|
1/23/07:
Delegates received watches yesterday:
 [Ta Kung Pao 23/01/07] Sarah Song Presents Prize Watch to her MotherNewly crowned Miss Chinese
International Sarah Song, first runner up Ivy Lu, second runner up Sherry Chen and Miss Friendship Parichat Wisuthiphatt attended
another prize giving ceremony yesterday at 3D-Gold's 'Swiss Golden Palace' showroom, where they were presented with Blita
watches. Also taking the award for Chinese Culture Ambassador, Sarah was presented with two watches, worth $76,000
and $50,000 respectively. Ivy and Sherry's watches were worth $60,000 and Parichat's was worth $50,000. After receiving their
prizes, the girls tried to learn some French from Blita's Asia Pacific General Manager and showing her winner's spirit, Sarah
was complimented for speaking it very well, whereas Sherry was corrected on several occasions for her accent. They then took
a look around the Swiss Golden Palace. Sarah reveals that she used to speak French, but she has forgotten much of it
now because she rarely speaks it. She plans to give one of her watches to her mother and with her $200,000 prize money, she
plans to buy herself a handbag, some jewellery and a laptop computer. Asked why she does not buy property or cars, she says
that cars lose value and she has to save a little more before she can buy an apartment. She also smiles that she might buy
some gold for her mother. Sarah is currently studying in Sydney and has another year before she graduates so she is
not sure yet as to whether she will be stopping her education to pursue a career in showbiz. As for the gossip that she was
an unexpected winner and about her cape falling to the ground, she smiles that it was a little chaotic at the time and she
felt so good that she did not even know when the cape fell. She does not mind about being called a surprise winner and smiles:
"I still won after all!" Sherry did not mind being corrected with her French and she found it good fun to learn to speak the
language. After the four girls returned to Hong Kong from Foshan earlier, they were invited to a celebratory party
by the hotel sponsors, where they received vouchers for spa treatment. After receiving her prize, Sarah immediately checked
into the centre's massague suit, where she enjoyed a super luxurious caviar and pearl skincare treatment, red wine treatment
and aromatherapy massage package worth $40,000. Beforehand, she had allowed the other three girls to look around her suite
and a very excited Sarah sat beside her princess bed to pose for the press before playing with the water in the spa bath and
then posing with the other girls on the balcony beside the red wine treatment. Asked if she likes having spa treatment, she
said with great joy: "Usually I rarely get the chance, so this is great that I have the opportunity to wash away all the fatigue
from the contest." http://www.takungpao.com.hk/news/07/01/23/UL-682335.htm----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1/21/07:
Miss Sydney, Sarah Song wins the 2007 crown:
The top 3 (from left to right): 1st runner up: Miss Johannesburg, Ivy Lui, Winner: Miss Sydney,
Sarah Song, and 2nd runner up: Miss Toronto, Sherry Chan.
Miss Sydney Sarah Song Crowned Miss Chinese International 2007
Miss Chinese International 2007
was crowned yesterday, with 21 year-old Sarah Song from Sydney taking two awards and everyone by surprise. Hong Kong representative
Aimee Chan did not make it into the top five.
The contest broke from tradition and took place in Foshan and the top
three places went to Number 12 Sarah Song (Sydney), Number 20 Ivy Lu (Johannesburg) and Number 4 Sherry Chen (Toronto). Winning
the newly renamed contest, Sarah also took the award for 'Chinese Culture Ambassador' and her win came as a surprise to the
audience. When she performed her walk of honour, her cape accidentally fell off. Afterwards, she admitted that she was also
surprised at the result and talking about being a dark horse, she says: "Maybe I am quite low key usually. (Why did you think
you won?) Maybe I was not too nervous and I was quite relaxed, so I could show my best." First runner-up Ivy was not disappointed
at not being able to receive the winner's crown from her elder sister, Ina, who won last year's contest: "I still won an award,
so I feel I have already given 100%."
 
From left to right: Miss Toronto: Sherry Chan and Miss Hong Kong: Aimee Chan in swimsuits.
Both were former contestants at Miss Chinese Toronto.
At the beginning of the show, when the girls were introducing themselves, there
was a lot of stuttering and among them, Aimee, who can speak fluent Cantonese seemed to be the worst of all and this left
her a little embarrassing. Maybe this reduced her scores, in this the second year after Tracy Ip, where the Hong Kong representative
has not entered the top five spot or won any of the other awards. Afterwards, Aimee indicated she was disappointed. "My performance
today was not very good, but I did my best and I was already happy to get into the top ten. I don't think the result was surprising."
During
the swimwear section, the contestants wore some SM feel black swimsuits and although they were mildly sexy, it was still difficult
to hide Aimee and Number 3 Suzanna Wu's 'soup bowl' breasts. As they walked, there was no natural movement in their figures,
unlike Ivy, whose figure was far more natural. Aside from this, judge Charmaine Sheh revealed that Sarah was her choice for
the winner, but she would not indicate directly why Aimee did not win: "She was quite calm and very gracious. (What did she
lose on?) This year, the other contestants were very strong and were good at everything." Sonija Kwok praised Sarah for a
very good question and answer interview, so she will not show any favouritism for Aimee.
http://the-sun.orisun.com/channels/ent/20070121/20070120235850_0000.html
 
Miss Sydney: Sarah Song and Miss Johannesburg: Ivy Lui in swimsuits.
Hacken Forced to Mime at MCI Performance
Hacken Lee was
the performing guest at the Miss Chinese International Contest held yesterday evening, but as he was suffering from flu, his
voice was only at 60% and of the three songs he sang, only two were performed live as the more difficult song "Princess and
Prince" was too hard and he had no choice but to mime to a recording.
