ONE of the pieces in Taiwanese American singer-actor Van Ness Wu's new jewellery line is called the Chastity Belt.

And the 31-year-old Taiwanese singer-actor says the piece - a ring designed to be worn on two fingers - is a current reflection of his life.

Van Ness, a Christian, claims he has given up his playboy ways and wants to focus on religion.

He told The New Paper: 'One of the things that I felt was keeping me from God was sex.

'So I told myself, let's just stop that right now.'

Van Ness was in town yesterday to promote his latest movie Kung Fu Chefs, which co-stars Hong Kong actor Sammo Hung and Japanese actress Kago Ai.

In the movie, which opens in cinemas today , he plays Ken, a martial arts foreign exchange student who loves cooking.

The actor, best known for being one-fourth of one of Taiwan's hottest boy bands F4 (now known as JVKV), said he has made a decision to remain celibate.

He has even changed the spelling of his name - from Vanness to Van Ness - the spelling of the road he was named after in his hometown of Los Angeles.

And it's not only his name that has changed.

He confessed that at the peak of his career in F4, he had led a life of 'fast cars and one night stands'.

Van Ness broke into showbiz in 2001, when he was cast with other F4 members - Jerry Yen, Vic Chou and Ken Chu - in the highly successful 2001 Taiwanese idol drama, Meteor Garden.

He said fame and fortune resulted in him losing his sense of self.

Van Ness, who has been linked to Taiwanese starlet Vivian Hsu and Japanese singer Aisa Senda, explained: 'There were days when I thought, 'how did I even get here?'

'I was concerned with the millions of dollars needed to buy a big house. I felt insecure and empty.'

The actor said he put his fast life behind him at the beginning of last year when he returned to the US.

He said spending time with his family and not thinking about work made him 'more grounded'.

Van Ness had given up his job as a telemarketer and moved to Taiwan seven years ago to pursue a career in entertainment.

His mother, sister and niece still live in the US.

But Van Ness said his new perspective on life didn't happen overnight.

'I have been a Christian for the past seven years but have I really lived up to that?

'I asked myself that and the answer was clear. Now I'm a changed man.'

Van Ness, attributes his renewed belief in religion as having helped him when he was down.

He recalled how he felt lost when he moved to Taiwan as a 24-year-old.

He said he was turned down a few times by numerous record labels and had turned to prayer to ask 'for a miracle'.

Before he knew it, he was cast in Meteor Garden and became part of one of the hottest boy bands in Asia.

F4 went on to release three albums and was the first foreign artiste to hold seven consecutive concerts in Japan, breaking the records of Taiwanese and Hong Kong pop sensations Jay Chou and Faye Wong.

Their group albums combined have sold more than eight million copies worldwide.

Van Ness, who has three solo albums to his name - his latest offering titled In Between released in July last year - has starred in movies such as Star Runner and Three Kingdoms: Resurrection Of The Dragon and Dragon Squad.

A different dream

Ironically, Van Ness confessed that he had never wanted to be part of a boy band.

His initial goal, when he made the trip to Asia, was to do TV and film.

He added that at the height of his career, he felt stifled by his management company, Fu Long, which he said dictated his image and choice of work.

Van Ness said: 'I'm not the type of person who likes to be confined.

'I wanted to do the music that I love, not something which the record company thinks will make money.'

But don't call him ungrateful.

Van Ness said he's happy for the path that being in F4 has paved for him and the 'roller-coaster ride of fame' was something that he had to live through and get out of his system.

He has now signed on with a new management agency, BST Corp - which stands for Blood Sweat And Tears - a company which he founded with 'people I trust'.

He plans to focus more on movies and TV dramas, but will also release a new solo album later this year.

He meets veteran chef, Bing Yi, played by Sammo, who takes him in as an assistant.

He also recently launched his jewellery line named 3VO7 (it stands for the word 'love' if the letters areflipped).

Having designed all the pieces himself, he says that the collection is an apt representation of where he is in life right now.

For example, on a pendant named Heart Trap, which is shaped like a mousetrap, the words 'save me' are inscribed behind - his personal message to God.

Van Ness said that he couldn't have done this two years ago because he wouldn't have been in the right frame of mind then.

He said: 'I wanted to make a statement with the pieces and I know people will listen.

'I used to be all about the bling. Now I am just about being positive and healing.'

Van Ness is also doing the English and Mandarin voiceover of bio-scientist Jack Griswold in new Animax film, LaMB.

The film, which debuts on Animax (StarHub Ch 84) on 24 Mar at 8pm, also stars Tanaka Chie and Josie Ho.

And probably as testament to the enduring success of his breakout TV series Meteor Garden, a third remake - in Korean - was recently released in January.

A Japanese version of the show, which is based on a Japanese manga, was released in 2005.

China and the Philippines have also jumped on the bandwagon and announced their own remakes of the series.

Van Ness said: 'I'm glad that our series made such a big impact. I do feel honoured.'

This article was first published in The New Paper.