December News

Dec 28

• MISS CHINESE INTERNTAIONAL 2006 PRESS CONFERENCE *Images courtesy of Ennis
  The 2006 MCI press conference was held today. Reigning Miss HK 2005 Tracy Ip will be representing her city next month. In attendance were MCI 2005 winner Leanne Li, MCI 2005 1st RU Fala Chen, Miss HK 2004 Kate Tsui, Miss HK 2005 1st RU Sharon Luk, 2nd RU Carrie Lam, Shermon Tang (Miss Photogenic), Natalie Hui (Miss International Goodwill). Earlier this week, Fala Chen filmed the MCI promotional video.

  The girls wished Tracy well & hope she'll be at her best. In preparing for the pageant, Tracy has been keeping fit. She also plans on performing magic, kung fu, & dancing for her talent.
  
  Finals are scheduled for Jan 21st at TVB Studio1. 20 contestants are expected to participate.
  
  To see some of this year's contestants, visit MHKB current list here.
  So who is missing from this list? Most likely Miss Brisbane, Calgary, Chinese Taipei, LA? However, it’s rumored that Jessica Foon, Miss Asia New Zealand 2004 might be in attendance…
  
  
  http://www.takungpao.com/news/05/12/29/UL-504062.htm
  
  Pictures
  Tracy Ip, Kate Tsui, Leanne Li, Fala Chen
  Tracy Ip, Leanne Li, Fala Chen, Kate Tsui
  Tracy Ip
  Leanne Li, Tracy Ip, Fala Chen

Dec 27

• MARRIAGE ON THE ROCKS?
  MHK 1977 Loletta Chu Ling-Ling & husband Fok Jun-Ting are (again) rumored to be having marital problems. Though nothing has been confirmed by both parties. Loletta recently changed her name from Fok Chu Ling-Ling to Madame Chu Ling-Ling.
  Article

Dec 25

• MERRY CHRISTMAS!
  Have a wonderful & safe holidays :)
  
  
• MCI 2006 NEWS *Translated by AL
  The reiging Miss Chinese International first runner-up Fala Chan traveled to Cheung Ka Kai to film the promotion clip for Miss Chinese International 2006. The promotion clip director used five different colors to express different types of feminine beauty.
  
  
• MISS CHINESE TORONTO REVIEW *Written by Sonya Andic, Courtesy of George Eyre
  http://www.torontoartsandevents.com/fairchild2005.htm
  
  
  
• MCI 2006 CONFERENCE *Courtesy of Simon
  A conference was held on the 23rd. This yr's outdooor filming will be held in Fuoshan, China. For more news at the conference, visit Simon's website
  http://hk.geocities.com/charmpress_cn/latest
  
  
• MCI NEWS - MISS TAHITI PREPARES FOR MCI *Courtesy of Simon & Chris
  Yvette Cheong (21 yrs) was crowned "Miss Dragon 2005" on June 4th, 2005 & will leave Tahiti on December 30 for Hong Kong to represent the Chinese community of the French Polynesia at Miss Chinese International (Finals are on January 21, 2006).

  She received a plane ticket this Wednesday for Hong Kong from the director of Air New Zealand in Polynesia, Francis Mortimer. Yvette will take part in the 18th Miss Chinese International Pageant organized by TVB. Broadcasted on January 21, the event will be seen by more than 200 million TV viewers.

  Yvette is the 36th Miss Dragon of Tahiti and will arrive at Hong Kong on 1 January, 2006. The preparations should last three weeks. The sporting club also presented Yvette a cheque of 100 000 Fcfp (approximately 833 euros). "I got information from former misses about this pageant specially for Asians and I believe in its value", declared Yvette Cheong who teaches Chinese dance in Koo Men Tong, in Papette.

  During the Dragon pageant in Papette on 4 June, Yvette chose to perform a multi-ethnic Chinese cultural dance of French Polynesia. She belongs to this generation of Chinese completely integrated in the Polynesian culture, even though she also has a true passion for the history of China and the richness of her arts.

  Miss Dragon is also an expert in penmanship. On the night of the Miss Chinese International Pageant on 21 January, she plans to demonstrate this art on stage.

Dec 18-25

• ON HOLIDAYS IN MONTEGO BAY, GRAND CAYMAN, & COZUMEL :)

Dec 14

• THAI BEAUTY...7 YRS LATER
  Now 25, MCI 1998 1st RU Lisa Satita Vongthong recently took some swimwear shots. Check out Thai Miss for more information.
  
