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I was born in Hong Kong. I went to high school in Montreal. I moved back after university.
When I was growing up, deep down I had hopes of becoming a singer—but I never told anyone about it.
After I came back to Hong Kong, I joined the New Talent Singing Awards [in 1996]. I won it by accident.
It happened really quickly. My parents weren’t against it, but they were worried.
I’ve been a fan of Anita Mui since I was 9 years old. Her influence on me wasn’t only limited to entertainment, but also my character and worldview.
Would Anita have come to Occupy Central? Yes—there is no doubt about that.
There is no need to think about whether or not my support for Occupy Central will affect my career [in the Mainland]—it’s definitely going to have an effect.
I put those thoughts aside the first day I came out to protest. Occupy Central has made me understand where my priorities lie.
I saw the students rushing in, then the tear gas… There was no option but to stand up.
There are moments in life when you realize that there are things that you have to do.
There has never been such a movement in the history of Hong Kong. I’m leaning towards not thinking about what’s going to happen next.
My career is only one part of my life. There are other things in my life that I need to pursue that are more important than whether or not I appeal to a market, or how much money I make.
Hong Kong is somewhere that discourages people from expressing themselves.
Children do their homework and their exams, then get graded. They are not encouraged to be creative, nor to reach their full potential.
Discrimination happens in a lot of places around the world. It has to do with education and [reflects that] society hasn’t fully evolved.
It’s precisely the reason why we need more people to stand up and express what they truly believe in.
Everything I do—from the creative side to social activism—I hope that it will encourage people to be themselves and follow their hearts.
In the Hong Kong entertainment industry, it is weird that people have lost the sense of awareness of their local identity.
It’s a society-wide problem. Hong Kong people don’t seem to support their own city. But Occupy Central is changing that.
I’m optimistic. Hong Kong is doing things differently—from the way people express themselves, to how they bond with each other—and where people stand within the community.
Whether or not we have a positive outcome, the changes are still there. It’s not something that can easily be taken away.
My biggest challenge over the years is in getting to know myself.
In life, that’s something that everyone faces. Getting to know yourself, accepting your good side and bad side, and learning how to let yourself grow—these are reasons why we are on earth today.
The majority of people find it hard to face their own weaknesses. They try to hide from them.
I don’t care about criticism. In this day and age—with the internet and so on—it’s so easy to criticize someone. It’s more important to concentrate on what you’re doing and follow your instincts.
I believe that when you are genuine in what you do, people can see that.
Of course, there are things that you think you could have done better. But if I had made my decisions in a different way, I would be a different person today.
For the past few years, I lost my connection with Hong Kong. But now I feel like I’ve become closer to it.
My favorite thing about Hong Kong is this moment in time—but it’s also my least favorite. The most beautiful and the ugliest sides of Hong Kong are both happening right here.
The Hong Kong spirit of helping each other out is something that was lost for a long time. But that’s making a return. I don’t like the greed, the selfishness, and the indifference some people feel towards what’s happening in society.
However, everything happens for a reason. If there wasn’t an ugly side to things, then the beauty of it wouldn’t show up.
I think the most important thing in life is to keep your inner child alive.
You have to be true to yourself in order to see things with clarity.


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Denise Ho

Magazines

For the past few weeks Cantopop singer and actress Denise Ho, also known as HOCC, has been a high-profile supporter of Occupy Central. In November 2012, she became the first Hong Kong celebrity to come out as a lesbian. At her tent in Admiralty, she tells Andrea Lo how the Umbrella Revolution has changed Hong Kong.
