TEEN fans shed tears last week when Taiwanese pop idol Nicky Wu Chi-lung bid Hong Kong a temporary adieu to join his colleague and friend Jimmy Lin Chi-yan in the Taiwanese army. Like Lin, Wu will have to do two years' mandatory service before he can continue his career.
* * * IT looks as if things are looking really bad between the local entertainment press and Hong Kong celebrities and their minders. Artists are now screening all interviews very carefully. Not long after one promotion officer grumbled about how the music writers have cliqued up into four rival groups, popster Aaron Kwok Fu-shing (right) muttered to Rap! Rap! about what a waste of time it was for artists to have to repeat everything four times because the rival groups refused to sit in on a briefing.
* * *HAVE an award, Andy . . . just wait a month or so for it! Canto-pop king Andy Lau Tak-wah was just named Most Multi-talented Artist in Asia by MTV in their 1996 movie awards and received his trophy from director John Woo. But he had to return from Hollywood empty-handed because there was only one actual trophy that was being used as a prop all night. Lau will have to wait for a month so he can put the real thing with his 'showcase' items.
* * * SPEAKING of awards, the 'Scarlett Letter' one seemed to have been 'popularly' aimed at ATV actress Sheren Tang Shui-man. Tang, who recently starred in ATV's I Have A Date With Spring, has acquired a reputation as something of a home-wrecker. During the filming of the drama series, there were rumours of her and co-star Kong Wah having a fling, now her name has been linked with another married actor, Wong Man-ying.
* * * WHO'S been a secretive boy then? Director-actor Derek Yee Tung-shing has apparently sprung quite a surprise on the gossip rags with the news of his impending divorce. Apparently they didn't even know that he had tied the knot with his girlfriend of 10 years in Taiwan last September. The couple filed for divorce in March.