China Media and Entertainment Weekly News Bulletin – ISSUE 120 Week of 28 September 2026
(1) 10th Pingyao International Film Festival Opened, Marking a Decade as a Hub for Young Filmmakers
The 10th Pingyao International Film Festival opened in Pingyao Ancient City under the theme “answers are found along the way,” highlighting its decade-long role in supporting emerging filmmakers.
(2) Gin Lee Made Guangzhou Super Strawberry Music Festival Debut with Heat Precautions; Vincy Cherished Full-Crowd Chorus
Gin Lee, Vincy Chan and the band Daze in White performed at the Guangzhou Super Strawberry Music Festival, with Gin Lee making her festival debut and Vincy noting the memorable full-crowd sing-along.
(3) JJ Lin Performs Zhu Yu Hit for First Time in Taiwan; EXO’s Baekhyun Joins Him for Full-Chinese Duet
JJ Lin headlined the second day of KRAZY Music Festival Taipei and gave the Taiwan premiere of the Zhu Yu theme song, later inviting EXO’s Baekhyun onstage for a full-Chinese duet of No Turning Back.
(4) Former Manager of Hins Cheung and Shu Qi, Leslie Tsang, Published Book on Entertainment Industry Survival Rules
Veteran manager Leslie Tsang, who has worked with Hins Cheung, Shu Qi and others, released a new book sharing practical insights into the entertainment industry from a manager’s perspective.
(5) Hong Kong Contemporary Composer Fung Lam Discussed Cross-Media Music at Upcoming Performing Arts Expo
In an interview ahead of the 2nd Hong Kong Performing Arts Expo (HKPAX), Hong Kong contemporary composer Fung Lam discussed his two featured productions and his evolving practice of cross-media collaboration beyond the traditional concert hall.
(6) Rosanna Law: Film Development Fund Criteria to Weigh Market Value; Government to Build Low-Rent Set Facilities
The Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Rosanna Law said the Film Development Fund will revise its assessment criteria to consider market value alongside other factors, and that the government is preparing low-rent set-construction facilities.
(7) Hong Kong AI International Film Festival 2027 Opens Global Call for Entries with Seven New Awards
The Hong Kong AI International Film Festival (HKAIIFF) 2027 opened global submissions on 1 October 2026, introducing seven redesigned Unicorn Awards and dropping a fixed AI-usage percentage requirement.
(8) Frances Yip and Elisa Chan Staged Two Shows in One Day; Eason Chan Made Surprise Guest Appearance
Frances Yip and Elisa Chan concluded their Timeless Classics concert series at the East Kowloon Cultural Centre with two performances on the final day, featuring a surprise appearance by Eason Chan.
(9) Sarah Brightman Mourns Liu Huan: “A Talented True Gentleman”
British soprano Sarah Brightman paid public tribute to Chinese musician Liu Huan following his death, recalling their joint performance of the 2008 Beijing Olympics theme song and describing him as both highly talented and a true gentleman.
(10) 16th China Golden Eagle Television Art Festival Staged Eight Main Events in Changsha
The 16th China Golden Eagle Television Art Festival ran from 27 to 29 September in Changsha under the theme “The People’s Golden Eagle, the Artistic Golden Eagle, the Era’s Golden Eagle,” featuring eight main programme strands.
(11) From Generative Music to Real-Time Ensemble: AI Becomes “Virtual Musician” That Keeps Pace with Live Tempo Changes
Researchers at Taiwan’s Digital Transformation Research Institute demonstrated an AI system capable of functioning as a “virtual musician” that listens to live performance and adjusts in real time to changes in tempo and rhythm.
(12) Leslie Cheung’s Long-Sealed Mandarin Track Love Child Resurfaces; Producer Alvin Leong Oversees Cross-Border Production
A Mandarin recording by Leslie Cheung titled Love Child, left unreleased for more than twenty years, is being issued to mark the 70th anniversary of his birth, with veteran producer Alvin Leong supervising a high-specification re-production.
(1) 10th Pingyao International Film Festival Opened, Marking a Decade as a Hub for Young Filmmakers
(Photo Credit: Wen Wei Po)
The 10th Pingyao International Film Festival (第十屆平遙國際電影展) opened in Pingyao Ancient City, Shanxi, marking a decade of the event founded by Jia Zhangke (賈樟柯) and Marco Müller (馬可·穆勒).
Nearly 50 films from almost 40 countries and regions were selected for official screening, with an Asian premiere rate of 75 percent and a 100 percent Chinese mainland premiere rate. The line-up included 14 feature debuts by new directors. A special “Pingyao Ten Years (平遙十年)” unit paired early student shorts by directors such as Kong Dashan and Wei Shujun with their later international works.
