Philip Chan, a household name across Hong Kong and southern China, who transformed a police superintendent career into a successful actor, director, producer, emcee, and then a top executive, is on the show this week. He talks about what's changed in the Hong Kong entertainment industry and what the younger generation of artists can do to become successful.

Check out the full transcript of TVB’s Straight Talk host Dr Eugene Chan Kin-keung’s interview with Philip Chan:

Eugene: Welcome to Straight Talk! I'm Eugene Chan, and this evening, we explore Hong Kong's entertainment industry through the eyes of none other than Philip Chan, a household name across Hong Kong and southern China. From police superintendent, he went on to become a successful actor, director, producer, emcee, and then a top executive, who nurtured stars such as Sammi Cheng, Andy Hui, Coco Li and revitalized the Metro Broadcast. He has since remained active as a singer, show host, columnist, and marketing consultant. Welcome, Philip!

Philip: Hi, Eugene! Very nice to have you with me.

From law to lights

Eugene: Well, as I introduced you, you have certainly had such a rich career, spanning music, acting, writing, and producing. I've got to read what I've written for you. You’ve also seen and been a part of how Hong Kong's entertainment world has evolved from the Cantopop boom, and TVB golden era to now, the streaming age. But before all the lights and cameras, you were a detective yourself and served for over a decade in the Royal Hong Kong Police Force as a superintendent, and even reached a very high level. And then you resigned. So, maybe we start from there. You joined the force in 1965 and were the chief investigator in some of Hong Kong's most dramatic crimes, including the Po Sang Bank robbery in 1974. Can you take us back to that day? What happened?

Philip: Yeah, first of all, let me recast myself. I'm nobody who's brilliant. First of all, I'm a living fossil. I've been around for 80 years. And secondly, I'm a jack of all trades. So, I've done a lot of various things, and I've been extremely lucky in the sense that whatever I do, I always encounter the most interesting of incidents.

Eugene: Right.

Philip: Which I had to tackle whether as a challenge or as an advantage. And now, back to your question: I certainly had a very, very good life as a member of the Royal Hong Kong Police. As a young man, I joined as an inspector, and I was promoted after five years to chief inspector. And then in my ninth year, I was the superintendent in charge of Crime Kowloon West. But in the meantime, I've never left the entertainment industry.

Eugene: Right.

Philip: Because before I joined the police, the police was my first job, I was a rock singer. At the age of 13, when I was in a school band. And then, even though I was in the police, I promoted road safety through singing road safety songs on TV, TVB, as a matter of fact.

Eugene: Right.

Philip: And TVB often invited me to appear on the Enjoy Yourself Tonight show, because I could sing English songs.

Eugene: Right. That's the reason why you’re called the “Singing Inspector”.

Philip: Yeah, that was a nickname that they gave me. So, when I became a superintendent and when I was posted to a not-so-very-interesting job, well, as I say, when one door closes on you, and another door opens. Siu Fong-fong looked me up and said, "Philip, we want you to help us with a script to do with the drug trafficking between Holland and Hong Kong.” And then she said, "Would you like to be our consultant, as a police officer?" I said, "Fine." So, I worked with her and Po Chi-leung from the UK, the director, and then I became a scriptwriter through personal coaching from these two.

Eugene: Right.

Philip: And then by the time the script was finished, they were going to produce a film, and I would have had nothing to do with it. And that's what I said, it's like being pregnant, and then the baby is gone, and then you take her away from me. No way.

Eugene: No.

Philip: So, I said, "I want to be in the movie." And then Fong-fong said, “Yeah, you can be the male lead.” Nam Chu Kok.

Eugene: Really?

Philip: The leading guy.

Eugene: Wow!

Philip: Well, I was thrilled, you know? So I went and applied to the Commissioner of Police, "Can I act in this movie?" And the reply was, "Are you crazy?" You're a Police Superintendent. You're supposed to be a role model, you know.

Eugene: Right.

Philip: “For law and order and protecting the public. How could you be an actor?” And then I happened to have four months of vacation, which I had never taken for four years. So, I said, okay, although I cannot be an actor, I will work as a production assistant.

Eugene: Right.

Philip: Then I spent four months with the production I learned about, you know, editing, music laying and stuff like that. And I became a background sort of, you know, production person.

Eugene: Right. So, what prompted you to resign from the Police Force?

Philip: Well, because they moved me from a very, very exciting job, which was superintendent of Kowloon West, all the crime squads ... they moved me into crime prevention. So, instead of dealing with exciting cases, which I've always been gifted with, I was suddenly asked to do crime prevention. What is crime prevention? You deal with the locksmiths and, you know, you know, safe manufacturers and security companies and stuff like that … or guided tours for the public to see which are the best locks. That was not my cup of tea.