Performer: Hacken Lee, Charmaine Sheh (judges and 2nd runner up at MSHK
1997), top 3 of Miss Chinese International 2006, Janet Chow (MSHK 2006 1st runner up), and Koni Lui (MSHK 2006 2nd runner
up) walk on the red carpet.
Hacken said before the show: "Yesterday when I was in Qingyuan, I could barely
speak and before I had already contacted the producer, saying I would cut my performance by half if I could not sing. (Were
you worried about the performance being substandard?) Of course I am afraid, so I went to see the doctor and also a Qigong
expert and drank some herbal remedies, but the only way to shake flu is by resting, so I will be returning to Hong Kong straight
after the show." Hacken believes that this illness was brought on whilst filming for "Beautiful Kitchen Goddess" and he was
working too hard. Talking of this year's contestants, Hacken says he has seen them all before and hopes that Aimee Chan will
make it into the top three and win some acclaim for Hong Kong, but this may be more difficult with the show not being held
in Hong Kong. Talking of his wife Emily Lo taking the first runner up at this contest in 1993, has he spoken to her about
this contest? He says that the times are different now and in the past, the pageants were more formal, but there have been
a lot of gimmicks in recent years and his wife had the advantage of being the host in those days.
http://www.takungpao.com.hk/news/07/01/21/UL-681517.htm
The top 3 and Miss Friendship winners arrive in Guangzhou to receive
prizes:
From left to right: 1st runner up: Miss Johannesburg, Ivy Lui, Winner:
Miss Sydney, Sarah Song, MSHK 2001 and MCI 2002 top 5 finalist: Shirley Yeung, 2nd runner up: Miss Toronto, Sherry Chan, and
Miss Friendship: Miss Bangkok, Parichat Wisutthiphat pose for a photo.
New MCI Winners Join Shirley Yeung at 3D-Gold Prize Giving
The
freshly crowned Miss Chinese International 2007 winners headed from Foshan to Guangzhou yesterday, where they received some
of their prizes from jewellery sponsor 3D-Gold. Shirley Yeung appeared as the guest and was also presented with the latest
design jewellery, making her shine even more.
Shirley says that she rushed to Guangzhou in the morning and complimented
the girls for their beauty. As for the Hong Kong representative Aimee Chan going home with nothing, Shirley says with experience:
"Winning an award is down to many elements and the right time and place, so it is nothing to be disappointed about." Shirley
also feels that not winning an award does not mean you had a bad performance, as long as you have worked hard, then it doesn't
matter and the fans will continue to support you. There will be a lot of opportunities in the future and Shirley believes
that they will be as fulfilling. As for her new jewellery, she says it has made her feel very elegant and although she rushed
over, the fee is very satisfactory and she was happy to be able to work with the company representatives in Guangzhou.
Miss
Chinese International winner Sarah Song only managed to get 3 hours sleep the night before, but this did not steep her excitement.
Her parents were at the event to support her, so they knew the result straight away and she received a string of congratulatory
phone calls afterwards. She received a gold staff at the ceremony yesterday and she said it felt very heavy. She plans to
keep it as a souvenir. Asked if she will be remaining in Hong Kong to further her career, she says she has not thought about
it, but if she has the opportunity, she would like to give it a try. However, she is studying commerce in Sydney at the moment
and still has two years before she graduates.
Asked if she realised that she revealed herself a little whilst doing
the hula hoop routine, she says that she did not know because she only had one minute for the routine and didn't have time
to think about this. Originally, she had planned to do a Chinese dance, but too many others were doing this, so she chose
to do the more active hula hoop routine, because she had done this before when she was younger. Sarah reveals that she was
born in Guangzhou and moved to Sydney when she was five, but every year, she will return to Guangzhou.
http://www.takungpao.com.hk/news/07/01/22/UL-681841.htm
Miss Chinese International 2007 Results:
Winner: #12 Miss Sydney, Sarah Song
1st runner up: #20 Miss Johannesburg, Ivy Lui
2nd runner up: #4 Miss Toronto,
Sherry Chan
Top 5 finalists: #9 Miss New York, Sirena Wang and #13 Miss Calgary, Yvonne Chapman
Top 10 semifinalists: #2 Hong Kong, #3 San Francisco, #6 Rotterdam, #14 Vancouver, and #21 Nanning
Special Awards:
Miss Chinese Culture: #12 Miss Sydney, Sarah Song
Miss Friendship: #16 Miss Bangkok,
Parichat Wisutthiphat
International Charm Award: #8 Miss Pearl River, Carol Li Rui
Audience Favorite Award: #9 Miss
New York, Sirena Wang
Pageant Beauties Awards:
PB's Miss Chinese International 2007, PB's Miss Photogenic (Viewers and webmaster), and PB's Miss Popularity:
#2 Aimee Chan of Hong Kong
Review of results and show later on to come.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1/19/07:
Thank you for all your votes. Pageant Beauties's Miss Chinese International 2007 Miss Photogenic
and Miss Popularity were chosen. Here are the final results:
Who do you think is the most photogenic? [294
votes total]
|
| #1 Tina Leung, Miss Seattle (4) |
 1% |
| #2 Aimee Chan, Miss Hong Kong (68) |