The opening film was the 4K-restored version of Fei Mu (費穆)’s 1948 classic Spring in a Small Town (小城之春), marking the Asian premiere of the restoration and coinciding with the 120th anniversary of the director’s birth.
The festival continued until 30 September, with the closing film being Hong Kong director Norris Wong (黃綺琳)’s Good Trip (我阿爹想旅行), starring Nick Cheung (張家輝).
News Source: https://www.wenweipo.com/a/202609/25/AP6ab581bde4b01d54a284abab.html
(2) Gin Lee Made Guangzhou Super Strawberry Music Festival Debut with Heat Precautions; Vincy Cherished Full-Crowd Chorus
(Photo Credit: Sing Tao)
Gin Lee (李幸倪) and Vincy Chan (泳兒) performed at the Guangzhou Super Strawberry Music Festival(廣州超級草莓音樂節) over the Mid-Autumn holiday. Daze in White also made their full-band debut at the festival.
Gin said it was her first music-festival appearance and that she had prepared carefully for the heat, checking weather forecasts repeatedly because she is sensitive to high temperatures. She completed an eight-song set and thanked fans who stayed engaged despite the sun, joking that everyone needed to return home and repair their tans.
Vincy expressed happiness at returning to the Strawberry stage. During her performance of My Memories Are Not Mine (我的回憶不是我的), the entire audience joined in halfway through the song, prompting premature encore calls. She described the outdoor atmosphere as especially enjoyable and said she hoped to appear at more festivals.
The Guangzhou edition took place over the Mid-Autumn holidays at Nansha Music Showground (廣州南沙音樂秀場) and featured a dedicated Cantonese-language day with multiple Hong Kong and Greater Bay Area artists.
(3) JJ Lin Performs Zhu Yu Hit for First Time in Taiwan; EXO’s Baekhyun Joins Him for Full-Chinese Duet
(Photo Credit: Yahoo! News)
Mandopop superstar JJ Lin (林俊傑) delivered a surprise collaborative performance during his Taiwan concert, inviting EXO member Baekhyun (伯賢) onto the stage as a special guest.
Lin opened with classic tracks including 7,300-Plus Days (7千3百多天), High Fashion (不潮不用花錢) and Cao Cao (曹操), then performed Careful with Fate (我對緣分小心翼翼), the theme song he recorded for the Mainland drama Zhu Yu (逐玉), for the first time in Taiwan. Purple light sticks filled the riverside park as the audience sang along.
Midway through No Turning Back (交換餘生), Lin brought Baekhyun back onstage. The two performed the song together in Chinese. Baekhyun addressed Lin as “big brother” and said he felt more nervous than during his own set; Lin praised Baekhyun’s stage energy after watching him earlier.
The collaboration was initiated by Lin. Both artists expressed hope for future joint work, with Baekhyun saying he would improve his Chinese and Lin joking that he might need to learn more Korean.
The festival took place at Dajia Riverside Park (大佳河濱公園) over the Mid-Autumn holiday weekend and featured 14 acts across two days.
(4) Former Manager of Hins Cheung and Shu Qi, Leslie Tsang, Published Book on Entertainment Industry Survival Rules
(Photo Credit: HK01)
Veteran talent manager Leslie Tsang (曾穎妍), whose past client roster includes high-profile Hong Kong stars Hins Cheung (張敬軒) and Shu Qi (舒淇), has published a new book pulling back the curtain on talent management and entertainment public relations.
Titled Artist Manager Playbook, the book draws on Tsang’s more than 20 years in the business. She describes the role as equivalent to holding at least four jobs at once, covering marketing, legal matters, crisis management and personal support for artists.
The volume includes concrete examples such as accompanying artists to bartending classes, studying sports for athlete clients, and handling everyday logistics. It also features interviews with industry figures including Shu Qi, Sammi Cheng (鄭秀文)’s manager and Hollywood executives.
Shu Qi contributed a preface noting that the book can help readers remember their original intentions and better understand the industry. Tsang founded Fineapple Asia and previously worked at Media Asia Group and Universal Music subsidiaries.
The book was launched around the Hong Kong Book Fair and has been promoted through industry talks and media interviews.
(5) Hong Kong Contemporary Composer Fung Lam Discussed Cross-Media Music at Upcoming Performing Arts Expo
(Photo Credit: Sing Tao)
Hong Kong contemporary composer Fung Lam (林丰) will present two works centred on Hong Kong at the upcoming Hong Kong Performing Arts Expo (香港演藝博覽). The opening performance, the cross-media piece City Reverie (我城), is curated by Joel Kwong (鄺佳玲) with Lam as music director. Combining music, new-media art and emotion-tracking technology, the work will feature Lam performing on piano and synthesiser alongside pianist Jerold Chu (朱峻樂), interacting with urban imagery created by media artist Vvzela Kook (曲淵澈). In the final section, audience emotion data collected on site will generate a score for live improvisation. The piece premieres on 8 October at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Studio Theatre.
