Sinming Daily/ Lianhe Morning Paper

16/6/2001

Little Swallow Zhao Wei arrived in Singapore yesterday, with bruises on her forearm. Who would be so cruel to do that to her? Could it be due to news in Hong Kong of her snatching Shu Qi's "rice bowl" (advertisements)?

The adorable Little Swallow Zhao Wei was invited by Golden Mandarin, Poh Kim Video and Video 21 to Singapore to promote QSSYMM. Yesterday, Zhao Wei was wearing a one-off shoulder blouse, and the bruises on her arm were revealed. When asked about the bruises, she laughed and said, "I have applied foundation on the bruises but still, they cannot be covered. I am currently practicing kungfu for my new movie [Sunset Angels]. I have to practice 2-3 hours a day, and there are a group of 10 men practicing with me."

So it turns out that Zhao Wei is participating in a Corey Yuen movie [Sunset Angels], acting as a kungfu-skilled lady, with Bruce Lee's kicking stunts!

As for QSSYMM, there are rumours of Zhao Wei and Leo Ku falling in love behind the scenes. At the mention of Leo Ku, Zhao Wei's replies were exercised with great caution. "There are no sparks between myself and Leo! When we were filming QSSYMM, he was speaking in Cantonese. I had to wait for him to finish before I react, and so the chemistry is certainly affected."

Why does she stiffen up at the mention of Leo Ku? She explained, "The Hong Kong media likes to create rumours; and rumours will not affect the male, but they are disadvantageous to the woman."

According to sources, Qiong Yao has declared that QSSYMM would be the last time that Zhao Wei and Ruby Lin will cooperate in a series. Zhao Wei replied, "This is mainly due to the fact that our fans' reaction are more intense, and Aunt Qiong Yao is always caught in between the tussle, and feels that she is always humiliated. I guess she has made that comment in a fit of anger. However, from her perspective, it is always the suitability to the script that is the most important factor."

"In fact, Ruby Lin's role in QSSYMM] is not as meaty as mine, and I really appreciate her for accepting the role!"

Zhao Wei commented that during the filming of QSSYMM, there were 8 slots of shooting scenes per day, and every scene involved crying, hence she grew weary from them. However, she admitted, "If you are not tired out from the acting, it will not be a good performance."

The reporters asked if QSSYMM would bring another climax to her career like in the case of HZGG. She replied frankly, "HZGG is something that cannot be overtaken, and if you can reach a new plateau in your career every time you have a new role, then you must be too lucky!"

As for the recent criticism about her lack of singing abilities, and that she would be overtaken sooner or later, Zhao Wei replied, "Singing is an avenue for me to meet my fans. The greatest return is not in the sales target. Also, I only have enough time to step into the recording studio just before the recording, and this certainly has affected the performance."

To act in Stephen Chow's movie [Shaolin Soccer], Zhao Wei has to sacrifice her beauty and just for the "bald" look, she had to spend 10 hours to make-up, and the worse of it, she had even had a "rotting" face. She commented, "I was so ugly that it makes one puke. The make-up requires lots of starch and this has affected my skin and hence the pimples all sprouted out!"

Zhao Wei has not seen the S$90,000
In Zhao Wei's visit to Singapore, the media of course took the opportunity to confirm reports of $90,000 being bequeathed to her by a fan for charity purposes.

"Till now, I have not seen the $90,000, but my recording company in Taiwan has already mentioned it to me. I am also in the phase of confirming this myself, and if it is really true, I shall donate this to charity."

As to whether she will be meeting the family of her late fan, she revealed that the family has tried to contact her, and she has left this matter in the hands of her recording company.

The matter was first reported in [China Times] in May, and it was reported that the late Singaporean fan suffered from cancer and has willed the US$0,000 to Vicki for to donate to charity. As Zhao Wei was busy with her acting commitments, she was not able to meet the late fan and was deeply saddened by this.

The report also mentioned that the late fan had requested the family to fulfill 2 wishes, firstly to present a bouquet of flowers and best wishes to Vicki, and secondly to present the US$50,000 to Vicki to donate to charity.

When the news was known, there were numerous reports made by Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan, Hong Kong and China media. We have also verified with Zhao Wei's local record distributor, Music Street, but were told that they did not have the details and are waiting for the response by the Taiwan recording company.

Little Swallow's whereabouts in Singapore
Little Swallow Zhao Wei will start her "flight round the island" and will commence from Marine Terrace to Woodlands! To promote QSSYMM, Zhao Wei will be visiting Marine Terrace, Bishan, Bencoolen Street and then at 6pm, she will be joining the event organized by SCV to meet her fans at Woodlands!

Tomorrow, the Swallow will be kept busy by rushing from Century Square, Balestier Road, and then to Junction 8 to meet the fans.

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ShinMin Daily Papers

18/6/2001

Today, early in the morning, Zhao Wei made an overseas call to China, Anhui Province to send her Father Day's greetings to her father. She expressed, "I hope that I will have time to shop in Singapore, to buy some food or necessities as a late Fathers' Day gift."

Zhao Wei describes that her father resembles a cartoon character - chubby, bubbly, with a big tummy and a pair of round eyes. The mischief Zhao Wei claimed, "By comparing facial features, I look exactly like my father!"

She also reveals that although there is an elder brother in her family, her father adores her more and treats her like his friend.

Back to the activity held yesterday, thousands of people cluttered at the Causeway Point just to have a glimpse of the gracious "Little Swallow", and more than ten security guards were engaged to ensure her safety. Hence, Zhao Wei spent her Fathers' Day eve here in Singapore with her fans, dancing and singing!

Upon the invitation from Golden Mandarin Organization and Poh Kim Video, Zhao Wei arrived in Singapore and attended the function in Causeway Point organized by SCV (Singapore Cable Vision). Her fans, wanting to have a glimpse of their idol caused a "human jam" at the shopping center.

Zhao Wei and her fans had fun playing games - reforming the Chinese characters of [Romance In The Rain]; dancing and singing. The fans were also invited to perform on stage, three songs that Zhao Wei had sang in the serial, starring as a role of a singer.

Amongst the participants, a girl shone through for she tried her best, twisting all over vigorously and flirtatiously. Immediately, Zhao Wei acknowledged her talent and declared with a dazzler of a smile: "She resembles me most!"

Looking at the fans who turned up yesterday, Zhao Wei has fans of a wide age group - from the age of five to sixty-five!