 23% |
| #3 Louisa Wu, Miss San Francisco (1) |
 0% |
| #4 Sherry Chan, Miss Toronto (9) |
 3% |
| #5 Leow Cai Ling, Miss Singapore (2) |
 1% |
| #6 Miss Rotterdam, Chinzy Choi (3) |
 1% |
| #7 Miss Tahiti, Erwina Chanson (54) |
 18% |
| #8 Miss Pearl River, Carol Li Rui (0) |
 0% |
| #9 Miss New York, Sirena Wang (22) |
 7% |
| #10 Miss Chicago, Ming Zhu He (1) |
 0% |
| #11 Lois Zhu, Miss Montreal (0) |
 0% |
| #12 Sarah Song, Miss Sydney (5) |
 2% |
| #13 Yvonne Chapman, Miss Calgary (66) |
 22% |
| #14 Susana Su, Miss Vancouver (17) |
 6% |
| #15 Novel Lim, Miss Kuala Lumpur (21) |
 7% |
| #16 Parichat Wisutthiphat, Miss Bangkok (1) |
 0% |
| #17 Carrasoo Rachel Tan, Miss Manila (0) |
 0% |
| #18 Cindy Chui, Miss Auckland (5) |
 2% |
| #19 Jenifer Jiang, Miss Melbourne (0) |
 0% |
| #20 Ivy Lui, Miss Johannnesburg (10) |
 3% |
| #21 Zhao Ying Ying, Miss Nanning (5) |
 2% |
Who is your favorite to win? [315
votes total]
|
| #1 Tina Leung, Miss Seattle (4) |
 1% |
| #2 Aimee Chan, Miss Hong Kong (84) |
 27% |
| #3 Louisa Wu, Miss San Francisco (3) |
 1% |
| #4 Sherry Chan, Miss Toronto (6) |
 2% |
| #5 Leow Cai Ling, Miss Singapore (2) |
 1% |
| #6 Miss Rotterdam, Chinzy Choi (2) |
 1% |
| #7 Miss Tahiti, Erwina Chanson (60) |
 19% |
| #8 Miss Pearl River, Carol Li Rui (1) |
0% |
| #9 Miss New York, Sirena Wang (18) |
 6% |
| #10 Miss Chicago, Ming Zhu He (0) |
 0% |
| #11 Lois Zhu, Miss Montreal (1) |
 0% |
| #12 Sarah Song, Miss Sydney (10) |
3% |
| #13 Yvonne Chapman, Miss Calgary (66) |
 21% |
| #14 Susana Su, Miss Vancouver (23) |
 7% |
| #15 Novel Lim, Miss Kuala Lumpur (21) |
 7% |
| #16 Parichat Wisutthiphat, Miss Bangkok (1) |
 0% |
| #17 Carrasoo Rachel Tan, Miss Manila (1) |
 0% |
| #18 Cindy Chui, Miss Auckland (6) |
 2% |
| #19 Jenifer Jiang, Miss Melbourne (0) |
 0% |
| #20 Ivy Lui, Miss Johannnesburg (5) |
 2% |
| #21 Zhao Ying Ying, Miss Nanning (1) |
 0% |
Congratulations to Aimee of Hong Kong for winning both of our awards. Following behind for 2nd
was Yvonne of Calgary for both titles. Third was a surprise delegate, Miss Tahiti, Erwina Chanson. Aimee lead from start to
finish and gained the most votes. Indeed Aimee is photogenic and is your favorite to win. Originally third was Miss New York
and Miss Vancouver, but was overpassed with Erwina. Thank you for all your votes.
Miss Bangkok wins the Miss Friendship award:
Miss Bangkok Parichat Wisuthiphatt Takes MCI Miss Friendship 2007
The 2007 Miss Chinese International
Pageant will be taking place this evening at Foshan TV News Centre and the 21 contestants underwent final rehearsals for the
swimwear parade yesterday. The vote was also held for the Miss Friendship award and this was taken by Number 16 Parichat Wisuthiphatt
(Lam Nga Chi) from Bangkok. In their swimsuits, the girls showed off their figures as well as their shortcomings, that included
flat chests, waistlessness, elephant legs and forced chests. Number 5 Singapore's Leow Cai Ling, Number 16 Parichat Wisuthiphatt
and Number 18 also displayed some rather distasteful scenes with their clinging bikini bottoms.
After the blessing
ceremony, the girls paraded in their bikinis and Number 2 Aimee Chan from Hong Kong had successfully slimmed down, but her
'soup bowl' bust was still very full and coupled with her muscular form, was quite an attraction. Number 3 Suzanna Wu (San
Francisco) and Number 18 Cindy Hsu (Auckland) showed off their great busty figures and somewhat overshadowed her. Conversely,
Number 1 Tina Leung from Seattle had a rather flat figure and Number 11 Bamboo Cui from Montreal was quite obviously plumper
than the rest and displayed some elephant legs. Of the more confident contestants on the stage were Number 6 Rotterdam's Chinzy
Choi and Number 13 Yvonne Chapman from Calgary, with the latter striking various poses for the press, earning herself the
title of 'Pose Queen'.
Asked about her bust size still being the hot topic of conversation, Aimee says she does not worry about this and indicates
that the other contestants also have beautiful figures and they are all very balanced. Asked if she was successful in her
slimming, she admitted that she had and says that she has always been careful with her diet and has always done exercise.
As for whether she developed the muscles on purpose, she smiles that she has always been very sporty, so she has always had
the muscles. Asked if she is confident of an award, she says that she will go in with a peaceful heart and just enjoy the
process, because it is a rare opportunity.
Bamboo said frankly that her rather large figure was the biggest pressure
on her taking part in this contest, but her frame is like this, so there is nothing she can do. She has been studying ballet
since she was young, so she cannot reduce the thickness of her legs and this put a lot of stres on her. She says she will
do well in other areas and she will try hard to just be herself. Asked if she is confident of winning, she says that she is
not entering for the awards and would just like to make some friends. After putting on a swimsuit, Yvonne seemed to shine
and she smiled happily: "I will try my best to show off myself. (Are you worried that the language barrier will affect your
performance?) I have already worked hard to practice and as there will be a strong Canadian accent with my Cantonese, I am
learning to speak Mandarin."