The second presentation is Nocturnes (夜曲), a music-and-image collaboration with photographer and director Wing Shya (夏永康) that first premiered in 2022 and later toured to Shanghai. The work focuses on the quieter atmosphere of Hong Kong at night, pairing Shya’s non-narrative visual sequences of actresses with live chamber performance. Lam hopes the expo platform will help expand the work’s international touring opportunities.
Reflecting on his career, Lam noted that his first professional commission came from the BBC, making him the first Hong Kong composer and the youngest Chinese composer commissioned by the broadcaster. His 2012 BBC Proms work Endless Forms (無盡藏) received its world premiere at the Royal Albert Hall. These experiences, along with later orchestral projects, encouraged him to explore possibilities beyond the concert hall and to design integrated sound, visual and sensory experiences with creative partners.
(6) Rosanna Law: Film Development Fund Criteria to Weigh Market Value; Government to Build Low-Rent Set Facilities
(Photo Credit: TVB News)
Speaking on a television programme, the Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Rosanna Law (羅淑佩) stated that funding should continue and should not be reduced, but that films are an industry and should possess commercial appeal so that audiences are willing to buy tickets. Past support had helped keep the sector working, yet commercial success had not always followed.
She said existing schemes would be consolidated and that script potential alone would no longer be the sole yardstick. The government is also preparing a larger set-building venue that the industry can rent at relatively low cost to reduce production expenses, while taking care not to compete unfairly with existing commercial studios.
An Outbound Film Shooting Support Team will be set up to offer one-stop services for Mainland and overseas productions filming in Hong Kong. Law noted that such teams typically hire local crew, benefiting the local industry.
She added that productions must clearly outline their content and messages, a common practice worldwide, and that communication channels would help maintain constructive relations with visiting teams.
(7) Hong Kong AI International Film Festival 2027 Opens Global Call for Entries with Seven New Awards
(Photo Credit: Wen Wei Po)
The Hong Kong AI International Film Festival (香港AI國際電影節) will soon open its 2027 entries with seven redesigned awards. The festival now assesses whether AI makes a substantive contribution to principal audiovisual material, performance, narrative structure, generative rules or audience experience, rather than applying a numerical threshold.
The seven awards comprise one top honour (Golden Unicorn Grand Prix), three creative-achievement awards (method, digital character, world-building) and three expression awards (narrative, audiovisual, experiential). Complete, viewable works are required; concepts, trailers or tool demonstrations alone are not eligible.
Works completed on or after 1 August 2026 may be submitted. Non-English works need adequate English subtitles or equivalent support. The official submission platform is hkaiiff.io.
Organisers described the revised framework as an attempt to recognise new forms of AI-native cinema while keeping the completed film at the centre of evaluation.
News Source: https://www.wenweipo.com/a/202609/29/AP6abb398fe4b01d54a2853944.html
(8) Frances Yip and Elisa Chan Staged Two Shows in One Day; Eason Chan Made Surprise Guest Appearance
Frances Yip (葉麗儀) and Elisa Chan (陳潔靈) concluded their Timeless Classics concert, demonstrating strong vocal form and stamina. Music director Johnny Yim (嚴勵行) led a 17-piece band in fresh arrangements of classic repertoire. The six-performance series highlighted intergenerational collaborations throughout.
During the afternoon show on the final day, Yoyo Sham (岑寧兒) appeared as a guest and duetted with Elisa on Utopia, momentarily. Frances later joined Janees Wong (黃洛妍) for Reincarnated Love (愛是無涯), after which the four performers shared the stage for Wish for Tomorrow (願望就是明天).
During the evening show, Elisa introduced Eason Chan (陳奕迅) as a guest she had long wanted to collaborate with. The two performed Are We Going To Meet Again (只怕不再遇上)and another duet. Frances later joined them on stage. Chan described himself as a long-time fan of Chan’s work; she reciprocated the compliment.
Eason then produced two vinyl records from his personal collection: one of Frances from the 1970s and one of Elisa from the 1980s, and asked both singers to sign them on stage. The moment drew warm reactions from the audience and underscored the intergenerational respect among the three artists.
News Source: https://www.dotdotnews.com/a/202609/28/AP6aba3d87e4b02724bdb5dc16.html
(9) Sarah Brightman Mourns Liu Huan: “A Talented True Gentleman”
(Photo Credit: Dotdotnews)
Sarah Brightman (莎拉·布萊曼) posted on Instagram, writing that she was deeply saddened by the news of the passing of the renowned musician Liu Huan (劉歡), who passed away in Shanghai on 25 September at the age of 63.
She recalled the privilege of sharing the stage with him at the 2008 Beijing Olympics opening ceremony, where they performed the theme song You and Me (我和你).
