A family feud involving singer Angela Chang (張韶涵) moved closer to the point of no return after her uncle threatened to sue the 29-year-old for abandonment, but Chang opted to stay quiet on the matter when crowded by reporters upon her return to Taiwan from Beijing on Tuesday night.
Several media outlets have received calls from Chang’s uncle, Chiang Li-le (姜禮樂), accusing the singer of being a cold-hearted daughter who has refused to support her family.
“May a car hit me if she has given the family even one cent,” the uncle said in a TV interview, adding that if he had wrongly accused his niece, he would not have any descendants.
Photo: CNA
Chiang previously said Chang had turned her back on her family and that “she does not even have a clue where her parents live right now.”
He said he had ample evidence that would “let her fans see the real Angela Chang,” exposing her blemished past and dark secrets.
According to the family, Chang made more than NT$150 million (US$5.2 million) last year, but her father had to apply for government disability benefits. Some reports said his application was rejected because of Chang’s high income.
The reported bad blood between Chang and her parents became evident a few years ago when she fired her mother as her agent amid complaints of financial irregularities.
Chang, who was born in Taiwan but raised in Canada, experienced her first taste of stardom in 2001 after years of being rejected by various record companies. The immense success that ensued across Asia was a product both of Chang’s talent and her mother’s work as her agent.
The mother and daughter were known for their good rapport and tight bond and Chang’s image of being a filial daughter was a hit with her fans.
However, when things turned sour, her mother tried to disgrace Chang by dropping hints that her daughter was on drugs and was being “mind-controlled” by a friend skilled in witchcraft who put a curse on her.
The family hit the headlines last week when a friend of Chang’s and her parents engaged in fisticuffs on the street. The uncle accused the singer of masterminding the incident to have her parents beaten.
In a tearful TV interview last week, Chang said she had not abandoned her parents and had chosen a low-key approach to deal with the accusations.
“I helped support the family when I was young and poor. Now that I have money, it makes no sense to abandon them now. I am utterly speechless,” Chang said, but stressed her belief in a family bond despite the furor.
“Just because I choose to stay low-key or quiet does not mean I did anything wrong,” she said.
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