Miss Bangkok Parichat was voted as the winner of the Miss Friendship award by the other contestants and when the result
was announced, she was so happy that she was blushing. She was presented with some flowers and congratulated by the other
girls, with Yvonne stepping forward to shake her hand and give her a hug. She indicated that this made her very happy and
shocked. Asked about the tradition that this award goes to the least threatening contestant, she does not agree and says that
she has got on very well with the other contestants. So is she confident of a win? She says she is confident and will work
hard to do even better.
http://www.takungpao.com.hk/news/07/01/20/UL-681103.htm
http://the-sun.orisun.com/channels/ent/20070120/20070119234804_0000.html
http://www.singtao.com/yesterday/ent/0120fo01.html
In less than 13 hours, the new Miss Chinese International will be crowned. Well it took me a
long time to think of this year's top 5 list. Every contestant is beautiful and anybody can take it tonight. Well from their
offical portraits (http://tvcity.tvb.com/special/mcip2007/profile/index.html) to their promos (http://tvcity.tvb.com/special/mcip2007/promo/index.html , http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Miss+Chinese+International+2007) and their photos, PB determined the predictions.
Winner: Miss Hong Kong, Aimee Chan
1st runner up: Miss New York, Sirena
Wang
2nd runner up: Miss Johannesburg, Ivy Lui
Top 5 finalists: Miss Calgary, Yvonne Chapman
Miss Toronto, Sherry Chan
Dark horses (from 6th to 10th place): Misses Vancouver, Nanning, Sydney, Auckland, and Kuala
Lumpur
Special Awards:
Miss Chinese Culture: Miss Hong Kong, Aimee Chan
Awards earlier announced:
Miss Friendship: Miss Bangkok, Parichat Wisutthiphat
International Charm Award: Miss Pearl
River, Carol Li Rui
Audience Favorite Award: Miss New York, Sirena Wang
Comments: These ten delegates are definitely the strongest out of the group and five of them
should make the top 5 cut. Aimee is my pick to win. Aimee has a natural smile and great figure. She should easily return Hong
Kong back to the top 5 this year. Coming in second is New York's Sirena Wang. Sirena has great poise and I think she will
have a outstanding performance tonight. She knows how to command the stage. Lots of fans think that she can take it all. We
chose Johannesburg's Ivy as third. Ivy might be a little short, but she has the confidence to do well as she is the sister
of raining Miss Chinese International, Ina Lui. Ivy is also a front runner for many chinese newspapers. Yvonne of Calgary
is the strongest contestant ever from Calgary and she is also a favorite to win. However, Yvonne's Chinese is limited, so
I think top 5 is the best she can do. There might be surprises though! Rounding the top 5 is Sherry Chan of Toronto. She has
a beautiful face resembling Lin Chiling. Sherry should also have a great performance as she has great poise and confidence.
The judges will definitely like her.
As for the dark horses, Miss Vancouver, Susana Su is also a favorite to make the top 5. Susana
like Crystal (MCV 2005) has great height and poise, and it won't be surprising if Susana makes the top 5. However, I think
Susana isn't that sharp compared at MCV 2006, so she placed 6th. Nanning, Zhao Ying Ying has lots of confidence and poses
like in the Homeland Beauty final. Ying Ying is also a favorite to make the top 5. It all depends on her performance. Miss
Sydney, Sarah Song is next on the list. She stands as 8th on our list but she has the facial beauty to do better. Cindy Chui
of Auckland is definitely the strongest representive from her city and she is also a favorite to make it. Her height, figure,
and confidence might lead her to victory. Last is Kuala Lumpur's Novel Lim. Unlike her presuccessors, she lost that spark
she had at Miss Astro Chinese International. However her personality and eloquence might be favored by the judges (like last
year). I have my hands crossed for her. There are also other stunners like San Francisco, Pearl River, Bangkok, Melbourne,
and more that can surprise us. Pageant Beauties wish all the delegates the best of luck at tonight's pageant. Here she is
Miss Hong Kong, Aimee Chan who is PB's MCI 2007 Miss Photogenic (viewers choice), Miss Popularity, Miss Photogenic (webmaster's
choice), and Miss Chinese International 2007. Congratulations!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1/18/07:
The pageant is coming to a end, in just two days. Very fast as it seems, the delegates had
a fun time in Foshan and Hong Kong. Through the past two days, they flimed at the local FSTV (Foshan Station) for the finals.
They visited the local attractions of Foshan to flim. You can see them all here (Clips courtesy of TVB):
The pageant will be held in January 20th, 2007 in Foshan. Click here for http://beauty.geocities.jp/misschinesepageant/live32.html more info on where and when will the pageant be on television. In the United States like New York, San Francisco, and
Los Angeles, Jade World (TVB USA) is broadcasting the pageant on February 20th, one month later. Guess I have to rent the
dvd at a local TVB store...
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1/16/07:
Delegates travel back to Foshan to compete:
Back to Foshan for Final MCI Rehearsals
The 2007 Miss Chinese International Pageant will be taking
place on Saturday and the twenty-one contestants have headed out to the venue for the final in Foshan for their final preparations.