• MISS WORLD 2005 - Did you miss the show? Watch it here
  
• FORMER MISS USA RUNNER-UP WINS SURVIVOR GUATEMALA
  Danni (Danielle) Boatwright, former Miss Teen USA 92 2nd RU & Miss USA 96 1st RU won the 11th version of CBS's Survivor Guatemala along with $1 million USD.
  
• MISS UNIVERSE ORG. Christmas Layout

Dec 12

• MISS CHINESE SYDNEY RESULTS *courtesy of JieJie (miss chinese sydney)
  Winner: #12 Fiona Che
  1st Runner Up: #11 Eva Du
  2nd Runner Up #5 Tracey Mei
  Finalists
  #8 Cathy Zhang
  #9 Anna Gromof

  Awards:
  Miss Photogenic: #12 Fiona Che
  Miss Friendship: #11 Eva Du
  Miss Charity: #7 Candy Tian
  Miss Popular: #3 Clara Zhao
  
  
  

  
  MISS LEBANON 2005 RESULTS
  Miss Lebanon 2005: Gabrielle Bou-rashed
  1st runner-up: Annabella Hilal
  2nd runner-up: Nadine Yazbeck
  3rd runner-up: Reem Mokarzel
  4rth runner-up: Abir Layous
  
  According to Lebanonesebeauties.net, Gabrielle's win (also Miss Asia 2005 Semi-Finalist, Miss Intellect, & Best National Costume award winner) was a big surprise. The hit of the pageant was Annabella Hilal(1st RU) who scored highest in nearly 5 segments. Gabrielle stood out in the final round interviews, by shedding a few tears in front of the camera and judges, thus receiving the best scores. Gabrielle will represent Lebanon at Miss Universe 2005.
  
  
• MISS FRIENDSHIP MEETS MISS FRIENDSHIP
  Partying in the city...here is a picture of Fionna Sze, Miss Friendship (Miss Chinese Ambassador 2004) & Angela Tang, Miss Friendship ( Miss Chinese Melbourne 2002). Fionna will be staying in Melbourne for 3 weeks!
  
  
• MISS CHINESE SYDNEY UPDATE
  The pageant will be held on Dec 12 (7pm at Zilver restaurant). All tickets have been sold out.
  
  Prize list (Courtesy of Jie Jie of Miss Chinese Sydney) includes
  * Miss Sydney
  * 1st runner-up
  * 2nd runner-up
  * Miss friendship
  * Miss Popular
  * Miss Photogenic
  * Miss Charity

  Winner gets $2000 cash + plane ticket to HK + other stuff.
  1st runner-up gets $1000 cash + stuff
  2nd runner-up gets $500 cash + stuff

  Predictions (in no particular order): 2,6,8,9
  
• MISS WORLD 2005 RESULTS
  WINNER: ICELAND
  1st ru: MEXICO
  2nd ru: PUERTO RICO
  
  Continental Queens
  KOREA, ICELAND, ITALY, PUERTO RICO, MEXICO, TANZANIA

Semi-Finalists
India, Philippines, North Ireland, Spain, Jamaica, Canada, South Africa

Fast Track Winners
Beach Beauty: Russia
Beach Beauty 1st RU: Moldova
Beach Beauty 2nd RU: Mexico
Finalists: Canada, Iceland

Talent: American Virgin Islands
Finalists: Canada, Czech Republic, Italy, Japan

Beauty with a Purpose
Korea

Best Evening Gown
Turkey

Thoughts:
- Very surprised w/ the exclusion of Philippines for Queen of Asia.
- Having the Continental Queens as an automatic top 6 isn't justifiable, as there were a few semi-finalists who were (imho) stronger than Korea, Italy, Tanzania, etc.
- Voting obviously (as usual) played a small factor w/ the results. At the end of the day, the outcome was still at the hands of "the boss".
- About Canada: Ramona switched to a golden yellow gown! I think this one suits her figure more even though I prefer the color of what I thought was her final evening gown. The other gorgeous gown was a satin teal colored fishtail. While we're on the subject of wardrobe. There was never a national costume parade...how disappointing! Canada's national costume was white, huge, grand, full of crystals & gems, unpolluted on the Canadian side & pure just like one of Canada's most magnificent wonders...well I guess you'll just have to guess :) All creations were by Bobby & Sally Ackbarali.


