Hundreds of fans lined the streets outside a Hong Kong funeral parlour where friends and family of Canto-pop diva Anita Mui, who lost her battle against cancer in December, gathered for her funeral yesterday.
Mui's legions of fans ignored her last request "not to cry for her" as they laid down wreaths and flowers outside the Hong Kong Funeral Home in a final farewell to the "Madonna of Asia."
PHOTO: AFP
"Anita Mui was as courageous as she was talented," said devoted fan, Zheng Ma-ying, who watched the van carrying her body leave for a crematorium after the funeral.
PHOTO: REUTERS
"Her spirit would not be broken despite suffering much during her lifetime and that is an inspiration to her fans. We will never forget her," he vowed.
Thousands of fans from all over the world -- including Taiwan, North America and Japan -- also gathered at the funeral home Sunday to pay their respects to the "Big sister" of Hong Kong's showbiz industry.
Among them was Wu'er Kaixi, a leader of the 1989 pro-democracy uprising in Beijing for which Mui had collected funds, stars Jackie Chan and Nicholas Tse and community leaders and politicians.
Many at the memorial wore black shirts emblazoned with "Cherish the memory of Anita Mui forever."
Mui had stunned her legions of fans after being rushed to hospital when her condition suddenly worsened on Dec. 30.
She slipped into a coma and later died in hospital, at the age of 40.
Movie and music stars, including Canto-pop legend Alan Tam Wing-lun and artiste Kelly Chen, joined government officials and Mui's family in paying their last respects at Mui's funeral yesterday.
Malaysian Jane Yip, who had been waiting outside the funeral home since 7:00am, said: "She is hugely popular in Malaysia because her style is so unique.
"So we wanted to pay our last respects ... Hong Kong may never have another female star like her again."
As Mui's coffin arrived at Cape Collinson to be cremated, fans threw flowers onto the road along which the flower-covered van carrying Mui's coffin on its final journey passed. Some started singing her most popular hits.
Mui ended weeks of intense media speculation by confirming on Sept. 5 that she had been diagnosed with cervical cancer.
"I will win this battle. I won't disappoint my friends. I don't want my fans to cry anymore, to worry anymore. I am not a loser and a weakling even though I am a patient," Mui said then.
Her elder sister, Mui Oi-fong, died of ovarian cancer in April 2000 after a 15-year battle against the disease.
Mui began her singing career in 1968 aged five when she joined her sister in singing Chinese opera and pop songs in theaters.
Her big break came in 1982 when she saw off 3,000 contestants to win the New Talent Singing Competition.
She went on to carve out a reputation as "the Madonna of Asia" with her shocking costumes, raunchy stage performances and a stream of hits which netted her numerous awards and helped transcend the image of Chinese female singers.
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