Before they set off, a blessing ceremony was held at TVB City to pray for a successful performance. Probably due to the early
start and the tight schedules, all the girls seemed rather tired and some were yawning away with their hands on their hips,
whilst others were exchanging massages. Among them, Number 10 He Mingzhu from Chicago seemed to have a breakout of spots on
her forehead and she explained that this was because she was not acclimatised. Is she worried that this will affect her performance
on Saturday? She syas she is not worried because there are not too many activities planned for the next couple of days and
she will have some time to rest.
Although the contest is looming, many of the girls were still not holding back on
the roast pig and younger sister of last year's winner, number 20 Ivy Lu ate from beginning to end. She smiles: "I am just
eating slowly and giving the illusion of eating a lot. (Are you not worried about getting fat?) No, because the schedule has
been very rushed since the start and I have actually lost weight, so this is not a problem. (Is it hard work?) It is not personal,
everyone else is finding it hard, but working their best. It is very moving and I will work even harder to be myself."
As for Hong Kong's Aimee Chan, she daren't eat any roast pork, choosing an apple instead. Asked if she was afraid of
getting fat, she explained that she had already eaten breakfast and she prefers to eat fruit. Talking of the tired faces,
is she finding it hard? She says graciously: "This is a rare experience , so I am happy to have the chance to take part."
Her parents have just arrived in Hong Kong for a wedding banquet, so they will also be showing their support for her in Foshan.
Asked if her rumoured boyfriend Ray Chan will be supporting her there, she says: "I don't think so, because they only gave
two tickets to each contestant and my friends will just watch me on the television. (Has he sent you an SMS to support you?)
All my friends have." Also, Number 8 Pearl River's Carol Li indicates that she has not informed her family of the date
of the contest yet because she does not want them to appear at the event to support her and would rather they watched her
at home on teleision. This is because they will put pressure on her and she hopes to have a calm approach to her performance.
Currently living in Guangzhou, just an hour away from Foshan, does she feel that she has the advantage of being a local? She
feels that the focus is on the stage, so it does not matter where you are from. http://www.takungpao.com.hk/news/07/01/17/UL-679531.htmhttp://ol.mingpao.com/cfm/star5.cfm?File=20070117/saa01/mch4.txthttp://www.wenweipo.com/news.phtml?news_id=EN0701170004&cat=011EN
General News: The delegates travel back to Foshan for the finals.
Miss Nanning, Zhao Ying Ying was at TVB Studios for the ceremony, so her visa problem is over. The finals will be helded on
20th, four days away. Pageant Beauties will announce your choice for Miss Popularity and Miss Photogenic, and PB will also
selected their own Miss Photogenic based on their photos. The first PB Miss Chinese International will be announced on the
19th.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1/15/07:
Panel of judges and hosts announced:
Aimee Chan's Chances Slipping at MCI 2007
The 2007 Miss Chinese International Pageant will be
taking place on Saturday in Foshan and the twenty-one contestants met the judges for the first time yesterday. The panel will
include TVB artistes Charmaine Sheh, Steven Ma, Sonija Kwok and Roger Kwok. They all say that they will not show any favouritism
towards the Hong Kong representative Aimee Chan and will score fairly.
The girls have returned to Hong Kong after their
promotional tour of Foshan and Aimee seemed rather tired at the meeting, that may have lost her some points with the judges.
She says that she is very robust and she is not nervous and she is becoming more and more excited as the event draws near.
The contestants have all been busy rehearsing and trying their costumes, hoping to give a great show and Aimee will also be
catching up on some sleep over the next few days. Does she feel she is at an advantage as the Hong Kong representative? She
says that although she worked with Roger on location when she took part in Miss Hong Kong, she does not feel that this will
benefit her. Melbourne's Jenifer Jiang is the youngest contestant this year at only 18 years old, but she says she has no
pressure and is having a lot of fun. She says that everyone else are like big sisters and there is no-one picking on her.
 
Former Miss Hong Kong 1999 and Miss Chinese International 2000 winner, Sonija Kwok (left)
and Miss Hong Kong 1997 2nd runner up (right), Charmaine Sheh are judges.
This is the first time that Charmaine has been a judge at a beauty pageant and she had a chat with each of the contestants
at the press event. She says that she is interested in the level of knowledge that the contestants have on Chinese Culture
and she says that to be themselves is already enough because to be natural is the most beautiful. However, Charmaine did not
reveal her favourites because this is unfair and she just said that she will judge fairly and seriously and will show no favouritism.
Sonija felt the girls had great figures and asked if she felt that Aimee seemed a little lacklustre, she says that a lot of
it is down to your own drive and determination. When she took part in MCI, she was unwell, but she still managed to win the
award and the hard work paid off. She also says that she will not give extra points to the Hong Kong representative because
she has to be fair.
The favorites from the Hong Kong press to win the crown. From left to right: Misses Hong Kong,
Toronto, Singapore, Vancouver, and Johannesburg.
Steven says frankly that he will be able to watch the pretty girls openly and although he offered his hand to shake with
Aimee, he insists that he will not be so generous with his points. He feels that the most important thing about MCI is for
the contestants to learn a little more about China and to not even know when the country was formed is unacceptable. He prefers
the contestants that look 'traditionally Chinese'. Of course, to look tidy is also important. Roger worked with Aimee in Korea
during the Miss Hong Kong pageant, so he has a deeper impression of her, but he will not be biased.
The MC's for the show will be Eric Tsang and Derek Li. Singing star Eric Moo will also be the guest MC. When Derek was
introducing the contestants onto the stage, he caused a few laughs when he introduced Number 12 Sarah Song from Sydney as
'number 12 contender'. With jokes that he was no good, he said humbly: "I am the worst, the girls and the judges are the best." 
