Interested in social issues in his youth, Chan Kiu Ying joined the weekly The Seventies with John Sham, studied journalism at Chu Hai College for two years and then spent more than a year travelling and studying in France, watching many art films. Back in Hong Kong he edited the magazine Silver Screen and in 1977 joined TVB as a scriptwriter, first honing his craft on the variety show Enjoy Yourself Tonight before moving to drama, where he scripted the long serial Conflict (1978) and became script editor of The Bund (1980), reportedly shaping the character Hui Man-keung after the novelist Wu Ming-shi's figure Yindi. He was script editor for Chor Lau-heung (1979), The Passenger (1981) and The Legend of the Condor Heroes (1983), rising into management, while also co-writing New Wave screenplays such as Cops and Robbers (1979) and features including The Crocodile (1982). In 1985 John Sham recruited him to D&B Film as creative manager, and he oversaw major productions such as Twinkle Twinkle Lucky Star (1985) and Yes, Madam (1985). He later wrote for Asia Television and the mainland, produced and script-edited ViuTV's The Republic (2019), and served two terms as vice-chairman of the Hong Kong Screenwriters' Guild.
From television scriptwriter to film creative manager, Chan Kiu Ying was script editor on such landmark series as The Bund and The Legend of the Condor Heroes, a key writer of Hong Kong television's 1980s golden age. He later moved between film, television and mainland production and long mentored younger writers, working across TVB, ATV and ViuTV.
Achievements
- 1977 · Joined TVB as a scriptwriter, first training on the variety show Enjoy Yourself Tonight.
- 1980 · Served as script editor on The Bund, shaping the character Hui Man-keung after the novelist Wu Ming-shi's figure Yindi.
- 1985 · Joined D&B Film as creative manager at John Sham's invitation.