First Impressions: Miss Hong Kong 2012 Contestants

The official final date for the Miss Hong Kong 2012 (香港小姐競選) show is right around the corner, on August 26th of the summer. Having been branded as a “boring” show in recent years with unqualified, and at most mediocre contestants, this year TVB gimmicked up the pageant to exemplify America’s Next Top Model with its elimination rounds at various segments. The scandal’s between the girls this year is also in the spotlight, with Melaine McAndrew’s (李渼琦) complaints over roommate Roxanne Tong’s (湯洛雯) undergarments carelessly laid around their bedroom and Xaveria Yau’s (尤蔭蔭) leaked clubbing photos being two of the most memorable cases. Despite these rumored scandals and possibly ruining the classy image of Miss Hong Kong, Roxanne and Melaine have been advanced to the final ten contestants and will be performing on the night of the final, but perhaps for different reasons: the former to create more scandals to boost up the ratings for the show and the latter, her ethnic background and since Hilary Tam (譚曉榆) and Amy Cheung (張鈞美) are not finalized, her win for Miss Photogenic will perhaps come unchallenged.

Carat Cheung (張名雅), who comes across as a rather aggressive person, has formerly competed in Miss Vancouver. While she does not exemplify the classic type of beauty, she is unique, especially her eyes. She was also the winner of the Miss Aviation Ambassador Award this year if that speaks anything for her chances of winning.

The hype of Roxanne Tong (湯洛雯) is completely over-the-top and quite unreasonable. Having generated the most press coverage since the start of the pageant, her chances of winning appears to primarily come from the support of her father and Kent Tong (汤镇业) (former famous TVB actor in the 1980’s) who are both in the entertainment industry. She appears mature enough on some levels, but I still have reservations because of her rumors. However, being the winner of the Miss Tourism Ambassador Award, she is already ahead of the game whether you favor her or not. The good news is that in the last few years, Miss Tourism Ambassadors’ do not make top three.

Cynthia Tsang (曾明俐) was admired as having a feminine body by her fellow group mates during the swimsuit competition while filming in London. At 26-years-old, she is one of the older contestants, but will her height give her an added edge in the competition? It appears as if at least one of the top three winners will be a tall girl. Is she your choice of the “tall one”?

Since the pre-interviews, Wingto Lam (林泳淘) has been my favorite. Although she is by no means an extraordinary beauty who can compete with some of TVB’s former pageant beauty queens, she seems to be the most well-rounded candidate in 2012. She has a cute face, decent body, decisive, and is confident about expressing herself in interviews. I would not be surprised if she took the crown home, but she seems to be set in this industry already!

With her short hair, Christy Chan (陳潔玲) is unique and different from the others already. However, she appears younger in photos than onscreen. Unfortunately, she hasn’t surprised me with her personality yet.

Tracy Chu (朱千雪) instantly became one of my favorites around watching her in London. She appears modest and down-to-earth enough. While she is not my choice for winner, I do not mind her being in top three if she performs well on the evening of the final!

Melaine McAndrew (李渼琦)? I cannot help but feel that her advancement in the competition so far has to do with her ethnicity. TVB seems to be interested in signing mixed artists and she seems pretty enough. Unfortunately, I’m as shaky as her when it comes to being interviewed by the masters of ceremonies on the final night.

Jacqueline Wong (黃心穎) and Jennifer Shum (岑杏賢) were two contestants that I did not pay attention to much until this point. I’m quite surprised that they made it into top ten with their average looks although I do not feel qualified to comment on their personalities.

Hilary Tam (譚曉榆), who has more experience in pageants (being the winner of Miss Chinese Toronto and having competed in the Miss Chinese International) and has a sunshine smile, shockingly, was not selected as one of the nine contenders. Amy Cheung (張鈞美), whose smile is equally pretty, was also not chosen. C’mon, TVB, personality is important, but if you do not want outsiders to call your pageant as full of “pork chops”, make wiser decisions. Just kidding. Since there are only nine finalized contestants so far, the audience will have the chance to vote for the final one, with a total of ten contenders for the crown on August 26th!

Have you casted your vote yet? Who is your ideal winner?

Jue: My picks for top three are Wingto, Tracy, and possibly Carat if Hilary does not make the cut. However, being a hot shot, Roxanne will probably place. With Cynthia’s decent figure and height, if she performs well enough, she will likely place too.