Miss Hong Kong Pageant

Screenshot depicting the Logo for Miss Hong Kong Pageant.

The Miss Hong Kong Pageant (Chinese: 香港小姐競選), or Miss HK (港姐) for short, is a beauty pageant organised by the leading Hong Kong television station, TVB. In 2012, for the first time, every HK citizen with valid HK identity card was allowed to vote for who gets which position given the shortlisted three finalists. Nevertheless, this had to be abandoned at the last minute supposedly due to a server breakdown.

Recruitment

All participants have to have a Hong Kong ID or be born in Hong Kong (with a valid birth certificate). The age requirement is 17–27 as of 2011, though the upper age was previously up to 25. It should be noted that early contestants, such as Deborah Moore competed at as young age as 16.^[1] While there has been other Miss Hong Kong pageants in prior years producing notable titleholders such as Judy Dann (1951), Virginia June Lee (1953), Michelle Mok (1958), Laura da Costa (1967) and Mabel Hawkett (1970), the current annual TVB pageant began in 1973. Apart from the top prize winner, first runner-up and second runner-up prizes, the pageant also has other consolation prizes that vary slightly from year to year. Many Miss Hong Kong contestants have gone on to have movie careers as it is quite typical for the top contestants to garner television contracts from TVB.

• Overseas Recruitment: Applications are available in New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, any TVB rental store in the US, Fairchild TV station, Ontario, Richmond, British Columbia, and any TVB rental store in Canada. Delegates have to send in their applications before the deadline. TVB, organizers of the pageant travel to cities in the US and Canada. They include: Los Angeles, San Francisco, Toronto, and Vancouver. TVB would choose a certain amount of delegates to interview and would call them to interview. Besides personal interviews, delegates have to wear swimsuits chosen by themselves and walk around in it. Delegates are chosen and return to Hong Kong in late May to compete.
• Local Recruitment: Hong Kong. Applications are available in Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, United Kingdom, and Europe. Delegates have to send in their applications before the deadline. Weeks later, primary and secondary interviews are conducted. Top interviewed finalists are chosen and they record a reality TV show (like 2006) to choose the deserving semifinalists to compete. They joined the overseas delegates to form the top event finalists.

The pageant is traditionally televised into two events, although this is not always necessarily the case in recent years. First, a preliminary event is held where 12 finalists are selected from a group of candidates, the number of which is usually around 20–25 (with 30 being the maximum). Then a final event is held, culminating in the announcement of the winner and the first and second runners-up from the 12 finalists. In some years, the field is narrowed down to a final 5, from which the runners-up and winner are chosen. Often several contestants dropped out of the pageant before the televised preliminary, thus there would be a candidate with #30 assigned to her, but only 25 or so contestants.

Non-human participant in Miss Hong Kong Pageant 2013

In Year 2013 Miss Hong Kong Pageant, an unusual participant had joined the local recruitment which was a non-human being – a dolphin named Ruby (Chinese Name: 白海樂), nominated by World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), Hong Kong to drive awareness of the plight of her species in Hong Kong. According to WWF Hong Kong, Ruby was "a true native and symbol of Hong Kong, Chinese white dolphins are creatures of majestic beauty who are facing escalating threats in their Hong Kong marine habitat. Ruby only has 61 peers left in the HK waters when compare to 158 of them in 10 years ago. Through her nomination into the pageant, we hope to raise mass awareness on the true beauty yet grave plight of the Chinese white dolphin as reclamation, increasing marine traffic and polluted waters rapidly contribute to the startling decline in their numbers," said Samantha Lee, Senior Conservation Officer, Marine of WWF-Hong Kong.^[2]

Wai Yin Association

Wai Yin Association (慧妍雅集) is the official association for all official contestants (i.e., those that made it into the semi-finals). It is a registered charity. It was established in 1982 to help the citizens of Hong Kong.