Article links:
General News: Eric Tsang and Derek Li will be this year's hosts. The judges include China
painter Yong Qiang Chen, Sonija Kwok, Steven Ma, Charmaine Sheh, and Roger Kwok. Guest star will be Eric Moo. The delegates
were in Hong Kong to meet the judges, and all of them will travel to Foshan in the upcoming days towards the finals. The offical
portraits and profiles of the delegates are available. Click here (http://tvcity.tvb.com/special/mcip2007/profile/index.html) for more.
Some stats: Out of the 21 delegates, all 7 speak Cantonese. One of them included #8 Carol
Li Rui of Pearl River (Mainland China delegates usually don't speak Cantonese). 13 delegates speak Mandarin only (with another
language, except Cantonese). Suprisingly, all the delegates but one speak Chinese. That is not Bangkok nor Manila but Yvonne
Chapman of Calgary, who only speaks English. The youngest out of the group is #19 Jenifer Jiang of Melbourne who is 18 years
old. Oldest if #2 Aimee Chan of Hong Kong. All the delegates consisted of high education, 20 of them having University/College
education, however #21 Zhao Ying Ying of Nanning is only a secondary graduate. The tallest is #8 Carol Li Rui of Pearl River
who is 5'10". The shotest among the group is #1 Tina Leung of Seattle who is 5'3.5". Miss Chinese Montreal, Lois Zhu was talked
about being chubby, and she weighs 131 pounds, same as Miss Pearl River. The lightest delegate is Ivy Lui of Johannesburg
who weighs 99 pounds.
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1/14/07:
Delegates compete for the International Charm award:
The 21 delegates were in Foshan yesterday to compete in the Miss International Charm
contest. Hong Kong representive, Aimee Chan (Number 2) and many other delegates made mistakes. In the end, Miss Pearl River,
#8 Carol Li Rui of Foshan won the award. She introduced the art of paper cutting and folding in her performance. One of the
judges, Angela Tong made an mistake during the announcement by saying Forshan (volcano) instead of Foshan.
The judges include Angela Tong (Miss Chinese Montreal 1994 and top 10 semifinalist at MCI
1995) and the mayor of Foshan. The 21 delegates bought all kinds of presents around their countries and cities to Foshan.
A number of delegates forget what to say on stage. Hong Kong representive, Aimee Chan dressed up like Bruce Lee on stage.
She was holding a Bruce Lee dvd and struck many of Bruce's poses. She said "Bruce lee is the first person to break world movie
entertainment, being funny and..." the audience started to laugh and Aimee quickly became nervous. She forget her lines, and said
thank you afterwards, before walking backstage. Afterwards she was asked whether or not to have mistakenly say Bruce
Lee instead of Chow Sing Chi and she replied "No, I said the wrong thing. (Did you have a lot
of stress?). Nobody gave me stress, I didn't have enough sleep, couldn't concentrate. I will learn from this."
Number 6, Chinzy Choi of Rotterdam and number 12, Sarah Song of Sydney
also forget their lines on stage. Chinzy presented an Holland wood figure and Sarah presented a Sydney theatre keychain
to the judges. Number 8, Carol Li Rui (Pearl River), number 4, Sherry Chan (Toronto), and number 18, Cindy Chui (Auckland)
had a good performance on stage. Number 9, Sirena Wang (New York) and number 16, Parichat Wisutthiphat (Bangkok) sang a song.
At the last moment, Angela Tong announced the winner as Carol Li Rui. However, Angela
mispronouced Foshan as Forshan (volcano). Angela said afterwards "Very embarassing! I was thinking to myself Foshan but the
English pronunciation is Fo Shan, that's the mistake." Eleven years ago, Angela represented Montreal at the Miss Chinese International
1995 pageant. She joked that she was only 15 years old. Regarding about the recent reports of current Miss Chinese Montreal,
Lois Zhu (number 11), she said that her figure is not as good as other delegates, but she has many other qualities.
Number 8, Carol Li Rui of Pearl River won the International Charm award, explaining that
her win was not because of being the host delegate. She also said that everybody on stage performed, and every place is the
same. Carol's family wasn't there to cheer for her, and she hopes to have a better performance during the finals.
Other links:
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1/13/07:
Delegates in Foshan for 2nd day:
Miss Chinese International Continues Tour of Foshan
The twenty-one Miss Chinese International
contestants continued on their tour of Foshan yesterday, experiencing the local culture by trying the lion dancing, making
'blind mans cake' and making lanterns.
Number 6 Chinzy Choi (Rotterdam) was rather clumsy with her lion head and could
not even lift it on several occasions, turning an 'alert lion' into a 'dead lion' instead. She says: "This is the first time
I have tried lion dancing and because the head is quite heavy, my muscles seized up. Following the steps of the master was
quite difficult but I do go to the gym, play golf and go running with my dog. I rarely do such heavy exercise though."
Contestant numbers 1 to 5 were sent to make the cakes, but their handiwork was rather poor and they did not wear gloves,
so it was quite unhygienic. Number 2 Aimee Chan (Hong Kong) indicated that she had washed her hands: "Making the cakes was
not hard, it was like doing some craftwork. I ate six cakes, but not ones that I had made myself because they fell apart.
I did not know how famous blind mans cake was in Foshan and it is made from olive oil, so it is quite healthy and not as fattening."
Sherry says the hardest thing is getting the measurement of the ingredients right because if you don't, then it is easy to
fall apart. Number 12 Sarah Song (Sydney) and Number 14 Susana Su (Vancouver) made lanterns for the first time and
Sarah indicated it was good fun, but it is hard to master. Number 13 Yvonne Chapman (Calgary) and Number 15 Novel Lim (Kuala
Lumpur) were making papercuts and found it difficult but did learn something from the experience. http://the-sun.orisun.com/channels/ent/20070113/20070112232442_0000.htmlhttp://www.takungpao.com.hk/news/07/01/13/UL-677841.htm
Below is a photo of Miss Hong Kong, Miss Toronto, Miss Chicago, and Miss Nanning, who finally
joined the group in Foshan at day 1.
