TAIPEI - Taiwanese singer Vivian Hsu has denied that she is romancing Hong Kong actor-director Stephen Fung after photos of them behaving like a couple appeared in a Hong Kong magazine.

In the photos taken last week, Express Weekly showed them chatting and smiling on a Hong Kong street, with Hsu in sunglasses and Fung, 33, wearing a cap.

The singer, also 33, stopped at one point to adjust the strap of his bag. Later, he drove her to his flat.

Express Weekly said they have been dating for a year and that Hsu is the third party in the split of Fung and singer Karen Mok after their nine-year romance.

Commenting on the photos, Hsu on Monday said she and Fung were then with friends.

'I don't know why the magazine wrote that. I don't understand and am helpless about it,' China Times quoted her as saying.

In April, she was spotted with Fung at his film set in Beijing. But she told reporters that they were not close. He also said: 'She's so beautiful. I can't claim to be her friend.'

Mok, 38, on Monday greeted news of Fung's alleged new romance with smiles. Asked about it at Hong Kong airport, she said: 'Very good.'