The 2013 Miss Hong Kong semifinals aired live on Sunday, August 25. Ten out of twenty contestants were selected to advance to the final round of the competition, which will be held next Sunday, September 1. Continuing its format of popular voting, five of the finalists were chosen by participating audiences while the last five were chosen by celebrity voters Carol Cheng (鄭裕玲), Nat Chan (陳百祥),Hacken Lee (李克勤), and Eric Tsang (曾志偉). The audiences voted Kendy Cheung (張敬仁), Moon Lau (劉佩玥), Virginia Lau (劉溫馨), Sisley Choi (蔡思貝), and Grace Chan (陳凱琳) to enter the final round. The celebrity voters chose Acca Sum (沈桂澄), Karen Leung (梁家欣), Tammy Ou Yang (歐陽巧瑩), Peggy Tsui (徐韶蓓), and Vicky Chan (陳偉琪). Celebrity Voters Tease Candidates in Q&A Segment In light of recent negative news and gossips that surrounded several of the pageant’s contestants, the ladies were given the task to address the controversial rumors to the audience. Carol Cheng confronted contestant Whitney Law (羅紫君) about her nickname “tardy king”, and asked her if it was true that she was always late to Miss Hong Kong rehearsals. Whitney responded, “I have been late before, but that was because of a traffic accident.” Eric Tsang then asked, “Then why was everyone else on time except you?” putting Whitney on the spot. Finalist Moon Lau professed that she lives under the same roof with six other family members, but when Carol Cheng asked her about the size of her house, Moon embarrassingly said, “I grew up in a comfortably well-off family. Our house is about a 1,000 feet.” Hacken Lee asked finalist Peggy Tsui about how she trains her dogs. Peggy responded nervously, “If the dog peed all over the streets then I will give him a harsh glare.” Hacken Lee said, “Please use ‘urinate’ instead. You are a Miss Hong Kong!” However, not all of the contestants were harassed by the celebrity voters. Finalists Tammy Ou Yang and Sisley Choi were praised by the judges for giving long and thorough responses to the questions. Nineteen-year-old Acca Sum was praised for her confidence, and Peggy Tsui’s vocal performances earned approval. Viewers Criticize Broadcast Despite TVB’s claims of broadcasting the semifinals live, only 30 minutes of the hour-long show was a live broadcast. A majority of the episode was pre-recorded yesterday evening. Netizens found similarities of the semifinals with America’s Next Top Model, and that the show lacked excitement, was draggy, and too messy. Some viewers exclaimed that they would rather watch the singing competition Voice of Stars <星夢傳奇>, which postponed its episode broadcast to accommodate the Miss Hong Kong semifinals. Creds: Oriental Daily
