Stephen Shiu Yeuk-yuen was born in Hong Kong on 22 July 1949 to a family from Zhongshan, Guangdong, and later lived in Taiwan. He graduated from the University of Hong Kong's Department of History in 1971, joined Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB) as a news anchor in 1973, and moved to Rediffusion Television's news department in 1976. Recognised by Steve Huang Shih-chiu and Johnny Mak, he left the newsroom in 1978 to concentrate on drama; in the late 1970s and early 1980s he and Mak ran Rediffusion Television together as its programme-planning manager. As a planner he shaped such hits as Crocodile Tears (1978), Reincarnated (1979), Gone with the Wind (1980), Fatherland (1980) and Tai Chi Master (1980), some of which out-rated TVB's dramas. He left RTV with Mak in 1981 and joined Shaw Brothers, planning three of its films before leaving in 1983. He then worked for Win's Movie Production as associate producer and screenwriter on Tragic Hero (1987) and Rich and Famous (1987), and served as producer or writer on Mak's Long Arm of the Law sequels, The Truth (1988), Iceman Cometh (1989) and Sentenced to Hang (1989). He produced and wrote To Be Number One (1991) and the two-part Lord of East China Sea (1993), and produced blockbusters such as the Royal Tramp films and King of Beggars (1992). After producing Flirting Scholar in 1993 he left the industry for years to run the family building-materials business, also becoming a major shareholder of a listed company and a radio host. In 2005 he founded the online radio station and forum Hong Kong People Reporter, and in 2011 produced and wrote the Category III film 3D Sex and Zen: Extreme Ecstasy before withdrawing from film production; after Hong Kong People Reporter closed he founded the online station Memehk in 2013, and he now hosts online programmes on history and politics.
As a drama planner at RTV, Shiu Yeuk-yuen helped make series such as Reincarnated and Fatherland out-rate TVB, reshaping late-1970s television competition. In film he produced and wrote gangster biographies such as To Be Number One (1991), which helped launch a cycle of Hong Kong biopics, and he later built a large following as an online political commentator.
Achievements
- 1978 · Left the newsroom to become a drama planner at RTV, shaping series such as Crocodile Tears and Reincarnated.
- 1991 · Produced and wrote To Be Number One, later following it with the two-part Lord of East China Sea.
- 2005 · Founded the online station and forum Hong Kong People Reporter.