She attached a photograph of the two artists holding hands on the Olympic stage and described Liu as “an amazing talent” and “a true gentleman,” adding that he would be deeply missed. The message was widely circulated in Chinese and international media.
Liu Huan was known for songs including Heroes’ Song (好漢歌), A Crescent Moon (彎彎的月亮)and Asking Myself a Thousand Times (千萬次的問), as well as his long teaching career at the University of International Business and Economics (對外經濟貿易大學). The 2008 Olympic performance remains one of the most widely remembered moments of his career.
The China Musicians Association (中國音樂家協會) also issued a statement, highlighting his contributions to original Chinese music, his role in programmes such as Sing My Song (中國好歌曲), and his support for young creators through a dedicated foundation. It described his passing as a major loss to the Chinese music community.
News Source: https://www.dotdotnews.com/a/202609/28/AP6ab9e6c0e4b02724bdb5d38a.html
(10) 16th China Golden Eagle Television Art Festival Staged Eight Main Events in Changsha
(Photo Credit: HKTKWW)
The 16th China Golden Eagle Television Art Festival (中國金鷹電視藝術節) featured eight main programme strands, including a major seminar that examined the direction of Chinese television and online audiovisual arts over the next five years.
The opening ceremony took place at the Hunan Broadcasting System (HBS) Program Production Centre and was broadcast live on Hunan TV and Mango TV. It adopted an outdoor symphonic concert format, presenting classic television theme songs under four thematic suites.
On 28 September, the festival held its main seminar, “New Chapter: Development of Television Arts and Construction of a Cultural Power (新篇章：電視文藝發展與文化強國建設),” together with parallel sessions on digital audiovisual technology and young creative talent.
At the seminar, Hu Zhifeng (胡智鋒), vice-chairman of the China Television Artists Association, reviewed progress during the 14th Five-Year Plan period and noted the deeper exploration of historical and contemporary realities in recent TV productions. He said China’s television and online audiovisual audience has reached nearly 1.1 billion and stressed the responsibility to produce more high-quality works that meet audience needs during the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30). Gao Changli (高長力), deputy head of the China Federation of Radio and Television Associations, observed that while artificial intelligence can help solve production problems, it cannot replace creative immersion in real life.
News Source: https://www.tkww.hk/a/202609/22/AP6ab23846e4b0e1e2ee7175e3.html
(11) From Generative Music to Real-Time Ensemble: AI Becomes “Virtual Musician” That Keeps Pace with Live Tempo Changes
(Photo Credit: Liberty Times)
Supported by a technology project under the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the system developed by Taiwan’s Digital Transformation Research Institute (資策會數位轉型研究院) integrates four core capabilities: clear audio capture through noise reduction and source separation, musical understanding that identifies rhythm, harmony and style, realistic instrument timbre modelling, and dynamic tempo tracking that allows the AI to follow a human performer.
Two interactive scenarios were presented. In “AI Music Partner,” users hum a melody and receive generative suggestions and stylistic extensions. In “AI One-Person Band,” a guitarist plays live while the AI provides accompanying parts that accelerate, slow down or change feel in response to the performer’s real-time decisions.
The developers emphasised that the technology is intended as a creative and performance tool rather than a replacement for human musicians. Potential applications include personal composition, practice environments and live performance settings where a single musician can work with responsive virtual ensemble parts.
The system was scheduled for public demonstration at the 2026 ITRI ICT TechDay, allowing visitors to experience the real-time co-performance capability first-hand.
News Source: https://ec.ltn.com.tw/article/breakingnews/5586150
(12) Leslie Cheung’s Long-Sealed Mandarin Track Love Child Resurfaces; Producer Alvin Leong Oversees Cross-Border Production
(Photo Credit: Dotdotnews)
Love Child (愛情小孩) is the Mandarin version of Cheung’s classic Cantonese song Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter (春夏秋冬). The lyrics use the image of a child to describe innocence, vulnerability and the desire for companionship in love. Alvin Leong (梁榮駿) , who worked closely with Cheung, explained that the track was originally withheld because the arrangement was considered unsatisfactory.
For the new release, the production team travelled to Europe and Australia. The Czech Prague Orchestra recorded real-instrument accompaniment, an Italian musician handled the arrangement, and mixing was completed in Australia. Leong said the goal was to let the orchestra follow the emotional contour of Cheung’s original vocal so that the performance feels as if the singer is present on stage with the ensemble.
The release includes Cheung’s original vocal version of Love Child and a solo piano interpretation of the Cantonese original by Hong Kong pianist Ted Lo, titled Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter – Rhythm of Life. The cover uses a film photograph selected and approved by Cheung himself, with packaging design by long-time collaborator Kenneth To (杜達生).
News Source: https://www.dotdotnews.com/a/202609/28/AP6aba6329e4b02724bdb5dffc.html