Homeland Beauty 2006 results:
Winner: #8 Miss Nanning, Zhao Ying Ying
1st runner up: #6 Miss Chengdu, Li Bi
2nd runner up: #3, Miss Wan Mei Jia
3rd runner up: #4, Miss Shanghai, Tang Yan Qing
Top 8 and regional city winners: #1 Wang Peng Peng (Dalian), #2 Gu Meng Ling (Suzhou), #5
Ma Yan (Xian), and #7 Huo Yan Jing (Guangzhou).
I just viewed the pageant on a dvd, and I thought it was good. The stage was quite big and
the contestants looked absolutely stunning. The only surprise I had was Miss Guangzhou out of the top 4. She had a lot of
poise and confidence. Ying Ying's voice was quite low, like Elva Ni, Miss Chinese Toronto 2005. #3, Miss Beijing, Wan Mei
Jia replaced the original winner of Beijing as she couldn't come to HK. Seven of the contestants spoke in Mandarin, with Miss
Guangzhou in Cantonese (though Jing spoke in Mandarin for a debating part). The introduction started with the delegates playing
drums. Then they introduced themselves. Afterwards, the debating section. Each delegate came out in swimsuit and picked a
delegate to debate. Each delegate had 2 minutes to debate. It can be on any issue, and some notable ones would be #3 Wan Mei
Jia being asked of cutting her eyelids. She explained that she hit her right eye in an accident, and the doctor asked her
to cut her eyelids. Then the delegates were asked to figure out the occupation of 4 man (which they don't know). They were
paired up in groups of 2 and could ask each man questions. The catch was, they only had 1 minute and 30 seconds, and the man
wouldn't answer honestly. Only #7 Guangzhou and #8 Nanning guessed correctly on their first try. All the other delegates (except
for one) guessed correctly on their 2nd try by asking one question and picking out of 4 tries.
Then the delegates changed and sat on a table. On the screen was a pair of lovers, on which
they were asked whether they match or not, etc. The top 4 elimination followed. Each turn, 2 delegates came out and standed
on a elevator. If it rises, it represents they made it (similar to the process of MSHK 2003 finals). Even though I knew Guangzhou
did not win, I wanted the 23 year old to make the cut. She did not rise and up went #4's Miss Shanghai Tang Yin Qing. Very
disappointed. Lastly, the top 4 competed in a final competition. They used 1 minute and 30 seconds to perform a talent and
convince the judges why they deserve to win. #3 Wan Mei Jia danced, #4 Tang Yan Qing cutted fruits and said along the way
how each fruit means (apple means good healthy), #6 Li Bi sang and danced, and #8 Zhao Ying Ying, having a ambition to be
a designer, designed a outfit using cloth and put it on a figure. The show ended with one of the judges presenting flowers
to Ying Ying for winning. It was a great show overall, but the part where the delegates dressed up (below) was missing.
TVB omitted this part on the dvd for some reason...
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1/11/07:
Sirena Wang Takes First MCI Award - Girls Arrive in Foshan
The twenty Miss Chinese International
Contestants took part in the talent contest at East Point City yesterday, where each of the girls performed an act. Among
them, Number 3 Louisa Wu (San Francisco) almost exposed herself whilst doing a fan dance and the award was won by New
York's Sirena Wang for playing the piano and singing "Yesterday Once More" after a vote by the audience. Taking the first
award of the contest was a great boost for Sirena's confidence and she smiled: "Taking part in this contest is to challenge
myself and on the night of the final, I will do myself proud."
 
As for Louisa, she says she did not reveal anything: "I did not feel it. When I am dancing, I just think about the performance
because I love to dance." Local contestant Aimee Chan was not disappointed at not winning the first award and says: "The talent
contest is all about your performance and being the local does not mean you will win." Talking of the magazines showing photographs
of her armpits, Aimee was a little shocked and embarrassed as she replied: "I have not seen them so I do not know. I will
be more careful next time." The funniest act was the rather chubby Bamboo Cui (Montreal) who performed a peacock dance,
wearing some kind of corset to squeeze in her belly, but it didn't have much of an effect. During his guest performance,
Alex Fong met with a jump in the music and this left him rather embarrassed. Afterwards he revealed that he did give advice
to the contestants to stay calm and not be too nervous. 
The girls headed out to Foshan yesterday morning by boat to meet up with Miss Nanning Zhao Ying Ying to begin their location
shoot. After arriving, they were planned to go and visit a social centre, but their plans were changed and instead, the pensioners
were bussed over to the hotel to meet the girls instead. The contestants introduced themselves in a number of different languages
and spoke of their feelings about Foshan and Number 10 He Mingzhu even sung a Sichuan song for the old folks, but they didn't
understand and were bored to the point of numbness. Miss Pearl River Carol Li seemed to have a rather poor grasp of Cantonese
and when she said that she wanted to meet more friends, it sounded like she wanted to 'eat' more friends. Hailing from Foshan,
she says she will take the other girls around to show them the sights. Afterwards, Aimee indicated that she did not think
the atmosphere was cold and held on that they were smiling from their hearts. Zhao Ying Ying finally joined the group yesterday
and she does not feel she has lost out and will continue to do her best.