Miss World 2005 Predictions
Top5: Canada, Philippines, Iceland, Spain, Puerto Rico

Africa: Nambia, Zambia
Americas: Canada, Costa Rica
Asia Pacific: Philippines, Australia or China (I'd rather have HK...)
Carribeans: Puerto Rico, Dom. Rep.
Northern Europe: Iceland, Switzerland
Southern Europe: Spain, Italy

• MISS CHINESE VANCOUVER 2005 NEWS *Courtesy of the Asian Pacific Post
  The beauty of crystal, feng shui experts say, is that it radiates positive energy in every direction, providing balance and luck.

  Crystal Li revealed to judges that positive energy recently when the 23-year old medical research assistant was crowned Miss Chinese Vancouver 2005.

  The title gives her a shot at international fame but also a bigger opportunity to help the less fortunate.

  The 5'8 1/2 ft sparkler has a soft spot for people who need medical care-she had planned to join Doctors Without Borders before entering the prestigious beauty pageant.
  
  Crystaland nine other Vancouver women trained for two months in areas such as ballroom dancing and modelling, in order to become polished entertainers.

  The 10 beauties regaled a packed audience of over 1,000 with modern and traditional Chinese dances, and a fashion show that saw them suit up from black two-piece bikinis to evening gowns and to casual wear.

  Chinese beauty queens from Vancouver have won the international pageant four times in the last five years: Bernice Liu, 2001; Shirley Zhou, 2002; Linda Chung, 2004; and Leanne Li, 2005.

  Bernice Liu is now one of the biggest celebrities in Hong Kong with TV and movie contracts.

  Since 1988, Chinese beauties have met in Hong Kong annually to vie for the Miss Chinese International crown. This year there is over $200,000 in prizes, and a two-year television contract at stake for the winner.

Dec 6

• MISS WORLD 2005 : BEACH BEAUTY RESULTS
  Beach Beauty is Russia
  2nd: Moldova
  3rd: Mexico

  Finalists:
  Canada
  Iceland
  
  Top 19
  Brazil, Canada, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Hong Kong, Iceland, Italy, Jamaica, Kenya, Lebanon, Mexico, Moldova, New Zealand, Philippines, Russia, Slovenia, South Africa, Trinidad & Tobago, Wales

Dec 3

• PLEM: MCI 05 Leanna Li is featured in this month's issue.
  http://www.plem.com/show.php
  

• MISS WORLD 2005: CHARITY AUCTION
  In a burst of last minute bidding, a gem-studded globe brought along by Tracy Ip, Hong Kong China accumulated the night’s highest sum of 35,000 RMB. The treasure was bought by Director Lu of the Rendezvous Hotel Group – hosts to the Miss World party in Shanghai and managers of the official Chinese media hotel in Sanya. "The Miss World contestants are too beautiful for words and tonight has been a fantastic night in every sense," he said. "Hong Kong is a special lady and I was unable to let her item go tonight. This globe will take pride of place in our hotel, that’s certain."

  Tracy said: "I feel very proud that this globe of peace collected such a big sum of money. I believe this money will help a lot of people and so I am very grateful to those who so generously donated. When I first thought of the gift I only hoped that the meaning behind it would touch many people and make them understand that in order to have such a beautiful world everyone needs to lend a hand. Now it has collected such a big sum of money I believe that the message will live on and grow. Living under the same world means that we are one big family. We should always love each other like one."
  
  Ramona, Canada raised 10,000 RMB (3rd highest) with her dreamcatcher and a special purchase – the dress off her back - and said: "Tonight in Shanghai was a very special night for me. Ever since our arrival we have received nothing but warmth, hospitality and love. The spirit of this evening has overcome us all tonight. I went on stage to auction a gift from my country but I also wanted to give something of myself, something as gratitude for the wonderful support of the people of China. That is why I decided to auction the my dress, too."
  
  The famous black dress was created by Bobby & Sally Ackbarali.

• MISS CHINESE MELBOURNE NEWS
  MCM 04 Jess Young & MCM 02 Miss Friendship Angela Tang ran into each other while partying away in the city on Nov 25th. They had a quick chat & Jess mentioned she loves the pages that were set up on Angela's website for her interview & that she'll be singing 2 songs at the MCM 05 finals. One is "Ai Ni Ai Dao Di" by Coco Lee, the other "I will always love you" by Whitney Houston.
  
  http://www.geocities.com/mcm04_mci05/Interview1.html