Chan faces the music (note 1)
TVB general manager Stephen Chan Chi-wan went on trial (受審) yesterday for allegedly (嫌疑) accepting payments without the approval (批准) of his company.
Chan, 51, who resumed most of his managerial duties at the station in November, smiled but declined to answer media inquiries when he arrived at the District Court to face the music. He has pleaded not guilty (note 2) to three charges.
The prosecution (控方) is expected to call up (note 3) to 58 witnesses, including TVB executives, actors and actresses in the four-week cliffhanger (連續的、結局難料的) hearing. Co-defendant Edthancy Tseng Pei- kun, 28, pleaded not guilty to four counts (四項控罪), as did Wilson Chan Wing-shuen, 63, to one count.
Tseng is a director of Idea Empire Advertising and Production, while Wilson Chan is the former head of business development (業務發展) at TVB's marketing and sales division (市場銷售部). He spent more than 30 years with the station. The three are on bail (note 4) of HK$100,000 each.
The first witness, Olympian City manager Au Kwok-hang, said the mall approached TVB in 2009 to organize a New Year's Eve countdown event (倒數活動). After negotiations, the cost was lowered from HK$1.4 million to HK$1.3 million.
Later, the mall had to pay another HK$160,000 when it wanted to include Chan and artist Wayne Lai Yiu-cheung. Au said they approached Tseng because everybody in the industry knew that Tseng represented Chan. "Since other malls were also conducting countdown shows, we realized TVB could not provide top artists. As such (note 5), we decided to use our budget to invite other artists."
He said Chan's program Be My Guest was popular (受歡迎) in 2009 as was Lai, who had just won the best-artist award (最優秀藝員獎). "So we decided to invite Chan and Lai to the mall for a live (note 6) Be My Guest show," Au said. TVB agreed to allow Chan to appear at the mall.
From good to better English:
(note 1) face the music=confront unpleasantness, 面對不愉快的場面
(note 2) plead not guilty=否認控罪, 在美國可以用plead innocent
(note 3) call up=傳召。call in sick=打電話請病假。call off a wedding=宣告取消婚約。
(note 4 ) on bail=擔保外出。go bail for=做某人的保釋人。skip bail=保釋中潛逃。bail out= abandon a project or enterprise (放棄計畫).
(note 5) As such=就事實本身。舉例，The column-writing job as such is easy but requires a lot of time。
(note 6) live show=即場轉播。He lives what he teaches=他言行一致。Live- and- learn=活到老，學到老。Bo Bo lived and died a virgin=皤皤終身沒有結婚。
Victor’s View: Since hearings of the case will go on for some time, in legal terms the case remains sub-judice (i.e. under judicial deliberation), which means I could be charged for contempt of court if I ever comment on the case. I can only say that this case will draw a great deal of attention as Stephen Chan is a public figure.
(Victor Fung, director of HK Baptist University’s M.A. in international journalism program, has published 3 books on English-enhancement and plans to write 7 more by the end of 2012)
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