Anthony Wong Trashes Artistes Guild: “We Were Treated Like Beggars!”
After Eric Tsang (曾志偉) stepped down as president of the Hong Kong Performing Artistes Guild in October 2013, Anthony Wong (黃秋生) garnered strong support from colleagues and the public to run for the position. Confident in himself, Anthony joked that he wished he had more opponents. On speaking about what he would do if he were given the position, he said, “There are problems with their application qualifications. The union resembles more of an investment company than an association!”
Yesterday, a smiling Anthony went to the guild’s headquarters in Kwun Tong for a meeting with the official members. He exited the building ten minutes later with an angry look on his face, exclaiming, “They wouldn’t let me in!”
Though a member initially greeted Anthony by the entrance, the member later closed the door on his face, explaining that the association was holding a meeting that only official members could be involved.
Anthony angrily said, “Look at how rude these colleagues are! It’s insulting! What kind of mysterious organization is this? They say I’m not a member so I don’t have the right to make a statement! If that’s the case, I’ll just hand back the position to Eric! I’m done! They told me to come, but they wouldn’t even let me do anything. It’s a waste of time! What’s the point of all this? It is downright insulting! Why does it have to come down this?”
Anthony Wants to Start New Artist Association
Looking troubled, Cho Lam (王祖藍), an official member, met up with Anthony after the meeting was over. Anthony told him, “I’m not going run for the position anymore. Let’s just establish a new association and gather all the heads, such as Jackie Chan (成龍) and Eric, to support us. I’m done. This makes it seem as if I really wanted the position. I’m furious. Let’s just start a new organization and start over again in a clean slate.”
Astrid Chan (陳芷菁), secretary of the Guild, said Anthony was just being impatient. “The association has always been in contact with him. To run for the position, you must first register to be a member. You need to fill out an application, and approval takes time. Although all the artists are familiar with each other, they all must apply if they want to join, and TVB artists need to present their contracts. The approval process can be fast, and it can also be slow. You can’t just come in.” Then who called Anthony to attend the meeting? “I don’t know. Not me!”
Astrid added that Anthony is being impatient and it is not fair for other prospective members if he receives special treatment from the association. She said she would not mind if Anthony decides to start a new artists’ guild.
Anthony: “We Were Treated Like Beggars!”
In a later interview that night, Anthony clarified that he has followed all the rules that is required to become a member of the association. “I was following what they were telling me to do. They’re just making it harder for all of us to present our contracts. How about questioning me if I’m a Hong Konger? I will not let those in power to affect our colleague’s welfare rights.”
Anthony then apologized to the colleagues who also could not join the organization, saying, “I cannot stand such rude behavior. I also feel sorry for inviting all my colleagues and friends over, only to be treated like beggars. We should just form our own soy sauce association. Honestly, it really doesn’t matter if I get elected or not. It’s not like I’m getting paid for it. I’ll just let them take care of their problems first.”
Asked if he would be involved in the election process on January 23, Anthony said, “I don’t know. They will have to explain about the incident that happened today first.” Asked how he would reorganize the association if he became the president, he said, “At first I wanted Astrid to stay, but now I don’t know anymore. She can’t seem to work with people.”
Source: On.cc
This article is written by Addy for JayneStars.com.
Regardless of what happened, Anthony Wong’s reaction shows that he is not the right person to be a leader. Also, it’s weird that people want him to be president when he’s not even a member?
If Anthony is not even a member, how can he run for presidency? He is just being conceited. Then again, that is his usual self. There is another article which Astrid clearly explained the entire election process, saying that there is written proof that the association has been in contact with Anthony’s secretary since Dec to submit the required forms for membership.
They need someone with a cool head which obviously he doesn’t have.
they know that he still isnt a member so why was he invited and then didnt let him in? intern miscommunication?
I don’t think he was invited since he isn’t a member.
so you think he is lying?
I wouldn’t know the truth- but I don’t see why they would invite him, then turn him away…that’d just cause issues, not just on Anthony, but on themselves as well. So from my perspective, it does seem like a possible miscommunication. But with documented proof of continuous communication and informing Anthony of obtaining membership, I think this is quite an odd mistake/miscommunication..
Seriously, with his trantrum that he had in response to being rejected from the meeting, he truly shows it to the whole world that he is not a suitable candidate already. There are rules and procedures that one has to follow, what makes him think he could just go in and nominate himself to be in the running for leader? Regardless of how big of a name an artist has and their associations with others, the reason why rules/procedures are implimented are so that they can be followed to make things fair…Astrid was just doing the right thing and doing what she’s meant to be doing as the secretary.
although astrid has followed the rules,but i think if anthony said he was told to come then in this case she had to contact the one who has invited him,so she could avoid such embarrassing moment.
