This year's International Emmy Awards will see two Hong Kong TVB stars vie for top honors.

Charmaine Sheh and Bobby Au-Yeung have been nominated for the coveted award of best performance by an actress and actor respectively.

Sheh earned the nod for her performance in the 2006 TVB hit Dance of Passion, and Bobby Au-Yeung was nominated for his role in Dicey Business, another TVB hit drama.

It's the first time TVB has numerous nominations in the world's top TV production awards contest.

TVB forms a major part of Hong Kong's pop culture, producing a plethora of hits. It is the producer of such popular dramas as "The Drive of Life" and the 1980s classic The Bund, which turned Chow Yun-Fat into a star.

The awards gala, into its 35th year, is scheduled for November 19 in New York City.

The event honors outstanding TV productions made outside the United States.

The most recent Chinese winner is He Lin, who won best performance by an actress for Slave Mother in 2005.

(CRI.cn August 28, 2007)