When ‘Linda Walker’ met Mayor Joy Belmonte: A tale of two studyholics
Let me paint you a picture. It’s past midnight, early wee hours of June 8. Most of us were in bed, dreaming of less traffic. Meanwhile, at the airport, over a thousand Filipino fans, media and vloggers are shrieking like they just won the lotto. Why? Because Zhang Yingfei—the 22-year-old Chinese actress who plays Linda Walker, that brainy, bullied-but-bouncing-back heroine of the micro-drama The Heiress Who Won With Brains—has just landed. She’s in the Philippines for three days only.
And here’s the kicker: She’s smiling. Not a plastered-on, “get-me-out-of-here” smile, but a genuine, ebullient, “let’s-take-500-selfies” grin. Despite zero sleep. Despite a schedule that would make a triathlete cry—walking tours starting that same day from Intramuros, Binondo, to last day at SM North EDSA; also guestings at GMA’s Unang Hirit, ABS-CBN’s It’s Showtime, sit-downs with Jessica Soho and Boy Abunda. This girl is made of something else.
The secret sauce of Linda Walker
What’s her superpower? Turns out, Zhang Yingfei is a newly minted graduate of the prestigious Central Academy of Drama in Beijing, the same hallowed halls that produced China’s talented international superstars Gong Li (1989 grad) and Zhang Ziyi (1996 entrant). Zhang Yingfei graduated just last June 2025. That’s right: She went from commencement cap to viral sensation faster than you can say “study smart, not hard.”
Education, not entertainment
Why fly to Manila during our opening of classes? She agreed to help promote FFCCCII’s “Education for a better future” campaign. Since 1961, the Federation of Filipino Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry Inc. (FFCCCII) had donated over 6,500 rural public school buildings across the Philippines under “Operation Barrio Schools.” We, ethnic Chinese entrepreneurs, believe education is key to a better future and to solving poverty.
FFCCCII also wanted Zhang Yingfei to help boost Philippine tourism (because let’s face it, we’ve lagged behind our ASEAN neighbors, even Cambodia). So Linda Walker enjoyed guided walking tours of Intramuros (she was fascinated with the antique stone lions at San Agustin Church), Binondo’s old Chinatown (she readily agreed to selfies with students and policemen, stopping by to gaze at various stray cats who she noted were sturdy despite being scrawny), and shopping at SM North EDSA. Jet lag? What jet lag?
The mayor who also studied her way to the top
Now, meet our local Linda Walker: Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte. On the evening of June 9, at the SMX Convention Center in the annual Independence Day and Philippines-China diplomatic relations anniversary dinner reception led by FFCCCII, Belmonte received the first-ever FFCCCII-AKFI Exemplar City Mayor Award.
The selection wasn’t a popularity contest. A distinguished panel of judges, led by former Finance Secretary Bobby de Ocampo, Metrobank Foundation president Philip Dy, FINEX president Carlo Lazatin and MAP president Donald Lim, reviewed nominations from 170 Filipino Chinese chambers of commerce nationwide—from Aparri to Tawi-Tawi.
Mayor Joy won because she’s not just politically savvy; she’s a policy nerd. She studies governance like Linda Walker studies for exams. Under her watch, QC earned the COA’s highest rating five consecutive times. She reformed healthcare, digitized processes, and still found time to watch The Heiress Who Won With Brains.
The heartwarming cross-path
At Quezon City High School—the city’s oldest public secondary school—Mayor Joy and principal Dr. Remedios Danao welcomed Zhang Yingfei and FFCCCII officers led by president Victor Lim and EVP Jeffrey Ng. They gifted school supplies, hygiene kits, and sheer joy to hundreds of students. Mayor Joy looked at the actress and said, “Thank you for helping to inspire the youth to study hard.”
Why this matters
In our society with economic difficulties worsened by fallout from the Iran War and our own toxic, corrupt politics, two women—one fictional, one very real—are reminding us to persevere. Zhang Yingfei, the Central Academy grad who charms the public even with lack of sleep. Joy Belmonte, the strategist who studies socio-economic spreadsheets like script lines.
They don’t despair. They don’t quit. They don’t dishearten the public. They study. They serve. They smile.
And honestly? That’s the best plot twist of all.