Eugene: Right.

Philip: And then the opportunity, the door opened for me to work with Po Chi and Fong-fong on the film. And then I’ve gotten really, because I've always loved films. Ever since the age of 9 when I was watching all of these Mickey Mouse cartoons and …

Eugene: Maybe I will ask you directly: do you miss being a policeman?

Philip: No, because I think I've seen what a young person wants to experience as a police officer. That is the exciting life of discipline, of crime detection, dealing with criminals, helping the public, being righteous, helping the weak, and being educated in specialized fields. I think I've got all that in 11 years.

Eugene: Right.

Philip: The only thing I haven't done is being a traffic cop.

Eugene: Right.

Philip: I told my senior officer, “Please don't make me a traffic cop.” I don't want to be scolded because, in those days, the traffic cops were very, very hated by the public.

Eugene: But Philip, one comment that we made before we started the show was that you think being a policeman is one of the best trainings one can recommend to our younger generation. Do you stand by that statement?

Philip: Yes, yes, I stand by that statement, because, first of all, I think the standard of police is very, very high nowadays. In my day, it was high school, all right? Or form six. But nowadays, I think most of them are university students.

Eugene: Right.

Philip: And also, there's a lot of specialized technologies, which were non-existent during our days.

Eugene: Right.

Philip: And also, I think the satisfaction of serving the public and being empowered to help the weak.

Eugene: Yes.

Philip: Even in my case, for instance, in a murder case, I was so determined in finding the culprit who murdered that poor woman who's the only breadwinner of the family, and she left an old mother and two kids. So, I couldn't sleep, I couldn't eat.

Eugene: Philip, you were involved in that Po Sang bank robbery, and it was the first time it was live telecast, even by TVB at that time. Was it a very tense moment at that time?

Philip: You wouldn't feel it. As a young man, you're just a bold, young lion.

Eugene: Right.

Philip: And the reason I was asked to talk to the reporter was that nobody else wanted to talk to the reporter. Because there was no public relations department back then.

Eugene: Right.

Philip: So, I was in charge of the district, Mong Kok. And, so, the person in charge of … the DCI said, okay, the head of the Kowloon should do it and the head of Kowloon said, okay, the assistant should do it and the assistant said, no, I think the Superintendent from Mong Kok should do it, and the superintendent says, "Philip! Philip!” And so, I was the last one called with a buck.

Eugene: Right, okay.

Philip: So, that’s why I had to do it.

Acting career in HK

Eugene: Right. I read your profile, and you actually wrote "Jumping Ash” in 1975, and it became an instant hit. So, you think all the experiences in being a police officer have sort of given you more direct information about what actually happened, and they feel a lot more real to the actual scene. And I know that you've been involved in a lot of the management and entertainment world, and we all know that it is quite a complicated world because it's facing a lot of money issues, drugs, and whatnot, gambling, and all that. Has that helped you in running any businesses you're in by being a police officer with that background?

Philip: I think it only helped to extend that in all the police terms that I did, I was able to instill a certain amount of realism in the characters or to the incident. Apart from that. If you ask me to do a detective movie now, it would be difficult, because the entire ecosystem has changed and all the technology supplies have changed. But back in those days, I think I was able to make a policeman more human, instead of being a stereotype that you see in the old Cantonese detective movies. But then, the disadvantages. After many years, after I've exhausted my own resources in what the Force was like, what my characters were like, what the transactions were like, I had to give up. So, I didn't make any more detective stories.

Modern Media

Eugene: Right. Let's talk about your entertainment world. There's a reason why we like to ask you about from your eyes, how the entertainment world has evolved. Hong Kong is the place for Asia and many parts of the world where there are a lot of Chinese. We have the TVB Soap Operas, we have our singers and we have movie stars and all that. And now things have changed a lot. You have been involved in radio and filming. How do you see Hong Kong right now?

Philip: Well, the Hong Kong film industry and the Hong Kong music industry are under a tsunami.

Eugene: Right.

Philip: I would say tsunami, I know it may sound a bit terrifying, but it is, because well, the entire ecosystem of the music industry and the profitability is already non-existent, because people don't buy CDs anymore. They don't buy music anymore.

Eugene: They don't buy records, right?

Philip: Yes, you don't even have to. If you don't demand a very high quality, you can just get them for free anywhere on the internet.

Eugene: Right.

Philip: And, of course, record companies are more reluctant to spend money on the grooming of young singers.

Eugene: Right.