Notable winners and contestants

^[3]

• Angie Chiu 趙雅芝 (Miss Hong Kong third runner-up 1973; actress)
• Loletta Chu 朱玲玲 (Miss Hong Kong 1977; socialite, wife of Hong Kong businessman Vincent Lo)
• Cherie Chung 鍾楚紅 (Finalist 1980; actress)
• Irene Lo 勞錦嫦 (Miss Hong Kong 1981; wife of Hong Kong politician Albert Cheng)
• Barbara Yung 翁美玲 (Finalist, 1982; late actress)
• Cally Kwong 鄺美雲 (First runner-up, 1982; socialite; jewellery designer)
• Betty Chan 陳詠潔 (Finalist, 1982; former socialite)
• Maggie Cheung 張曼玉 (First runner-up, 1983; award-winning international actress)
• Joyce Godenzi 高麗虹 (Miss Hong Kong 1984; first Eurasian to win the pageant; wife of Hong Kong actor Sammo Hung)
• Pauline Yeung 楊寶玲 (Miss Hong Kong 1987; Miss Universe 1988 Fourth runner-up; Miss World 1987 Queen of Asia)
• Michele Monique Reis 李嘉欣 (Miss Hong Kong 1988; Miss Chinese International 1988; socialite and model; wife of Julian Hui)
• Monica Chan 陳法蓉(Miss Hong Kong 1989; actress)
• Anita Yuen 袁詠儀 (Miss Hong Kong 1990; award-winning actress; wife of Hong Kong actor Julian Cheung)
• Amy Kwok 郭藹明 (Miss Hong Kong, 1991; actress, wife of Hong Kong actor Sean Lau)
• Valerie Chow 周嘉玲 (First runner-up, 1991; actress)
• Ada Choi 蔡少芬 (Second runner-up, 1991; actress)
• Emily Lo 盧淑儀 (Miss Hong Kong 1992; wife of Hong Kong singer Hacken Lee)
• Florence Kwok 郭少芸 (Finalist, 1992; actress)
• Hoyan Mok 莫可欣 (Miss Hong Kong 1993; wife of Hong Kong actor Alex Fong)
• Kenix Kwok 郭可盈 (Finalist, 1993; actress; wife of Hong Kong actor Frankie Lam)
• Halina Tam 譚小環 (Miss Hong Kong 1994; actress)
• Natalie Wong 黃紀瑩 (Miss Photogenic, 1994; actress)
• Maggie Cheung Ho Yee 張可頤 (Finalist, best "potential artist", 1994; actress)
• Winnie Young 楊婉儀 (Miss Hong Kong 1995; actress)
• San San Lee 李珊珊 (Miss Hong Kong 1996; actress)
• Fiona Yuen 袁彩雲 (Second runner-up, 1996; actress)
• Charmaine Sheh 佘詩曼 (Second runner-up, 1997; actress)
• Anne Heung 向海嵐 (Miss Hong Kong 1998; actress)
• Sonija Kwok 郭羨妮 (Miss Hong Kong 1999; Miss Chinese International 2000; actress)
• Myolie Wu 胡杏兒 (Second runner-up, 1999; actress and singer)
• Shirley Yeung 楊思琦 (Miss Hong Kong 2001; actress)
• Mandy Cho 曹敏莉 (Miss Hong Kong 2003; actress)
• Selena Li 李詩韻 (Finalist 2003; actress)
• Kate Tsui 徐子珊 (Miss Hong Kong 2004; actress and singer)
• Aimee Chan 陳茵媺 (Miss Hong Kong 2006; actress)
• Janet Chow 周家蔚 (First runner-up 2006, Miss Photogenic; wife of Hong Kong TVB actor Timmy Hung (Sammo Hung's son).
• Koni Lui 呂慧儀 (Second runner-up 2006, actress, represented Hongkong in Miss International 2006, Miss Friendship and most beautiful smile in Miss International 2006
• Grace Wong 王君馨(First runner-up,2007;actress)
• Mandy Wong 黃智雯 (Finalist 2007; actress)
• Sire Ma 馬賽 (Second runner-up, 2008; actress)
• Candy Yuen 袁嘉敏 (Miss Hong Kong 2009; actress)
• Rebecca Zhu 朱晨麗 (Miss Hong Kong 2011;actress)
• Carat Cheung 張名雅 (Miss Hong Kong 2012 ;actress)
• Jacqueline Wong 黄心穎 (First runner-up, 2012;actress)
• Tracy Chu 朱禾雪 (Second runner-up, 2012; actress)
• Veronica Shiu 邵珮詩 (Miss Hong Kong 2014; actress, the first Miss Friendship who becomes the champion)

