Celebrities mark anniversary in variety show
(AP)Updated: 2007-07-01 09:00
HONG KONG -- Veteran Hong Kong performer Andy Lau sang a patriotic tune, Chinese acrobats juggled dishes and champion Olympic hurdler Liu Xiang offered congratulations in a variety show to mark the territory's 10th anniversary Sunday of return to China.
 Lion dancers perform during the Grand Variety Show in Hong Kong June 30, 2007. The show is part of a series of events celebrating the 10th anniversary of Hong Kong's handover to China. [Reuters]  |
Attended by Chinese President Hu Jintao, the two-hour show, broadcast live on Hong Kong television without commercial interruption Saturday evening, strayed from the standard local routine of sugary pop songs, mixing in performances by dragon dancers, acrobats and ballerinas.
Highlighting Hong Kong's unity with mainland China, pop stars from both Hong Kong and the mainland sang, performing in the national Chinese dialect of Mandarin and in Cantonese -- the dialect commonly spoken in Hong Kong.
Hong Kong singers Alan Tam, Paula Tsui, Frances Yip and mainlanders Sun Nan and Han Hong sang "Under the Lion Rock," a Cantonese song describing the struggles of the working class.
Lau, one of Hong Kong's biggest singers and movie stars, showed his nationalistic pride by singing the Mandarin song, "The Chinese."
"Hand in hand, let's march with our heads raised and let the whole world know we're Chinese," he belted out.
Mainland acrobats showed off daredevil moves, spinning dishes on the ends of sticks and riding unicycles in single file while balancing bowls on their heads.
Chinese Olympic champions Liu, diver Guo Jingjing and table tennis player Zhang Yining made brief congratulatory remarks.
Classical music star Lang Lang and the National Ballet of China also performed.
Hu clapped politely during the show, but showed little emotion.
Hong Kong singer Miriam Yeung sang while male dancers in white hats and jackets performed a hip-hop dance. Female pop duo Twins strutted their stuff in low-cut pink and purple outfits, and Kelly Chen sang a Broadway-style number wearing a top hat and floral-patterned, sequin-laced dress.
Still, the night was heavy on patriotism. The show ended with Hu leading all performers in a chorus of the song "Sing the Motherland," which extols China's greatness.
Former British colony Hong Kong returned to China on July 1, 1997. Though some residents were skeptical of the Chinese takeover, fearful that Beijing would restrict Hong Kong's Western-style freedoms, Hong Kong's civil liberties are still largely intact ten years later.
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