Philip: Also, there's big competition from Taiwan, Singapore, even Malaysia, and of course, the Chinese mainland.

Eugene: Right.

Philip: All right. So, for young singers, it's very dismal. It's very difficult. And I understand some of them, if not all of them, have to finance their own music videos. This was unheard of in the old days. It's always invested by the record companies.

Eugene: Exactly.

Philip: Okay. So, this is music. As far as films are concerned, it's quite dismal. We used to make 300, 400 movies a year, but nowadays, we'd be lucky, we get 30 movies a year. Can you imagine? Because people are not going to the cinemas. They don't have to go to the cinema. You can see them on the streaming devices. And everybody's got a phone. It's nothing more convenient. But having said that, we still have the edge because we're close to the mainland, and if we can make ourselves familiar with what the mainland audience is like, and have to learn to work with the mainland filmmakers. I think we still have a very good edge. For instance, Po Day Yuk, I forgot the Chinese name. It's been nominated as one of the next year's Best Foreign Film.

Eugene: Right, Philip. Let's take a quick break now. We'll be right back with more Straight Talk.

Mainland expansion

Eugene: Welcome back. Celebrity Hong Kong entertainer Philip Chan is with us, and we have been talking about his journey in the entertainment industry in our city. So, Philip, we were touching on Hong Kong's position right now, and the last comment that you made was very thought-provoking, saying that if we can work with the mainland market, we will still have a niche. You mentioned rightly that people's habits have changed, especially after the COVID pandemic. How would you recommend or, I would say, advise our youngsters who have the burning desire to be in the entertainment industry to make a name for themselves and be able to make it sustainable? What would you advise them to do?

Philip: First of all, I think the youth, they don’t lack … they always have the courage and the passion. You need that for entertainment because it is never easy to start, and it is always difficult to make money. Only a few top ones can make money. I think you have to have the determination and the passion, keep the fire burning, so to speak. And take every opportunity to learn.

Eugene: Right.

Philip: If you don't get the knowledge, you can never really excel, you can never really survive.

Eugene: Right. Is the mainland market sort of our true competitor? Because Hong Kong people always think “Wow, we are superior in many things”, but things have changed recently. Sometimes we are starting to lose confidence in ourselves. So, how do you look at this with all your experiences? How do we actually work with the mainland, within our own country? How do we do that?

Philip: I would say pay more visits to some of the major cities, where these industries are held as being major industries, music and movies. Get to know more people, talk to more people. Go to the cinema, sit with the audience.

Eugene: Exactly.

Philip: And go to concerts, listen to how the audience talks about what is good and what is bad. If you want to conquer something, you need to understand. It is information, information, information.

Eugene: Right.

Philip: I think you have to get in there before you can really make yourself shine.

Eugene: Right. So, Philip, in your career, you have groomed like Sammy Cheng, Andy Hui, and also Coco Lee. Do we lack the talents now? Why are we not having such big names as before? Because, like a lot of shows that we have now, we are looking at old songs, we are sort of reminiscent of our old stars. Why are we not having new stars now, because actually we have a much wider industry? So, how do you see that?

Philip: Yeah, you are relating to the ’80s when I was doing the … ’80s and the ’90s because back then, China was not fully open, in terms of music content and stuff. So, we had the advantage. And also Taiwan, they were just coming up. But most of the songs are more mature kind of songs. And then Singapore and Malaysia were almost non-existent. So, Hong Kong was the only pearl that was shining, so it was easy. But later on, because all these other places, the singers all got… and then China opened up. And the contents, there was a lot of relaxation in content control. So, the variety of music coming from the mainland was also very, very abundant. So, that really gave Hong Kong a very, very hard … I mean we had superstar like Anita Mui and Leslie Cheung, we were talking about earlier.

Eugene: Yeah, those were legends.

Philip: And although, sadly, they died young, when you die young, you become a legend. I don't want every legend to die young.

Eugene: No.

Philip: But there are also some very good talents like G.E.M., and quite a few good ones, MC Cheung, and quite a few good ones from Hong Kong. I think we still have a future if we keep evolving, and keep improving, and keep the fire burning.

Hosting & executive leadership

Eugene: Right. Another thing I am sure the viewers will remember you, you were the emcee of the Miss Hong Kong Beauty Pageant for quite a number of years. It was a very popular show that everybody actually would go home to watch it for the semi-finals and the finals. But nowadays, you can only do it for one night. What has gone, I don’t want to say wrong, what can we do to revitalize this important signature event by TVB? I mean it is a very sort of signature event for Hong Kong for a long time, isn’t it?