Controversial contestants

• 1981 Winner Doris Law 羅佩芝 was deemed disqualified and was dethroned when it was discovered that she had used her sister's health documentation. Therefore, 1st runner-up Irene Lo 勞錦嫦 was crowned first place.
• 1987 Contestant Chingmy Yau 邱淑貞 was asked not to compete in the finale after a controversy claiming she had had plastic surgery on her chin was considered as bad publicity for the show. During the finale she had to pretend she decided to withdraw from the competition due to health issues.
• 1997 Winner Virginia Yung 翁嘉穗 and First runner-up Vivian Lee 李明慧 caused controversy when they were involved in a love triangle with Hong Kong businessman Yau-Ching Wu 鄔友正, which resulted in a public feud in 1998. Yung and Wu were eventually married in 1999.

Summary of winners

Overseas contestant awards list

Starting from 1991, the Miss Hong Kong pageant greets delegates from overseas. They include Toronto, Vancouver, New York, Los Angeles, Seattle, and San Francisco. Local contestants coming from Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand, London, and more enter at Hong Kong. In 2006, there was a top 16 contestant from the Netherlands. The overseas delegates wait for the notification of their regional sponsors of TVB and if they are chosen, they fly to Hong Kong to compete. The following is a record of overseas delegates' performance at Miss Hong Kong.

• 1991 – 7. Amy Kwok 郭藹明 (Los Angeles)
  • Winner
  • Miss International Goodwill
  • Miss Humorous Conversation
• 1991 – 13. Maur Yeung 楊凱斯 (Los Angeles)
  • Miss Congeniality
• 1992 – 8. Patsy Lau 劉殷伶 (Los Angeles)
  • 1st runner-up
  • Miss International Goodwill
• 1992 – 14. Carol Lee 李秋林 (Los Angeles)
  • Miss Congeniality
• 1993 – 20. Christina Lau 劉飛飛 (Los Angeles)
  • Miss International Goodwill
• 1994 – 18. Dorothy Ng 吳素珊 (Los Angeles)
  • Miss International Goodwill
• 1995 – 12. Winnie Young 楊婉儀 (San Francisco)
  • Winner
  • Most Standard Figure Award
• 1997 – 2. Virginia Yung 翁嘉穗 (Vancouver)
  • Winner
  • Miss Photogenic
  • Eastern Beauty Award
  • Metropolitan Charm Award
• 1997 – 12. Vivian Lee 李明慧 (Vancouver)
  • 1st runner-up
  • Miss International Goodwill
• 1998 – 20. Anne Heung 向海嵐 (Vancouver)
  • Winner
  • Miss Photogenic
  • Global Beauty Award
  • Miss Vivid Metropolitan
• 1998 – 14. Josephine Yan 殷莉 (Los Angeles)
  • Miss International Goodwill
• 1999 – 12. Sonija Kwok 郭羨妮 (Vancouver)
  • Winner
  • Miss Photogenic
  • Miss International Goodwill
  • Miss Millennium Wisdom
• 1999 – 15. Cindy Wong 王倩 (Los Angeles)
  • Miss Beautiful Legs
• 2000 – 11. Vivian Lau 劉慧蘊 (Vancouver)
  • Winner
  • Miss Photogenic
  • Miss International Goodwill
  • Miss Millennium Charm
• 2000 – 17. Margaret Kan 簡佩堅 (Toronto)
  • First runner-up
• 2000 – 5. Maree Lau 劉嘉慧 (Sydney)
  • Second runner-up
• 2002 – 11. Tiffany Lam 林敏俐 (San Francisco)
  • Winner
  • Miss International Goodwill
  • Miss New Generational Beauty
• 2002 – 20.Cerina Da Graca 嘉碧儀 (Phoenix)
  • Miss Photogenic
  • Breakthrough Natural Skin Award
  • Slimming Beauty Award
• 2003 – 2. Mandy Cho 曹敏莉 (San Francisco)
  • Winner
  • Miss International Goodwill
  • Miss Swimsuit Charm
  • Diamond Skin Award
  • Perfect Group
• 2003 – 11. Rabee'a Yeung 楊洛婷 (Vancouver)
  • 1st runner-up
  • Tourism Ambassador Award
• 2003 – 18. Selena Li 李詩韻 (Toronto)
  • Miss Photogenic
  • Miss Talent
• 2004 – 1. Queenie Chu 朱慧敏 (Seattle)
  • 1st runner-up
  • Tourism Ambassador Award
• 2006 – 13. Aimee Chan 陳茵媺 (Toronto)
  • Winner
  • Miss International Goodwill
  • Audience Favourite
• 2006 – 15. Janet Chow 周家蔚(Toronto)
  • 1st runner-up
  • Miss Photogenic
• 2007 – 3. Kayi Cheung 張嘉兒 (Vancouver)
  • Winner
  • Miss Vitality Ambassador
• 2007 – 9. Grace Wong 王君馨 (New York)
  • 1st runner-up
  • Miss Photogenic
  • Miss International Goodwill.
• 2007 – 7. Lorretta Chow 周美欣 (Vancouver)
  • 2nd runner-up
  • Most Attractive Legs Award
• 2008 – 7. Hilda Leung 梁雅琳 (Toronto)
  • Miss Trendy Vision
• 2009 – 10. Germaine Li 李姿敏 (New York)
  • 1st runner-up
• 2009 – 8. Mizuni Hung 熊穎詩 (Vancouver)
  • 2nd runner-up
  • Miss Trendy Vision
• 2010 – 9. Crystal Li 李雪瑩 (London)
  • Miss Photogenic
• 2011 – 14. Hymen Chu 朱希敏 (Toronto)
  • 1st runner-up
• 2011 – 3. Whitney Hui 許亦妮 (London)
  • 2nd runner-up
  • Miss Photogenic
• 2012 – Carat Cheung 張名雅 (Vancouver)
  • Winner
  • Aviation Ambassador
  • Miss International Goodwill
• 2012 – Jacqueline Wong 黃心穎 (Vancouver)
  • 1st runner up
• 2012 – Tracy Chu 朱千雪 (Vancouver)
  • 2nd runner up
• 2013 – 17. Grace Chan 陳凱琳 (Vancouver)
  • Winner
  • Miss Photogenic
• 2014 – 15. Veronica Shiu 邵珮詩 (Vancouver)
  • Winner
  • Miss Photogenic
  • Miss Friendship

