Hong Kong pop diva Anita Mui (梅艷芳), known to Chinese across the globe as the "Asian Madonna," died yesterday after a battle with cervical cancer. She was 40.
"She went peacefully and beautifully. Her own last wish was that her fans and reporters could let her go quietly, not to cry and call out her name," action movie star Jackie Chan (
PHOTO: REUTERS
"She really loved to be beautiful," he said somberly.
Chan and actress Michelle Yeoh (楊紫瓊) were among friends who kept vigil overnight at the Hong Kong Sanatorium and Hospital.
Another close friend, fashion designer Eddie Lau (
Often compared to Madonna, Mui drew admiration from fans all over the region with her flamboyant on-stage persona.
"This is really very sad. I am going out to get her latest concert DVD so that I'll always be able to see her past glory," said Evelyn Ip, a 36-year-old Singaporean on a visit to Hong Kong.
"It's such a pity," said one middle-aged woman buying up Mui CDs at a Hong Kong shop.
"I feel as though we grew up together," he said.
The singer, whose elder sister died of cervical cancer, revealed in September that she too had the disease and was undergoing chemotherapy. She managed to give several concerts last month, but sometimes appeared breathless on stage.
Mui began her singing career as a little girl, giving shows at an amusement park. She shot to stardom as a teenager after winning a singing contest in 1982.
She starred in more than 40 movies over 20 years. Recently though, on the advice of friends, she declined a starring role in a film by acclaimed Chinese director Zhang Yimou (張藝謀), the South China Morning Post reported.
BACK IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD: The planned transit by the ‘Baden-Wuerttemberg’ and the ‘Frankfurt am Main’ would be the German Navy’s first passage since 2002 Two German warships are set to pass through the Taiwan Strait in the middle of this month, becoming the first German naval vessels to do so in 22 years, Der Spiegel reported on Saturday. Reuters last month reported that the warships, the frigate Baden-Wuerttemberg and the replenishment ship Frankfurt am Main, were awaiting orders from Berlin to sail the Strait, prompting a rebuke to Germany from Beijing. Der Spiegel cited unspecified sources as saying Beijing would not be formally notified of the German ships’ passage to emphasize that Berlin views the trip as normal. The German Federal Ministry of Defense declined to comment. While
‘UPHOLDING PEACE’: Taiwan’s foreign minister thanked the US Congress for using a ‘creative and effective way’ to deter Chinese military aggression toward the nation The US House of Representatives on Monday passed the Taiwan Conflict Deterrence Act, aimed at deterring Chinese aggression toward Taiwan by threatening to publish information about Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials’ “illicit” financial assets if Beijing were to attack. The act would also “restrict financial services for certain immediate family of such officials,” the text of the legislation says. The bill was introduced in January last year by US representatives French Hill and Brad Sherman. After remarks from several members, it passed unanimously. “If China chooses to attack the free people of Taiwan, [the bill] requires the Treasury secretary to publish the illicit
A senior US military official yesterday warned his Chinese counterpart against Beijing’s “dangerous” moves in the South China Sea during the first talks of their kind between the commanders. Washington and Beijing remain at odds on issues from trade to the status of Taiwan and China’s increasingly assertive approach in disputed maritime regions, but they have sought to re-establish regular military-to-military talks in a bid to prevent flashpoint disputes from spinning out of control. Samuel Paparo, commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, and Wu Yanan (吳亞男), head of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Southern Theater Command, talked via videoconference. Paparo “underscored the importance
The US House of Representatives yesterday unanimously passed the Taiwan Conflict Deterrence Act, which aims to disincentivize Chinese aggression toward Taiwan by cutting Chinese leaders and their family members off from the US financial system if Beijing acts against Taiwan. The bipartisan bill, which would also publish the assets of top Chinese leaders, was cosponsored by Republican US Representative French Hill, Democratic US Representative Brad Sherman and seven others. If the US president determines that a threat against Taiwan exists, the bill would require the US Department of the Treasury to report to Congress on funds held by certain members of the
RSS