Actually, according to HKTopTen Blogspot, Anthony was following the rules:
“The entire thing is embarrassing and gross, turning into a big joke. The rules clearly stated that they can immediately hand in their applications, become members and be qualified to vote for executive committee members. The Guild rules are laws. The last time I met with Chi Wai, he said that too. However when we got to the door Chong Si Man and others were turned away, and (Charmaine) Fong Ho Man had to fill out the form next to garbage.”
Very typical him.. he will not be a good leader. Not calm and collected at all.
I can see how he’s frustrated. Imagine being called to a meeting and being shunned at the door. Anyone would be frustrated. Clearly theres a miscommunication problem. He didn’t self nominate and just show up at the door.
Besides I see Anthony having the ability to make a movement with the Hk entertainment. The previous Eric tsang isn’t known for his cool, calm or collected traits, but he has the ability to draw a lot of attention with his connections and status in the entertainment circle. I can see Anthony having similar draws.
I don’t know….while I’m sure Anthony does have the ability to lead, I personally don’t see him on the same level as Eric or the previous HKPAG Presidents. So far, in the 20 years that HKPAG as been in existence, there have only been 5 artists who’ve taken up the position as president (the low number isn’t surprising given how difficult the job is). One common trait that all of the HKPAG Presidents from the past had was 1) their respected status in the entertainment circle, and 2) their abundance of connections both within the circle and outside of it (and not just within HK either).
Anthony is definitely a respected actor, but in terms of status in the entertainment circle, he is many levels below Eric. And he definitely doesn’t have the connections either….there are very few people left in the HK entertainment industry who have the wealth of connections to the ‘big name’ stars and who would be able to call upon them last minute if needed — Anthony is definitely NOT one of those people.
i think alan tam is a good candidate,he is an very respected artist and also have wide connections with his two friends eric and nat chan.
@kolo: Yes, Alan is definitely well qualified. In fact, he was one of the 5 HKPAG presidents in the past, so he definitely wouldn’t have a problem stepping into the role. But, it sounds like he doesn’t have the desire to do it because when he served as president, he only did it for 1 year, then turned the reigns over to Eric Tsang (who has been president for the past 8 years). I doubt Alan would want to take up that responsibility now, especially with all the stress, pressure, and controversy that comes with it — the past few years, his focus seems to be more on enjoying life.
I find it odd that he isn’t a member already. And he wasn’t the only one being turned away, everyone else who had not applied were given applications and turned away. Sounds fair to me. In my opinion sounds like he felt he didn’t have to fill out an application and follow their process because he is ANTHONY WONG and they should have just let him in.
What makes Anthony thinks that he’s suitable or even qualified for the position to begin with? He’s known for this ‘bad mouth’ and created many unnecessary troubles with artist and colleagues for the past years. Just the most jaw-dropping issue regarding him and Show Luo shows just how immature he is. Not settling or finding the solution to the whole issue but making it even worst by attacking the singer itself is just ridiculous.
He couldn’t even handle small matters like this, what makes him think he has the ability to handle big problems?
What about Andy?
How about Chow Yun Fat?
how about smo hung?
To be honest, there really aren’t that many ‘qualified’ candidates to fill the position (especially if we’re talking about artists who are still active in front of the camera). The 3 that come to mind who would be best qualified at this point are Andy Lau, Jacky Cheung, and Chow Yun Fat — however it’s impossible to get either of the 3 of them to take up that position. My guess is that the position will likely be filled by a behind-the-scenes person (i.e director, producer, etc.), as there are more qualified candidates in those ranks than in the actual ‘artist’ rank.
The position will actually be a very difficult one to fill because the dilemma at this point is that the qualified candidates don’t have the time or desire to do it, while those who do have the time or desire aren’t necessarily qualified. It will be very interesting to see what the outcome of the election will be on the 23rd….
It looks like you need to get into politics in order to run for whatever position you’re running for. It’s not worth it. Cho Lam and Astrid Chan the two potatoes in the industry get a chance to make fun of Anthony that’s funny.
I don’t understand why Anthony is even making a scene about the matter. He’s not even a member of the guild and he wants to be president? The way he handled the situation clearly demonstrates that Anthony is not fit to lead the guild.
what about any of the accomplished female artists?
Can’t really think of any female artists in HK who have high status and lots of connections and who are still relatively active in the entertainment industry. Liza Wang and Dodo Cheng perhaps come closest, but Liza doesn’t have the film industry connections (that’s where all the big stars are)…Dodo does have the connections, but no interest in the position.
IMO, the 2 females artists who fit the 2 ‘qualifications’ perfectly would have been Anita Mui (who was previously HKPAG president for several years — the only female to hold that position) and Lydia Shum (the female counterpart of Eric Tsang in terns of status and connections)…but unfortunately, both have already left us….