Late HK star Lydia Sum's daughter Joyce Cheng wipes clean social media accounts
Hong Kong singer Joyce Cheng, who has been largely out of the public eye for two years, has wiped clean her social media accounts.
Fans noticed on April 24 that all the posts on the 37-year-old's Instagram account have been deleted. The vlogs on her YouTube channel were also deleted, but a few songs remain on the channel. Her Facebook page is unaffected for now.
There was speculation in the Hong Kong media that Cheng is planning a comeback with her latest moves. Her profile is still on the website of Hong Kong entertainment group Media Asia.
Cheng, the daughter of veteran Hong Kong actor Adam Cheng and late actress-host Lydia Sum, has not performed in public since her concerts at the Hong Kong Coliseum in March 2023.
There was talk that the singer was suffering from depression as she has not updated her Instagram account since April 2023.
Her manager Sandy Lamb told Hong Kong media outlet HK01 in June that year that the singer was unwell without giving further details.
In November 2023, Cheng appeared in the music video for the song De-Union, which was performed by her good friend, singer Alfred Hui. She also voiced the lead character Asha in the Cantonese version of Disney animated film Wish, which was released in Hong Kong in December 2023.
Cheng met Hong Kong music producer Florence Chan during Chinese New Year in late January. Chan later shared on social media a video of the celebrities who had visited her.
Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
30 minutes ago
- Straits Times
‘Will Taiwanese be ready?': Taiwan TV drama confronts fear of a Chinese invasion
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Zero Day Attack so realistically portrays what a Chinese invasion of Taiwan could look like that it is also a wake-up call for the territory's residents. – As enemy warplanes and ships surround an island in a military blockade, chaos ensues on city streets: Convenience stores are looted, the internet is knocked out, and panicked residents attempt to flee. These are scenes from Zero Day Attack, a new Taiwanese television fictional series. The show so realistically portrays what a Chinese invasion of Taiwan could look like that it is also a wake-up call for the territory's residents. Ahead of its release on Aug 2, trailers of the 10-episode drama – the first of its kind – have already sparked discussions and emotional reactions over a potential conflict close to home. 'Goosebumps! It's hard to imagine how we will face it when the day (of invasion) comes… When the day comes, will Taiwanese be ready? It only takes one moment to lose our freedom,' wrote a YouTube user in a comment which has garnered more than 3,600 upvotes. Taiwan has lived under Beijing's constant military threat of 'reunification' for decades, leading to fears in some quarters that most Taiwanese people have become desensitised to the dangers of a possible war. According to a March poll by the Institute for National Defence and Security Research (INDSR), a Taiwanese think-tank, China was listed as Taiwan's greatest threat to national security in the next five years, but only 33 per cent of those surveyed said they believed it. There were respondents who more concerned about declining birth rates (27 per cent) and economic stagnation (18 per cent). These findings have been consistent for the past several years, even as Beijing has considerably ratcheted up its military pressure against Taiwan during the same time period, staging massive war games around the island and sending warplanes and ships almost daily. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore MHA to support HSA's crackdown on Kpod abusers and help in treatment of offenders: Shanmugam Business S'pore's economic resilience will face headwinds in second half of 2025 from tariffs, trade conflicts: MAS Business S'pore's Q2 total employment rises, but infocomm and professional services sectors see more job cuts Singapore Fewer than 1 in 5 people noticed suspicious items during MHA's social experiments Asia Powerful 8.8-magnitude quake in Russia's far east causes tsunami; Japan, Hawaii order evacuations Singapore Migrant workers who gave kickbacks to renew work passes were conservancy workers at AMK Town Council Asia 'Hashing things out': Japan, Vietnam, EU contest terms of US tariff deals behind the scenes Singapore Escape, discover, connect: Where new memories are made 'People have been subjected to military harassment by the Chinese Communist Party of China for a long time, which may have led to a weakening of the public's sense of the threat,' said Dr Christina Chen, an INDSR researcher. That is partly what drove TV producer Cheng Hsin-mei to create Zero Day Attack in the first place. 