A Reunion of Two Pop-Culture Favourites: Linda Chung’s Special Guest Appearance at Raymond Lam’s Concert is Culturally Significant to Diaspora Communities Globally

Special Edition Article by Deborah Lau-Yu
Images Courtesy of lInda Chung

Image courtesy of Linda Chung.

When we think of culture and history, it’s often the events and experiences outside of textbooks, consumed right in our parents’ living rooms that leave a lasting memory and impact. In 2007, critically acclaimed and award-sweeping television series Heart of Greed 溏心風暴 aired and broke records in Hong Kong for its popularity. It had a unique and heartfelt storyline of family, love, loss and life’s relationships, dotted with culturally relevant topics including the backstory of running an abalone and dried seafood business, quarrels over family fortune and real estate, and dynamics in both ultra wealthy and struggling families. The drama was brought to life by a remarkable line up of veterans (Louise Lee, Rosanna Kwan, Michelle Yee, Ha Yu) paired with an equally stacked list of contemporary fan favourites of rising stars at the time (Moses Chan, Raymond Lam, Linda Chung, Tavia Yeung, Fala Chen, Bosco Wong), who all went on to further define their careers, without exception.

There were tears shed around the world for Louise Lee’s character who battled cancer and ultimately lost, leaving behind her children and husband to battle demons and live out their lessons in their years of maturation. Like many television dramas at the time, TVB (Television Broadcasting Limited) penetrated not only the markets in Asia with its influence, reaching beyond Hong Kong to Singapore, Malaysia, China, Taiwan, and also its diaspora audiences in North America, Europe and Australia. Heart of Greed was particularly special though, as it marked one of the biggest productions of that decade (arguably equal to the drama At the Threshold of An Era at the turn of the millennium), and remains named as one of the top 10 Hong Kong Television Dramas of all time. In the overseas markets, viewers at the time had only recently switched from having to watch dramas by renting VHS tapes to VCD, and then to DVDs. Most people overseas may have watched the drama at the time by renting DVDs, just on the cusp of online streaming and when technology further advanced. The series was reviewed and talked about on Chinese language radio shows and newspapers at the time all over the world, an example of the collective memory and drama experiences that give millions of diaspora families globally something in common and is a connection to our cultural identity. 

From the personal collection of Deborah Lau-Yu.

From the personal collection of Deborah Lau-Yu.

For Canadians and North Americans who are TVB audiences, this drama (and subsequent spinoffs) was special also because it marked breakthrough roles for two artists that they could relate to: rising stars at the time Linda Chung and Fala Chen, who both kicked off their careers after stellar results at the Miss Chinese International Pageant in consecutive years. (Chung was crowned winner, representing Vancouver in 2004, and Chen who had spent half of her life in the US, and represented New York City was 1st runner up in 2005.) Their respective success stories thereafter have been well-documented in our feature stories and film reviews at Fête Chinoise. 

Image courtesy of Linda Chung.

Linda Chung’s performance earned high praise as a personal best, portraying Sheung Joi Sum (常在心) an aspiring lawyer who takes care of her aging father with Alzheimers and falls in love with her high school crush Alfred Leung 程亮 (portrayed by Raymond Lam), a renowned young lawyer whose back story comes from poverty and tragedy. Their on-screen pairing was a hit, and their love story ends in tragedy and regret, leaving audiences with a yearning desire so strong that writers continued their pairing when the spinoff with all the same actors was released two years later in 2008, titled Moonlight Resonance 溏心風暴之家好月圓. In this drama, Linda Chung and Raymond Lam rekindle their early teenage romance later in life when she returns from London as a successful doctor (Dr. Yu, 于素心), and he plays the big brother and guardian role in his family and their humble and stable bakery business in Hong Kong, nicknamed 管家仔 which means “steward of the family.” The spinoff in some ways felt more like a sequel when it came down to Chung and Lam’s pairing as an on-screen couple, which in the latter was a much-wanted happy ending.

Image courtesy of Linda Chung.

From the personal collection of Deborah Lau-Yu. Raymond Lam's autographed debut album (2007) and Linda Chung's debut album (2008).

In real life, outside of their roles, there were speculations about whether this pair would have a chance at love, but beyond friendship, that flame never sparked. Nonetheless, the on-screen couple kept a special place in the hearts of audiences worldwide. Life took them on diverse paths since, with Chung based in Vancouver with her family and Lam between Hong Kong and Mainland China with his family and work. Respectively married to their spouses and with children, both have dedicated their lives to their craft and are equally multi-talented in acting and singing, each with chart-topping albums and sold-out concerts. Both devoted to their music, they carved remarkable careers in singing that are uniquely their own. And in his own breakthrough role in film, Lam was recently nominated for Best Actor at the 43rd Hong Kong Film Awards for his lead role in Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In, which won Best Film and swept with 9 awards. The film was also selected to be in the Official Selection (Midnight Screening) of the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, where it received a standing ovation.

Image courtesy of Linda Chung. Pink dress by Emporio Armani.

Raymond Lam’s long-anticipated concert, Go with the Flow LF Live in Hong Kong 2025 took place at the Hong Kong Coliseum from May 22nd to May 28th. With 7 shows in total, the most memorable evening became a viral moment. Special guest appearances delighted audiences night after night with Kelly Chan, co-stars from Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In: Terrance Lau, Tony Wu, and German Cheung, Dear Jane, MC Cheung, Hins Cheung, and Louis Koo. 

But out of all the shows, the evening that had the internet explode with love was May 26th. Concert goers loudly cheered when they saw special guest Linda Chung step on stage, after over fifteen long years of not seeing each other or appearing together. 

Image courtesy of Linda Chung.

Chung emerged from the stage platform to perform with Lam, singing the theme song of Digimon Tamers in Cantonese. Lam pointed up at the screens and touched her heart by referencing a line from the drama, when he said, "沒有常在心的日子第7900日" — 7900 days without her. Like many in the audience who were incredibly moved, Chung was overwhelmed with emotion and joy to see her friend again, and couldn’t hold back her tears. “I’m so proud of you!” she cried, praising her former co-star and friend about witnessing all the hard work he has poured into his career and craft, and achieving impressive breakthroughs and victories. And to the audience’s immeasurable delight, Lam spontaneously asked his long-time friend if she could do a duet of Heartfelt (the ending theme song from "Heart of Greed".)

One fan posted that it was the “reunion of the century.” The sheer volume of shares, views, comments and likes on social media solidified the significance of the reunion of Linda Chung and Raymond Lam to audiences in Hong Kong and around the world. It was undoubtedly a historic moment in Chinese pop culture that was poetic and nostalgic, and brought an undeniable sense of excitement and joy to the collective Chinese diaspora. 

If Chung has the opportunity to host her own concert at the famed Hong Kong Coliseum, Lam has already pink promised to return the favour, to all of our delight. 

Image courtesy of Linda Chung.

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