At the party, Toronto's Sherry Chen accidentally revealed the side of her panties and when this was pointed out to her,
she said she would be more careful in the future. This is her first visit to Foshan and she says that she has no special feelings,
but the old folks seemed quite warming. She says: "The lady sitting beside me was already 100 years old and I thought she
was just 80. She was very lovable and complimented me for looking cute. She asked if I had a boyfriend and told me to find
a handsome one." Asked if she has found one, she says she does not want to answer this question. She also praises Zhao Ying
Ying, saying she is very beautiful.
General news: Miss New York takes the first award in the pageant. Miss Nanning, Zhao Ying
Ying joined the group in Foshan as her visa had problems. Due to that, she did not participate in the first press conference
and talent competition. All the portraits of #11-21 should be revealed in the upcoming days, though I wonder if Ying-ying
will have the same background as the others as they are in Foshan right now, and not in the TVB studios. Also, TVB announced
that there will be a new award this year, Miss Chinese Culture. Mainland China viewers may vote through MSM and text messaging.
Every call will cost $2 (China money) and 4 winners will be chosen. Every winner will receive a $2500 watch. For more visit:
http://tvcity.tvb.com/special/mcip2007/news/3_0111.html
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1/10/07:
Delegates view Victoria Harbour:
Aimee Chan and Sherry Chen are like Neighbours
The twenty contestants for Miss Chinese International
2007 gathered on a leisure boat for an evening tour of Victoria Harbour after their earlier trip to Ocean Park and Ngongping.
Many of the girls sighed at the beauty of Hong Kong's night scenes and took lots of photos. Early hot favourites Number 14
Susana Su (Vancouver) and Number 4 Sherry Chen were asked how they felt at being noticed and Susana says: "Everyone has their
good points." However she admits that she is feeling a little pressure with Vancouver's track record of winning the title.
Sherry
has been dubbed as the Lin Chiling lookalike and she says that this is her first visit to Hong Kong, but she is disappointed
they do not have time to go shopping. Asked which of the other contestants she feels is strong competition, she says her biggest
enemy is herself, because to do her best is not easy.
As for the suggestion that she resembles Taiwanese model Lin Chiling, she reveals that she is actually a junior to Lin
because they both graduated from the same university and studied economics. However, they were in different classes and have
never met each other because Lin was Class of 99 and graduated a whole 8 years before Sherry. A mutual friend has pointed
out before that she does have some resemblance to Lin and Sherry says that she does admire Lin.
Hong Kong representative
Aimee Chan seemed to get along very well with Sherry, because Aimee has also lived in Toronto before, so they have been talking
a lot about the city and act like they are neighbours from the same village. Asked about her confidence for the contest, Aimee
says that she is confident and will do her best, but she feels that the experience is the most important and whether she wins
or loses is not a problem. She has the support of her friends and family though. Asked if she thought Sherry looks like Lin
Chilin, she caused some amusement when she asked in return: "Who is Lin Chiling? I don't know. (Jerry Yan's rumoured girlfriend?)
No idea!"
Favorites:
So far delegates from Hong Kong, Johannesburg, Calgary, Sydney, Auckland, Toronto, and Vancouver
are considered favorites by the HK press. Pageant fans like Hong Kong, Johannesburg, Sydney, New York, and Calgary.
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1/9/07:
The delegates visit Ocean Park:
Miss Chinese International Tour Hong Kong Sights
The twenty contestants for Miss Chinese International
2007 took a tour of Hong Kong's attractions yesterday, taking a look around Ocean Park and then after lunch at the Jumbo Floating
Restaurant heading over to the Ngongping 360 Cable Car in Lantau Island, taking a view of the Giand Buddha in the distance
and visiting the Ngongping market. 
As the weather was quite cold yesterday, most of the girls were dressed in their white jackets when they arrived, but
when they had to take them off to pose for photographs, the girls were shivering from the cold. For some of the girls, this
was their first visit to Ocean Park and they were very excited as they visited the Marine Life Centre and the pandas, taking
photographs for themselves as they went around. As they left, they also attracted the attentions of many tourists from the
mainland.
The girls then headed over to the Ngongping Cable Car, where it was even colder and as soon as the group
photograph of the girls in their little tops and hotpants or mini skirts was done, the jackets went back on quickly. They
attracted the attention of many members of the public and one person dragged Miss Hong Kong Aimee Chan off for a photograph.
There were plenty of criticisms flying around, with Montreal's Bamboo Cui being singled out for having thick legs with a particularly
harsh comment coming from a housewife who exclaimed that Bamboo's legs were the same size as hers, so how could she enter
a beauty contest? (Shame on you for saying that!) When the girls put their coats back on, one heckler shouted: "There is nothing
to see now they have their clothes on! Let's go." (What do you except to see?) This year's contestants are of a high quality
and among those on form and outstanding are Sydney's Sarah Song, Calgary's Yvonne Chapman, Johannesburg's Ivy Lu and Hong
Kong's Aimee Chan. There is also early speculation over Toronto's Sherry Chen as being a dark horse because of her resemblance
to Lin Chiling.
For Aimee, this was her first ride on the cable cars and she introduced the sights to the other girls along the way and
teaching some of them how to speak Cantonese. She has visited the Giant Buddha on a few occasions though. She says that she
did not feel too cold despite the weather and that their rehearsals have been quite intense, but it has been a great experience
and she has now moved to the hotel to be with the other girls and she is sharing a room with Ivy. Ivy's sister Ina took the
crown last year and asked if she feels she is prettier or her sister, she smiles that they are very different, but also very
special. Her parents are very easy-going, so they support her taking part.
The contestants from Singapore, Tahiti and
Bangkok were not used to the rather chilly Hong
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