Cecilia Wong (critic)

In this Hong Kong name, the surname is Wong. In accordance with Hong Kong custom, the Western-style name is Cecilia Wong and the Chinese-style name is Wong Lai-ming.

Cecilia Wong
王麗明
Born
Wong Lai-ming

1974 or 1975 (age 51–52)
Hong Kong
Education
OccupationFilm critic
Spouse
Danny Tang
​
(m. 2014)​
Children1

Cecilia Wong Lai-ming[1][2] (Chinese: 王麗明; born 1974/1975), also known by her pen name Cheuknaam (卓男), is a Hong Kong film critic. She served as an editor for City Entertainment Magazine and was the chairperson of the Hong Kong Film Critics Society. In 2021, she moved to Taiwan and became a freelance writer on Hong Kong cinema.

Early life and education

Wong was born in 1974 or 1975 with an older twin sister and resided in Sheung Shui.[3][4] She has a birthmark around her left eye, which led to her being bullied by peers since primary school.[5] In the 1980s, some of her relatives migrated to Taiwan, and she often visits them there.[6] She was recommended by a Taiwanese doctor to perform plastic surgery to remove her birthmark, and starting at age 12, she underwent over ten surgeries of various scales in Taiwan.[5][6] She has stated that the bullying she endured sparked her interest in films, which she viewed as an "escape from reality".[5][6] She was also interested in watching films at cinemas in Taiwan, as she found the experience very different from that in Hong Kong.[6] In the 1990s, she began writing film reviews for magazines.[7] She initially studied physics for a year at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology but found it unsuitable and considered to study film instead.[4] Her twin sister, who was studying film at a Taiwanese university, advised her to pursue languages for a wider career path.[4] She then transferred to the Department of English Language and Literature at Hong Kong Baptist University, majoring in comparative literature.[4][8]

Career

After graduating from university, Wong briefly worked as a subtitle editor for a film company before becoming an editor for City Entertainment Magazine.[4] She worked there for two to three years,[9] which she described that period as a low point for Hong Kong cinema.[7] She then served as an editor and executive manager for the Hong Kong Film Critics Society and as a researcher for RTHK,[4][9] before becoming a programmer at the Hong Kong Film Archive before April 2013.[10] She also worked as the editor of special issues for the Hong Kong Film Awards for around 20 years.[3][11] In 2017, Wong and film historian Po Fung co-edited Qun Fang Pu: Contemporary Hong Kong Film Actresses, a biography of popular Hong Kong and Taiwanese actresses who debuted in Hong Kong cinema in the 1970s.[8] Kwong Hiu-yan of HK01 praised Wong's use of her experience at the Hong Kong Film Archive to document and archive the actresses from multiple perspectives;[12] while Trista Luo of Orange News described the book as "painting a personal portrait of Hong Kong actresses and showcasing a vibrant collective cinema scene".[13] Wong became the chairperson of the Hong Kong Film Critics Society in 2018.[5] That same year, she and film scholar Stephanie Ng co-edited Ann Hui: Forty, a biography of director Ann Hui.[14] After migrating to Taiwan in 2021, Wong became a freelance writer but continued to focus on Hong Kong cinema.[6] In 2021, she also served as a jury member for the 58th Golden Horse Awards.[1]

Personal life

Wong married Danny Tang Chi-chung, an IT engineer, in 2014.[3][6] They met while working together at the Hong Kong Film Archive.[3] They gave birth to a son in 2015.[6] Tang later switched careers to become a feng shui consultant to better balance his time for family.[3] The family migrated to Taiwan and settled in Beitou District, Taipei, in 2021 when their son was five, citing concerns that Hong Kong was "unsuitable for children to study".[6][7] Wong acquired Taiwanese citizenship as of November 2024.[7]

Bibliography

Year Title Original title Publisher Ref.
2017 Qun Fang Pu: Contemporary Hong Kong Film Actresses 群芳譜：當代香港電影女星 Hong Kong Film Critics Society [8]
2018 Ann Hui: Forty 許鞍華．電影四十 Hong Kong Film Critics Society [14]

References

  1. ^ a b Davis, Rebecca (3 November 2021). "Golden Horse Film Awards Jury to Be Chaired by Taiwanese Film Scholar Huang Jianye". Variety. Archived from the original on 16 August 2024. Retrieved 6 February 2026.
  2. ^ "Cinema exhibition a copy of my idea, publisher claims". South China Morning Post. 29 March 2009. Archived from the original on 6 February 2026. Retrieved 6 February 2026.
  3. ^ a b c d e 陳鎧妤 (8 February 2024). "香港風水師移民台灣 學懂本土風俗". Central News Agency (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 18 March 2024. Retrieved 5 February 2026.
  4. ^ a b c d e f JC (13 November 2023). "戲服就是用於服務電影？｜探索從電影《無間道》到《芭比》的時裝造型". Ming Pao (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 22 April 2025. Retrieved 5 February 2026.
  5. ^ a b c d Lai, Elly (19 March 2018). "我的胎記 – Cecilia Wong 卓男". Yahoo! News (in Chinese). Ming Pao Weekly. Retrieved 5 February 2026.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h "誰來晚餐｜14-38｜移民台灣 港爸媽考機車駕照 港小孩背北捷路線圖". Public Television Service (in Chinese). 21 July 2023. Retrieved 6 February 2026.
  7. ^ a b c d Cheung, Ben (13 November 2024). "香港資深影評人卓男 全家來台享生活". Radio Taiwan International (in Chinese). Retrieved 5 February 2026.
  8. ^ a b c 蔣琳 (20 March 2017). "《群芳譜》繪出香港女星個人肖像". Hong Kong Commercial Daily (in Chinese). Retrieved 5 February 2026.
  9. ^ a b 黃于真 (21 December 2021). "關本良 ✕ 卓男 ✕ 王師：抗爭下的港片與即將綻放的台灣電影時代". Verse (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 18 November 2025. Retrieved 5 February 2026.
  10. ^ "走進光影隧道 重溫嘉禾星輝". Information Services Department (in Chinese). 14 April 2013. Archived from the original on 11 July 2013. Retrieved 5 February 2026.
  11. ^ 張書瑋 (17 March 2021). "身在亂流，香港電影從業者的瘟疫年紀事". Initium Media (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 5 February 2026. Retrieved 5 February 2026.
  12. ^ Kwong, Hiu-yan (1 June 2017). "四十三位在香港電影中揚眉的女子 一本書看曾經的造星夢工廠". HK01 (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 18 September 2024. Retrieved 5 February 2026.
  13. ^ Luo, Trista (18 April 2023). "薦書｜讀這些好書，了解更多香港電影". Orange News (in Chinese). Retrieved 5 February 2026.
  14. ^ a b "《許鞍華電影四十》：懺情、磨煉、遺憾". P-articles (in Chinese). 8 April 2019. Archived from the original on 19 December 2025. Retrieved 5 February 2026.
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