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| Pop singer Leslie Cheung's fans gather to pay last respect Xin Hua News Agency -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fans, showbiz friends and relatives of Cantonese pop singer Leslie Cheung Kwok Wing thronged streets around the Hong Kong Funeral Home Tuesday to pay him their last respect. Thousands continued their mourning from yesterday, dressed in black and armed with bouquets of white flowers braving a steady drizzle. Local TV televised live the mourning situation as fans waited outside on King's Road to catch the last glimpse of their idol. A few people were also reported to have fainted after being overwhelmed by extreme sadness. Some spent time in long queues singing Cheung's old hits, while for others, sounds of sobbing broke through the words as they were unable to contain their grief and wept. Some told the media that it was hard for them to come to terms with the truth that Cheung, enjoying high popularity, killed suddenly himself by leaping off the 24th floor of the five-star Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Central on Hong Kong Island on April 1. White wreaths were also received from Cheung's international fan clubs from as far away as Germany, France and Japan, and also from the Chinese mainland and Taiwan province. |
| Thousands bid last farewell to Hong Kong star Leslie Cheung China Post Taiwan 2003/4/9 HONG KONG, Agencies Thousands of sobbing fans and celebrities lined a Hong Kong street on Tuesday to bid a final farewell to Cantonese pop star and actor Leslie Cheung as his body was taken to be cremated. "Leslie! Leslie!" fans dressed in black shouted as the hearse, covered with white flowers, left a funeral home for a crematorium on Hong Kong island. Some mourners hugged and cried as scattered rain and gray skies added to the gloom. Many of the fans, from Hong Kong and abroad, were wearing face masks to ward off a deadly respiratory virus that has already killed over 100 people worldwide. "A Star Forever. Deepest Sympathy," read a wreath from a group of medical staff taking care of those patients. However, a doctor told Reuters he feared the large crowds surrounding the funeral would facilitate the spread of the virus. The flamboyant 46-year-old Cheung leapt out of a window of the Mandarin Oriental hotel on April 1, leaving behind a suicide note which newspapers said revealed emotional problems. His most recent movie "Inner Senses" was about a man who almost jumped from a building after being haunted by the ghost of his girlfriend. Cheung was one of the first Asian stars to be open about his homosexuality and play openly gay characters in films. He was best known globally for his part in the blockbuster "Farewell My Concubine," where he played a homosexual Chinese opera singer - a role which closely mirrored his life. The acclaimed 1993 film scooped up a host of awards including the prestigious Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. A group of Buddhists planned a prayer meeting for him on Tuesday evening while gay organizations in Hong Kong and Taiwan intend to mark April 1 as "Leslie Day." The youngest of 10 children, Cheung studied at Leeds University in Britain before returning to Hong Kong. His showbusiness career began when he won second prize in a singing contest in 1977 and his music has since won the hearts of many Chinese-speaking people worldwide. But it was only in the '80s, when he branched into movies, that his career really took off. |
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| www.goodbyeleslie.com |
| www.goodbyeleslie.com |