Philip: I think we have had it for so long that people take it for granted. And you know how fast a year goes by, right? And people always say “one crab is not as good as the other", last year was always better. But I don't think that is true. I think we still have some very, very high-quality Miss Hong Kong, even now. But as you said, now it is only one-night show.

Eugene: Right.

Philip: But people take it for granted, that is all. Never mind, next year, there will be another lot, another lot. I think that is evolution.

Eugene: And you were also in radio as well. You were in Metro Broadcast for a few years.

Philip: I enjoyed the radio, yeah.

Eugene: So, does radio still have a place in our society?

Philip: I don't think it has because Hong Kong is not like Canada or America or somewhere where you have long distance drive and you listen to the radio a lot. People really don't have time to listen to the radio. And we used to count a lot on taxi drivers.

Eugene: Right.

Philip: And now even taxi drivers got about three or four phones in front of them to deal with. So, I think radio is very much a challenging industry. But a lot of them have already branched out to streaming and podcasting. I think that is one way of life. I think the world has changed, hasn't it? We used to go to cinema, the music company needs to make records to make money. But all has changed.

It is like printing money, making records, each record is like HK$100-HK$200, HK$128. But nowadays nobody buys CDs, so where does money come from? Maybe digital distribution, but then digital distribution is not something that anyone can do.

Eugene: Right. So, I mean, you have seen the entertainment industry for the last 40 to 50 years. I think we need stars, we need idols that we look up to. The names you mentioned earlier, everybody will know, Siu Fong-fong, and even up to MC Cheung. People know about them. So, what type of qualities do you think they must have nowadays? Because I am sure our viewers have friends or family who have desire to be in the entertainment industry. It is very glamorous work. What qualities do they need to have? Do they need to be good-looking? Do they need to be tall or handsome?

Philip: I don't think you have to be the most beautiful person in your class in order to be a movie star. Even this year's contenders for best actress and all, they are not necessarily the most beautiful stars. I think they have to have talent. And where does that come from? I think there is a lot of … as I said, it is always learning. It is always about how to enrich yourself with the art. And then you get a chance. So, I will always emphasize: don't give up your passion, get in there, learn more, be curious, and that is the only way to improve.

New market dynamics & industry shifts

Eugene: Right. And you know, in Hong Kong recently, we have a new Kai Tak Sports Stadium. And actually, I am sure you have been there as well. I think we are very thrilled to see close to 50,000 persons' capacities being filled up. Is there a sign of better things to come for Hong Kong?

Philip: I think there will be more major shows coming back to Hong Kong. In the old days, I remember all the big stars used to come, even the Carpenters, The Beatles, they all came. But then for a while, they didn't come because we didn't have the venue. Now we have the venue, I think we stand a very, very good chance. I certainly would like to see more big stars coming for huge concerts with 50,000 people. And also musicals. Because Hong Kong doesn't have enough halls for musicals. But Shenzhen has several wonderful, beautiful theatres, better than the ones in The West End or in New York. And that is why those musicals are going there. Les Misérables, Chicago, you know, they all go there. So, I think the next thing we should have is more musical venues.

Eugene: Right.

Philip: Apart from Kai Tak, we need musical halls for musicals and stuff like that.

Eugene: Right. And apart from that, when you talk about, we talked about the talents, we talked about the venues, but we must have the investors. What conditions do you think we need to get the financial world or our investors going back to this industry? What do we need?

Philip: It still goes back to the venue. If the investor cannot get a venue in time and get enough seats to make a profit, and also to give out to the public, and to the sponsors, then he won't stand a chance. Nowadays, most of the concerts have moved to Macao, why? Because the investors are the casinos. And they will apply to the government to come up with an X amount of investment in cultural activities, including music.

Eugene: Right.

Philip: That is why you see a lot of concerts moving to Macao.

Way forward

Eugene: Right. And I think in summary, how do you see Hong Kong's entertainment world? I mean, things are evolving, the whole world is changing. Where do we see we go from here?

Philip: Eugene, this is a zillion-dollar question. If I have the answer, I won't be sitting here. I'll probably be in my private jet flying to New York, talking to Lady Gaga. You know what I mean? But on the other hand, I see this as a challenge. And Hong Kong is a very, very exciting place. We are always open to the world, and now we have a very good backdoor with our motherland. And I think if we can use this advantage, we still have a very good chance of revival.

Eugene: Right. So, thank you very much for sharing your journey with us.

Philip: You are welcome, Eugene.

Eugene: And we definitely, we know Philip's journey shows that talent, vision, and courage can create a legacy across multiple industries. He has not only witnessed but also helped shape half a century of Hong Kong's entertainment culture.

Thank you for joining us on Straight Talk, and have a good evening.