Hsia Yu-shun (夏玉順), a former agent of Taiwanese pop star Liu Wen Zheng (劉正文), yesterday walked back on his statement that the celebrity had died, saying that his false confirmation of Liu’s passing came out of a desire to protect the singer’s privacy.
Hsia on Wednesday said that Liu had died in November last year at the age of 70.
However, Hsia yesterday said he made the false announcement to help protect Liu from people hoping that he would make a return and launch a tour.
Photo: CNA
He said some people have offered up to NT$2 billion (US$66.05 million) for Liu to hold a 50-concert tour in China, Hsia said.
“However, Liu is not interested. He retired in his prime and certainly wouldn’t wait until he was 70 if he wanted to hold concerts,” Hsia said, adding that he just wanted Liu to have some peace and quiet.
Rumors have often circulated, mainly in China, about Liu’s passing, so “I thought it was a good idea, and that he [Liu] wouldn’t be harassed if he were ‘dead,’” Hsia said.
Hsia said he contacted Liu after making Wednesday’s statement and that he was initially amused at the prospect, saying that this way, no one would harass him about concerts.
However, upon further thought, Liu said it was not a good idea, as “he wanted his fans to know that he was still alive, so I had to take the announcement back,” Hsia said.
He said Liu has suffered a myocardial infarction, but was resuscitated and is healthy.
Liu would not be making a comeback on the big stage, Hsia said, adding that his fans should keep Liu in their hearts.
Liu rose to fame in 1975 with the release of his first album The Promise (諾言) and a starring role in the romantic film The Story of Four Girls (門裡門外), released in Taiwan and Hong Kong. He won his third Golden Bell Award for Best Male Singer in 1983.
After a brief retirement in 1984, he returned to Taiwan and founded the Feiying Record Production Co, which was instrumental in bringing to fame the best talent in the nation’s music industry of that era, including Fang Wen-lin (方文琳), Annie Yi (伊能靜) and Donna Chiu (裘海正).
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