'We hope that this show will awaken Taiwanese people to the looming threat of war,' she said at a recent publicity event attended by The Straits Times. Ms Cheng, who also penned one of the show's episodes, is a Golden Bell Award-winning screenwriter behind the 2015 drama The Best Of Youth. A new episode of Zero Day Attack will be launched every week on Taiwan's Public Television Service from Aug 2, before the show gets its international premiere on Japan's Amazon Prime Video on Aug 15. Trailers of the 10-episode drama have already sparked discussions and emotional reactions over a potential conflict close to home. PHOTO: ZERO DAY ATTACK A central message of the series, which is partly funded by the Taiwan government, is the importance of societal resilience, and how every civilian – and not just the military – has a part to play in the event of an invasion. This aligns with Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te's whole-of-society resilience strategy, which aims to strengthen civilian preparedness in the face of Beijing's aggression. This strategy includes civil defence training as well as testing responses to communications blackouts and transportation disruptions. 'It is said that an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure,' Mr Lai had said in a speech in March. 'To ensure Taiwan's security, we hope to rely not just on the armed forces, but also on the forces of defence resilience throughout our society. In that way we can achieve peace through strength,' he added. In July, Taiwan's largest annual Han Kuang military exercise manifested this strategy, combining conventional war games with urban survival drills for the first time. Some of the civil defence activities included simulations of mass evacuations from supermarkets and department stores during an air raid. In fact, traditional military clashes do not make up the bulk of Zero Day Attack. Instead, the series casts spotlight on other forms of aggression including cognitive warfare and grey zone tactics, which utilises tools such as disinformation, cyberattacks and influence campaigns to wear down an adversary and cause panic. In one scene, the Taiwanese president's emergency address is hacked during a live broadcast, replaced by a smiling Chinese state news anchor urging Taiwanese to accept the 'peaceful reunification of the motherland'. Ms Cheng, the producer, said Beijing has already been employing non-military offensives against Taiwan. 'For me, the war has already begun in Taiwan – it is not being fought with guns and cannons, but through information and infiltration,' she said. According to a long-running study by Swedish research institute V-dem Institute, Taiwan has consistently topped the list of territories most affected by disinformation – most of which originates from China. Data from Taiwan's National Security Bureau also showed that 64 Taiwanese were charged for Chinese espionage in 2024, three times more than in 2021. Before Zero Day Attack, Taiwanese TV show creators have rarely dared to address the topic so directly for fear of losing access to the lucrative Chinese entertainment market. When Taiwanese pop stars and actors are found to be critical of Beijing, for instance, they are often blacklisted. Reportedly, Taiwanese performing artists have also been coerced into signing written pledges to support Beijing's territorial claim over Taiwan in order to be allowed to work on the mainland. In the case of Zero Day Attack, some crew members dropped out of the production at the last minute; more than half of the TV show crew also asked to be left out of the credits list. But Ms Cheng pushed on to complete the series, whose cast includes Taiwanese-American actress Janet Hsieh, Taiwanese actor Kaiser Chuang and Hong Kong's Chapman To, a vocal critic of Beijing, who became a naturalised Taiwanese in 2022. 'This TV show is a story that only Taiwanese people can tell – and one that urgently needs to be told,' said Ms Cheng. 'I hope that while Taiwanese audiences enjoy its entertainment value, they will also become more aware of the infiltration of modern grey-zone warfare,' she added. Mr Marvin Park, a non-resident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, a Washington-based think-tank, noted in a brief that the series' trailer has already 'captured people's imaginations in a way that official government messaging efforts are unlikely to achieve.' 'The goal is not for people to conclude there's no point in resistance, but to spur action towards resilience efforts now,' he wrote.
