COMPERE GUO LIANG
CELEB IN OUR
MIDST
COUNCIL MEMBER, NORTH EAST CDC
- Li Xiuqi
You've
seen him on TV. Now he's coming to a CDC near you. Hotshot Chinese compere
Guo Liang, 35, has just volunteered with the North East Community Development
Council.
Born and raised in Shanghai, Guo attributes his willingness to serve
the community to his paternal grandfather. He recalls that their little
city house was constantly filled with lodgers from their hometown, because
his generous grandfather never turned away anyone, even complete strangers
who turned up at their door with dubious letters saying they were related
to some acquaintance of his.
A fervent Chinese Christian, this kind old man was so renowned for
helping people that "a LOT of people turned up at his funeral!"
says Guo. "He had charisma. I hero-worshipped him." But Guo's
second home was the movie studio. His other grandfather was a famous
set designer in the '70s, having done sets for legendary Chinese movies
such as Bruce Lee's Lei Yu. And this 'home' was filled with the movie
stars of the day. "You name them, I've met them," he says.
"They were all this 'uncle' and that 'auntie' to me!" A natural
celebrity, Guo is cool, clear-eyed and charismatic. His voice is deep
and pleasant even without a mike. After graduating with flying colours
from a drama institute, he came to Singapore with his wife, a beautician.
He felt so comfortable here that before he knew it, he had stayed for
10 years.
He is full of approval for Singapore. "Compared to Shanghai, it's
less pressurising," he says, to my surprise. "Back there,
when you meet up with friends, within 20 minutes they start talking
about business. And here, there's a certain peace. You meet fewer baddies
and fewer cheats." Now a citizen, the father of a 10-year-old has
become a true blue coffee-swilling, chilli-guzzling Singaporean. However,
he's not content with just living the Singapore dream. "I want
to be a bridge between the people and the government. As an artiste,
I'm a familiar face to the people and that should help in community
work."
