Heaven’s Retribution

One of the classic Hong Kong TV series of the 1990s, all-star ATV drama Heaven’s Retribution sets a grand opera of love, family, and friendship against three decades of dramatic changes in Mainland China. Spanning from the turbulence of the Cultural Revolution to the economic expansion of the 1990s, the story captures the evolution and revolution of thought and lifestyles in China and Hong Kong’s changing relationship with the Mainland. With the Tiananmen protests of 1989 still fresh in the minds of Hong Kong people, the drama was particularly significant to viewers at the time of broadcast, and it continues to be relevant today. Heaven’s Retribution has a grand cast that befits a grand drama, with Felix Wong and Simon Yam leading the way, along with TVB crossovers Lawrence Ng and Jamie Chik, veteran Mai Suet, and 1989 Miss Asia pageant winners Yvonne Hung and Christine Ng.

Hailing from a wealthy Hong Kong family, Sung Yat Fu (Simon Yam) and his wife (Mai Suet) willingly move to China in order to help build their homeland, but they end up meeting a tragic end during the Cultural Revolution. Years later, their son Bong (Felix Wong) and his friend Hoi (Lawrence Wong) flee to Hong Kong to escape the persecution of Chinese authorities. Starting anew in the tempting lights of Hong Kong, the optimistic and hardworking Bong carves a successful career for himself and gets caught romantically between two sisters (Jamie Chik and Yvonne Hung). His friendship with Hoi falls out, however, when Hoi cruelly betrays Bong and his sister Ting (Christine Ng) for the sake of money.