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).
Eight Chinese naval vessels and 24 military aircraft were detected crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait between 6am yesterday and 6am today, the Ministry of National Defense said this morning. The aircraft entered Taiwan’s northern, central, southwestern and eastern air defense identification zones, the ministry said. The armed forces responded with mission aircraft, naval vessels and shore-based missile systems to closely monitor the situation, it added. Eight naval vessels, one official ship and 36 aircraft sorties were spotted in total, the ministry said.
INCREASED CAPACITY: The flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays would leave Singapore in the morning and Taipei in the afternoon Singapore Airlines is adding four supplementary flights to Taipei per week until May to meet increased tourist and business travel demand, the carrier said on Friday. The addition would raise the number of weekly flights it operates to Taipei to 18, Singapore Airlines Taiwan general manager Timothy Ouyang (歐陽漢源) said. The airline has recorded a steady rise in tourist and business travel to and from Taipei, and aims to provide more flexible travel arrangements for passengers, said Ouyang, who assumed the post in July last year. From now until Saturday next week, four additional flights would depart from Singapore on Monday, Wednesday, Friday
The Ministry of National Defense yesterday reported the return of large-scale Chinese air force activities after their unexplained absence for more than two weeks, which had prompted speculation regarding Beijing’s motives. China usually sends fighter jets, drones and other military aircraft around the nation on a daily basis. Interruptions to such routine are generally caused by bad weather. The Ministry of National Defense said it had detected 26 Chinese military aircraft in the Taiwan Strait over the previous 24 hours. It last reported that many aircraft on Feb. 25, when it spotted 30 aircraft, saying Beijing was carrying out another “joint combat
Taiwan successfully defended its women’s 540 kilogram title and won its first-ever men’s 640 kg title at the 2026 World Indoor Tug of War Championships in Taipei yesterday. In the women’s event, Taiwan’s eight-person squad reached the final following a round-robin preliminary round and semifinals featuring teams from Ukraine, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, the Basque Country and South Korea. In the finals, they swept the Basque team 2-0, giving the team composed mainly of National Taiwan Normal University students and graduates its second championship in a row, and its fourth in five years. Team captain
RSS