About two decades after quitting showbiz at the height of her career in 2005, Joey Wong has finally opened up about her decision to leave.
The 59-year-old Taiwanese former actress was a guest in the latest episode of Chinese talk show Follow Each Other, which was released on Sept 23.
She told host Li Dan: “All along, I had never really liked performing under the spotlight. I have never really known what it means to be an actress.”
Joey, who debuted in showbiz in 1983, shared that it was her mother who wanted her to make a name for herself and after a few years in the industry, she felt “fatigued” and wondered if there was more to her life.
She also started to take on less projects after that.
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“Everyone has different expectations in life. I felt that once I had done what I was supposed to, which was achieving what my mum wanted of me, I had satisfied her wishes, and she wouldn’t ask for more,.” she explained in the show.
Joey was also asked if she missed showbiz and she laughed while replying: “I think it feels very foreign to me. I don’t think about these things… When something comes to me by fate, I would treasure it and when it leaves me, I wouldn’t force it too. I know I was happy during that period.”
Joey also spoke about her good relationship with Hong Kong filmmaker Tsui Hark, as well as the late film producer Shi Nansheng, whom she considered her benefactors.
However, when she decided to leave the spotlight, she didn’t talk to them about it beforehand.
“I had already made the decision in my heart. I wouldn’t discuss it with them because if I did, then it would become a problem. I was quite adamant about my decision,” she explained.
Joey moved to Canada after quitting showbiz and started a moxibustion centre in Vancouver in 2024. She opened a second outlet in Silicon Valley in California, the United States, in 2026.
Leslie Cheung and Chow Yun Fat as teachers and inspiration
Joey also spoke about the late Leslie Cheung and Chow Yun Fat, the two Hong Kong stars who had influenced her in her acting career.
She had worked with Leslie in A Chinese Ghost Story (1987) and its 1990 sequel. Joey played a beautiful ghost named Nie Xiaoqian in the first film and rebellious woman Windy in the second, while Leslie played Ning Caichen, a debt collector who fell in love with her.
She recounted: “I was a newbie then and called him ‘gege’ (elder brother) on the set. I addressed him with all sincerity and treated him like my elder brother because he was much older than me.
“I was really young then and had felt very fearful because I was in Hong Kong and didn’t really know how to speak Cantonese… All of the staff spoke Cantonese, and I was not familiar with it. Leslie knew how to speak Mandarin; he was very good at it and communicated with me in Mandarin.
“It was very heartwarming for me because there was finally someone whom I could communicate with in a foreign country. He was really very nice and a good brother to me. He took care of me and told me not to be afraid.”
She added that Leslie’s patience and assurance had helped her a lot during filming.
Joey also shared she observed Yun Fat a lot while working together on the set of God of Gamblers (1989).
She recounted: “He would help staff members carry their equipment and do things that celebrities wouldn’t do.
“I have a very good impression of him. He made me realised this is what a celebrity should be and I wanted to be just like him. He taught me a lot.”
Emotional debts paid off
Joey refuted rumours she retired from showbiz because of relationships issues.
It was reported back then that Joey and Taiwanese singer-songwriter Chyi Chin had an on-and-off relationship from 1985 to 2002. In the early 1990s, while separated from him, she became a subject of public scrutiny after she had an affair with Hong Kong businessman Peter Lam, who was then married to Taiwanese actress Hsieh Ling-ling.
She told Li Dan in the interview: “Whether I explain it or not, there would still be stories, so I’d rather not explain myself…
“As for people’s speculations about my relationship, I think it’s more about their relationships, which has nothing to do with me.”
When asked when her last romance was, she replied coyly: “The last time was that last time.”
She added it was the one everyone knew of and it lasted for about 15 years.
Joey said: “I came to terms with fate with regards to certain things in my life. I think I have paid my (emotional) debts.”
She sincerely hoped her former partner would do well and could fulfil his dreams and wishes.
“I think that is what I hope for the most, and that he could live peacefully with his destiny. That’s what I would be most happy about,” she said.
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yeo.shuhui@asiaone.com
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