Tony Leung reigns supreme at film awards

HONG KONG arthouse darling Tony Leung Chiu-wai has been crowned Best Actor at the 42nd Hong Kong Film Awards, major Chinese dailies reported.

This time, the star famous for his roles In The Mood For Love and Happy Together was recognised for his performance in The Goldfinger, in which he plays a corporate figure involved in fraud and corruption.

Leung, who was unable to attend the award presentation ceremony on Sunday, expressed his gratitude to the organiser, family and audience via a live stream video.

“(I am) very happy. It has been a long time since my last award, around over 10 years,” he said, thanking his actress wife Carina Lau for her encouragement and support.

Lau had gone on stage to receive the award on his behalf.

The Goldfinger, a movie about the rise and collapse of a multibillion dollar company, also won five other prizes for Best Costume and Make-up Design, Best Art Direction, Best Visual Effects, Best Cinematography and Best Sound Design.

The Best Actress award went to Jennifer Yu for her role in The Broad Daylight, a film revolving around the story of an undercover journalist investigating abuse in a nursing home, while Soi Cheang won Best Director for the film Mad Fate.

A Guilty Conscience about a single mother’s legal battle to clear her name in the murder of her daughter won the Best Film.

During the ceremony, kung fu legend Sammo Hung was also presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award for his years of contribution to the industry.

> Sin Chew Daily reported that the 2024 Beijing Half Marathon was mired in controversy after three African participants, who were leading, apparently slowed down their pace just before the finishing line so that Chinese runner He Jie could overtake them and win the competition.

The runners from Ethiopia and Kenya finished in second, third and fourth places.

Video clips showing one of the African runners waving his hand for He to overtake them and another signalling for the rest to fall back had gone viral on the Internet.

Since then, netizens have accused the African runners of receiving bribes, with some claiming that this action had embarrassed China’s sports scene.

The organiser of the race has since launched an investigation.