Video of tai-tai Gloria Chor goes viral on YouTube
The efforts of a Hong Kong businessman to pull the plug on a video of the exploits of his lonely tai-tai wife have backfired, with it becoming a YouTube sensation.
The controversial 12-minute video was filmed by then University of Hong Kong graduate student Lorea Solabarrieta and uploaded to YouTube in May. It initially attracted just a few thousand views.
A fortnight ago, businessman David Chor Ki-kwong served a writ on Solabarrieta, citing a breach of confidence - and by last night the video had been viewed almost 85,000 times.
Chor is asking the High Court to issue an injunction against the distribution of the video.
In the video, entitled , Chor's wife and main protagonist Gloria talks openly about life as a well-heeled tai-tai.
She describes herself as someone who does not need to work because she has a rich husband to keep her.
Her days are filled with shopping, going to the gym and socialising with fellow tai-tais; on weekends, she plays golf with her husband, who travels during the week on business.
But it's not all glamour and glitz despite a scene showing Gloria's collection of Hermes and Gucci handbags.
"He doesn't have much time for me," she says, breaking down in tears.
"He promised me that when our son left for school, he would spend more time with me. But I don't feel he has done this. If I could change my lifestyle, I would tell myself to be more independent."
The clip features family photographs showing the couple's three children: daughters Lillian and Laurel and son Leo, who is interviewed about his life, attending school in Phuket and his relationship with his parents.
Gloria recounts how when they met, David was not rich.
He in turn admits that when he proposed he did not have a diamond ring, something he has made up for in spades.
"After many years of marriage, she has lots of diamond rings, lots of them. Handbags, shoes, your mum is a big shopper," David says in the video.
He says that he will not question his wife's many purchases unless they are "outrageously expensive".
"She was very pretty and came from a very decent family. A lot of boys chased her and I just happened to be the lucky guy."
On her personal website Freedom Lab, Solabarrieta, a former journalist at CCTV and TVB, says her videos aim to "tell real-life stories truthfully, through the eyes of the storyteller, without interference or propaganda from China and other Asian governments".
Other videos on the site cover pole dancing, a music festival in the US, an extreme sports fanatic and heli-skiing, as well as trite blog posts of city life.
Solabarrieta said she would consult her lawyers, while Chor did not return calls for a comment.