Straits Times
4 hours ago
- Straits Times
Food Picks: Refreshing iced salted coffee from Bee Hoe Coffee
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox SINGAPORE – Sure, drinking an isotonic drink after exercising o r s weating buckets in the hot weather is the sensible thing. Drinking Bee Hoe Coffee's Iced Salted Coffee is just a lot more fun and satisfying. I have been nipping over to this covert coffee place in a Joo Chiat back alley after my workouts. Look for barber shop Autocutt Boardroom, and go round to the back. There, amid a jumble of plants, is Bee Hoe, a cool refuge from the heat. The Iced Salted Coffee ($6) is a latte with salt in it. Simple, but everything about this drink works. The coffee is powerful, but not in a shouty way. Think of it as the drinkable version of American singer-songwriter Barry White's voice – deep and smooth. The ratio of coffee to milk is just right, neither overwhelms the finished drink. And the salt just lifts it from the ordinary. Can't get enough of this love, babe. Where: 55 Joo Chiat Place MRT: Paya Lebar Open: 8.30am to 2pm (weekdays), 8.30am to 4pm (weekends) Info: @beehoecoffee (Instagram)
International Business Times
12 hours ago
- International Business Times
Katy Perry and Former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Spotted on Date, Sparking Romance Rumors as Pair Brushes Off Bitter Splits
Katy Perry sparked romance rumors with former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau after the two were spotted enjoying an intimate dinner together on Monday, just weeks after her breakup with Orlando Bloom was confirmed. The singer, 40, and Trudeau, 53, were caught on camera sharing a meal at Le Violon, a restaurant in Montreal. According to a video obtained by the Daily Mail, the two were seen leaning over a table toward one another in an intimate manner without a care. Perry, smiling and animated, was spotted gesturing during the conversation as Trudeau listened attentively. The singer is currently touring in Canada as part of her widely panned Lifetimes Tour. Love Is in the Air Katy Perry and Justin Trudeau were spotted on a date in Montreal, Canada X The past few months have been challenging for the unconventional duo—Perry has been dealing with her breakup from former fiancé Bloom, the failure of her album 143, and major criticism following her spaceflight with Blue Origin in April. Meanwhile, Trudeau is adjusting to life outside of 24 Sussex following his resignation in January, which came after a dramatic fall from grace. He shares three children with his ex-wife, Sophie Grégoire Trudeau. The couple announced their separation in August 2023, ending their 18-year marriage. Sophie had been a childhood friend and schoolmate of Trudeau's older brother, Michel, who died in an avalanche in 1998 at the age of 23. She and Trudeau reconnected as adults, began dating in 2003, and were engaged shortly afterward. Perry, meanwhile, shares a four-year-old daughter named Daisy with Bloom, 48. The couple started dating in 2016 and got engaged on Valentine's Day in 2019. Katy Perry and Justin Trudeau spotted together in Montreal, Canada X Rumors of their breakup circulated for months before they officially confirmed the end of their relationship last month. Speculation soared when Bloom attended Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez's lavish wedding in Venice alone, while Perry was on tour in Australia. Bloom recently posted a cryptic message on Instagram reflecting on "loneliness" and "darkness," while Perry was seen in tears during her final performance in Australia. Looking for Love and Support Last month, representatives for the couple confirmed to the Daily Mail that "Orlando and Katy have been shifting their relationship over the past many months to focus on co-parenting. They will continue to be seen together as a family, as their shared priority is - and always will be - raising their daughter with love, stability, and mutual respect." Katy Perry Instagram A source also told Us Weekly at the time, "Katy and Orlando have split but are amicable," while also noting that the split has been "not contentious" so far. "Katy is of course upset but is relieved to not have to go through another divorce, as that was the worst time in her life." Perry, currently on her Lifetimes Tour, was previously married to comedian Russell Brand from 2010 until their divorce in 2012. Justin Trudeau X According to an insider, the recent breakup with Bloom had been "a long time coming," noting that their relationship had been strained for several months. Last month, People reported that the underwhelming reception of Perry's album 143 contributed to rising tensions between her and Bloom. Her seventh studio album, released in September 2024, was met with largely negative feedback from both fans and critics, with many claiming it sounded as though it had been "created by AI." Perry's public image also took a hit after her 11-minute space flight in April, during which she joined Gayle King and Lauren Sanchez for an all-female mission. Reports suggest that Bloom found the space trip "cringe" and "embarrassing."
