Mok Makes a Mark Again

18 YOUTH | Campus Wednesday, June 13, 2018 CHINA DAILY HONG KONG EDITION Program MOK MAKES offers global A MARK degrees By HE QI in Shanghai [email protected] AGAIN The University of Michi gan and the Shanghai Jiao Tong University have joint ly launched a global degree This Hong Kong singeractress is celebrating pathway plan as part of their partnership agree ment to build an interna her silver jubilee in the entertainment industry tional educational platform. with a new album and a world tour. The plan will allow grad uates from the UMSJTU Chen Nan reports. Joint Institute to take on master programs at UM and other colleges in the his year marks 25 which was nominated for six United States. years for Hong Kong awards at the 22th Taiwan Under the program, stu singeractress Karen Golden Melody Awards dents will be recommend Mok Manwai in the where she picked up the best ed to UM and other entertainment T industry. And female singer award. universities, such as the though many of the pop stars I belong to the When she received the KTH Royal Institute of from that period have with stage, and I could award, Mok announced that Technology in Stockholm, drawn from the limelight and she planned to get married. Sweden, and the State Uni have become history, Mok still not think of a And, in 2011, she married her versity of New York at remains active, expanding her German husband, Johannes Stony Brook, for further career and building a resume better way to mark Natterer, who Mok first met studies. that many would envy. when the two were students Speaking about the pro She has collaborated with the special year.” of Italian literature in Flor gram, Mark Schlissel, the Alist actors and directors, ence, Italy in 1987. president of UM, says: “It is including Jackie Chan, Wong Karen Mok Manwai The new album also sees good to see students study Karwai and Keanu Reeves, singer contributions from some and gain degrees here. I’m and won many accolades young musicians, such as also glad to see the imple including best female singer Zhang Yixing and Li Ronghao. mentation of the global at Taiwan’s Golden Melody Lee Chungshan, who has Speaking about her collabo degree pathway, which Awards, which is considered been working with Mok since rators on the new album, Mok provides opportunities for the Grammy Awards in Man 1996. says: “For me, the fun part of more students to study in darin music. Lee wrote a song, titled Fly, making music is to work with worldclass universities.” Meanwhile, Mok is cele for Mok’s new album. And different people. They inspire brating her silver jubilee in Lee’s student, singersong me and broaden my vision.” the entertainment industry in writer Li Jianqing, also Mok, who was born in Hong the way she knows — by played the violin and guitar Kong, and is of Chinese, releasing a new album. for the song. Welsh, German and Persian “I belong to the stage, and I Speaking about Lee, she descent, says she wanted to be We hope to ... could not think of a better says: “He has witnessed my a performer as a child. And, so way to mark the special year,” growth from a newcomer to a far, the singeractress has cultivate she says, adding that she will mature singer,” adding that starred in more than 50 mov tour globally from June till her album, Karen Mok On The ies and released over 20 worldleading 2019 to mark the anniversary. Twelfth Floor, in 2001, won albums. engineers and Separately, on May 31, Mok Lee the best music producer However, her road to star gave a 90minute live show in award at the 12th Taiwan dom has not been an easy one. leadertype Beijing, in which she per Golden Melody Awards. And when she released her formed five of her hits, includ “The songs he wrote, espe debut Cantopop album, titled innovative ing Love, Cloudy Day and cially the lyrics, not only Karen, in 1993, she didn’t Baby, and five songs from her touched me but also the lis become an instant hit as music talents.” latest album, Halftime. More teners.” lovers did not immediately than 3 million viewers Lee rarely writes songs take to her husky voice and Huang Peisen, dean of the watched the show via three these days and focuses more unconventional looks. joint institute online streaming platforms on his guitarmaking. But this didn’t stop Mok under the Tencent Music So when the invitation from experimenting and cre The UMSJTU Joint Entertainment Group. came, he decided to choose a ating her own unique style, Institute, established in For the 10 new songs in classic piece he wrote before such as shaving her head. And 2006, currently has 17 dual Halftime, Mok worked with for Mok to perform. The she also incorporated tradi degree majors, 11 frontier over 20 songwriters and result is the rearrangement of tional Chinese instruments research areas and two music producers, whom she the song, Fly, which had lyrics such as guzheng (a traditional engineering majors. has collaborated with in her by San Mao, a Taiwan writer Chinese zitherlike instru According to the insti previous albums. popular in the 1980s. ment) into her albums. tute, the goal of this part “The process of making the The song was performed by She had learned to play the nership is to build a world album brought back lots of Taiwan singer Michelle Pan musical instrument as a teen class teaching and research great memories for me and Yuehyun and released in ager and continued lessons institute in China to nur those musicians. And I 1985. until she left Hong Kong at 17 ture leaders with a global believe the past 25 years have As for other songs in Mok’s to study in Italy and London. vision. shaped me into the person I album, she also worked with In her English and Manda In 2015, the institute am today. Beijingbased songwriter and rin jazz album, Somewhere I began its first scientific “Music is a big part of my music producer Zhang Yad Belong, in 2013, she showed off research project and has life and those musicians I ong on a song, titled Half in her guzheng skills by rework since completed about 100 worked with have influenced Heaven, Half on Earth. ing Eric Clapton’s famous gui more, with about half of me a lot,” says Mok. In 2009, she worked with tar solo in the Beatles’ classic them selected as municipal The first musician that Zhang in her album, Hui Wei, While My Guitar Gently and nationallevel innova came to her mind as she was in which she covered a collec Weeps. tion and entrepreneurship preparing the new album was tion of Chinese old hits. Then, projects. Taiwan singersongwriter in 2010, they continued work Contact the writer at Karen Mok gives a 90minute live show in Beijing, in which she performs five of her hits and five songs In 2016, two majors from and music producer Jonathan ing on Mok’s album Baby, [email protected] from her latest album, Halftime. ZOU HONG / CHINA DAILY the institute were approved by the Accredita tion Board for Engineering and Technology, the most authoritative international Fans poke fun at fugitives collared at Cheung’s concerts certification. And more than 80 percent of UMSJTU’s graduates have By CHEN NAN supermarket or a concert. But Cheung, we are entered top universities I feel grateful that they came ready!” responding to the including the Massachu Hong Kong pop icon Jacky to my concerts. We all need reports of the arrests at other setts Institute of Technolo Cheung, who is acclaimed as music.” venues. gy, Harvard University and the “King of Pop” thanks to his Meanwhile, some fans joked Cheung, 55, who is known the University of Califor long career in showbiz, has about this online saying that as one of Hong Kong’s “Four nia, Berkeley. now got a new title. the police should give Cheung Heavenly Kings”, is currently Speaking about He is being called “fugitive an award for helping them touring various cities in Chi UMSJTU, Huang Peisen, trapper”, because five suspects catch suspects, while others na as part of his A Classic the dean of the joint insti on the run have been arrested rewrote Cheung’s popular hits Tour, which started in Octo tute, says: “It is a rare high at his concerts by Chinese with lyrics talking about fugi ber 2016. er education platform for policemen within the past two tives at his concerts. One of the bestselling sing reform and innovation. months. One of Cheung’s most popu ers of all time in Asia, Cheung And we hope to combine On June 9, two suspects lar songs, titled Net of Love, has sold more than 60 million the concepts and features were arrested at his concert in was modified by fans into Net albums worldwide, and has of both countries’ educa Jinhua, Zhejiang province. of Justice. also appeared in dozens of tion systems to cultivate One of the suspects, sur Separately, a report in the films that have been well worldleading engineers named Ma, 49, was arrested Chinese media says that the received both by audiences and leadertype innovative on a charge of stealing in police are increasingly relying and critics.

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