raised hit 220 million.

At the start of the programme, Chief Executive Donald Tsang led the house in a minute silence. All the participants sang Pledge (Promise) .

The amount donated by Mr Shaw of 100 million is the highest at the moment in HK. Tycoon Joseph Lau Luen Hung had pledged through phone 10 million. Sister of Eric Tsang donated 150K, Adam Cheng 200K, his fans club donated a cheque of 20,000.

Disaster is heartless, but warmth is felt in the human hearts. Andy Lau, Alan Tam, Jacky Cheung, Aaron Kwok, Gigi Leung, Joey, Mirium, Adam, Shirley Kwun, Haken, Richie Ren, & others were in tears sending their warmth. Raymong Lam Fung, Mosses Chan, Louise Lee Si-kei stopped TV serial shooting to come & plead for donations.

Many artistes showed their support to the quake victims with a heavy heart, whenever the misery was related, many were moved to tears.

Lisa Wang sang The Brave Chinese, she was so saddened that she could not get the key, & was in tears. �c�c�c.

ANDY RUSHED BACK TO HK
HIS VOICE WAS HOARSE

Andy who was in the mainland for the promotional activity of Paralympics shortened his visit to rush back to HK to attend the fund raising activity. His voice was noted to be hoarse when pleading for donations, clasping his hands, he prayed for blessigns from Heavenly Gods "The disaster may get worse, I hope in the upcoming days heavenly gods be kind to us."

Andy raised 1 million in singing The Chinese

For days Andy has been involved in the various fund raising activities. He was seen in the programme last night, the exhausting days has made him look thinner. His voice was hoarse when he talked, his eyes were red.

MING PAO
STARS NEED NOT GO TO THE DISASTER SITE

The artistes are like sand in the usual days, but when there is a big event that need them to be together, they responded swiftly.

When there is a need, calling all the HK artistes to do a fund raising show, from start to the show, within a couple of days it is done, this speed, is perhaps not found in all other places.

They have the experience, the other specialty of HK artistes is they are actor & singer all role into one, they have experience in doing shows, to do one in a hurry, no problem.

The most important is to liaise with the digital media, to get a few stations to broadcast at the same time, it is the most difficult. Each has its own stance, & own way of relief work. Most of the time is used to deal with this.

The show put up by the artiste is any time surpasses that done by the digital media.

HK artistes can be so united, the reason being there are a few influential big brothers in the circle, when they call, most will response.

The artistes are most good at touching the hearts of the public, what they have done in the past confirm this.

The writer read from the newspapers that some artistes said they want to go to the most hit disaster areas. This is actually not necessary.

The ones most needed at the disaster sites are high tech persons & those who are professionally trained with rescue work. The artistes are not trained in this, to be really involved in saving lives, thus when they are there, it is of no help. It may even led to chaos, making it look like they are doing show.

The effect in helping is effective even if one is thousands of miles away. To know the situation, the reporters can help with this.

It is unsafe to enter a disaster zone, epidemic can break out anytime, safety of the artistes is also a concern.

The team is racing against time to save lives, if the artistes still want to go there, no matter how, they need special arrangement & care, creating work for others might as well relieve them of the work.

If they want to go, go when it is over when it is rebuilding. It is more appropriate.