Hong Kong artiste Joseph Tay was so incensed by the addition of a new clause in the TVB artiste contract that he grabbed a scissors and proceeded to snip his employee access pass into four pieces in protest.
Tay posted his cut-up TVB employee access pass on his Facebook (on July 5) with the comments: “TVB artistes becoming political refugees!? Going live in awhile.
"Today it was reported that TVB asked artistes to sign new contracts with additional clauses. If an artiste suffers unnecessary losses due to personal behavior and speech, including political stances, the artiste involved will bear all responsibilities and compensation."
TVB藝人變政治難民！？ 忟嬲一陣開live 「今日有報導話TVB要藝人簽合約時有新加條款，若藝人因個人行為及言論，包括政治立場等令無綫蒙受不必要損失，涉事藝人將要承擔一切責任及賠償」 Posted by 鄭敬基 Joe Tay on Sunday, July 5,2020
After suffering severe losses due to indiscretions in the personal lives of their artistes, TVB recently added the new clause to protect the station against such damages in the future.
Fingers pointed to Ali Lee’s pro-democracy political stand and Jacqueline Wong’s scandalous affair with Sammi Cheng’s husband Andy Hui as the main incidents that brought about such a move.
Posted by 鄭敬基 Joe Tay on Monday, April 27,2020
Known in Cantonese as Cheng King Kei, the 57-year-old singer-actor was said to have also found his contract renewal in limbo after he expressed support for the Hong Kong protests last year.
But at that time, Tay said he chose to believe the company was neutral when reporters in Hong Kong asked whether TVB delayed renewing his contract because of "his political opinion on social media and participation in the protests".
Best known for his fire fighter role in 1998 drama Burning Flame, Tay was with TVB from 1987 to 2002, and rejoined from 2014 to 2019.
Tay also formed a Cantopop duo Wind & Cloud with Ringo Chan in 1980 and released a couple of electro-pop albums in the 1980s.
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