Notice that Vancouver has the most Miss Hong Kong winners from the overseas. They had a record of four consecutive winners from 1997–2000. 2000 was the only year where the top 3 delegates were all from overseas. Even though the 2007 pageant had the top 3 all from the US and Canada but Grace Wong and Lorretta Chow travelled to Hong Kong to compete in the pageant, so they are recognised by TVB to be local delegates not overseas delegates. They did however come from the overseas.

Miss Hong Kong at Miss Chinese International Pageant

Vancouver has the most winners, four, and all of them won in a time span of 7 years. However, Hong Kong finished as 1st runner up for four consecutive years, a record which hasn't happened since 1993.

Prior to 2000, all the winners competed at Miss Universe, with the exception of Michelle Reis (1988) and Winnie Young (1996). In 2009, Miss Hong Kong 2008 winner, Edelweiss Cheung refused to compete in the pageant, reportedly due to health reasons. The first runner up, Skye Chan competed instead, making her the first non-winner to compete in MCI. Miss Chinese International Pageant 2010 was held on 5 November 2010, and therefore, Miss Hong Kong 2009, Sandy Lau did not in 2011. Sandy Lau was the second Miss Hong Kong winner not to compete in Miss Chinese International.

Miss Hong Kong at International pageants

Color key

In 2001, TVB has lost the franchise for Miss Universe Pageant.

In 2015, TVB has lost the franchise for Miss International Pageant and Miss World Pageant.

Note: Only the Miss Hong Kong delegates selected by TVB are included here.

Miss World

Miss Universe

Miss International

Miss Asia/Asia Pacific

Miss Young International

Other beauty pageants

See also

• Miss Asia Pageant
• Miss Chinese Toronto Pageant
• Miss Chinese (Vancouver) Pageant
• Mr. Hong Kong – The male pageant.
• "Un banc, un arbre, une rue" – The adapted theme song for the pageant.

References

External links

• Official homepage
• Johnny's Pageant Page ~ A Complete Listing of Miss Hong Kong Contestants & Award Winners
• Wai Yin Association