A young female fan of Hong Kong star Andy Lau has
recently experienced both the highest and lowest points in her
life. After finally receiving the chance to meet her long-time
idol, she also received word of her father's death. There has been
a public outcry of anger towards the girl, particularly from
Chinese netizens. She returned to the mainland Wednesday night with
her mother, but refused to claim her father's body.
Andy Lau has released a statement saying he was
shocked to hear the news and urged his fans to be rational in order
to avoid a repeat of this tragedy.
Yang Lijuan, a 28-year-old girl from northwestern
China's Gansu Province, became a huge fan of Andy Lau 13 years ago.
From that moment, the only thing she cared about in life was to
meet her idol. She quit school, wrote letters, and spent many years
watching the star's music videos. Yang even made public attempts to
get close to him, two times in Hong Kong and once in Beijing, but
both times was disappointed.
Andy Lau, one of the most famous Hong Kong stars,
has had a brilliant and legendary career in both the music and
movie industries, and is considered one of the most recognizable
icons for Chinese people. Yang once said if she could not
intimately meet Lau, she would never marry and lose the will to
live.
Yang Qinji, the girl's father, was a 68-year-old
retired middle school teacher who supported the entire family with
his pension of 1,900 yuan per month. Her mother was unable to work
due to poor health. Her parents tried to persuade her to give up
the quest, but after these efforts failed, her father decided
instead to help the girl realize her dreams at any cost.
They sold almost everything, including their
apartment; when this was not enough, her father tried to sell a
kidney but was rejected by the hospital. He then borrowed
high-interest loans totaling 11,300 yuan to cover the family's
travels to Hong Kong.
Previously, Andy Lau had openly rebuked the girl in
a TV interview after he learned about the situation. He claimed
what she had been doing -- dragging her family into a desperate
condition -- was "not right, normal, natural, or filial." Because
of this, Lau refused to see the girl.
However, Yang Lijuan insisted she was not an
ungrateful person. To clarify the misunderstandings and restore her
image in the star's heart, the girl and her family came to Hong
Kong for the third time last week, and finally managed to meet the
superstar at a fan event on Sunday with the help of Andy Lau's Hong
Kong fan club.
But her father became furious after he was informed
that his daughter wouldn't get a chance to spend enough time to
talk privately with the star about her feelings for him. Yang Qinji
jumped into the sea early Monday morning while his wife and
daughter were still asleep in a fast food restaurant. He was
rescued by the coast guard, but died later in the hospital. His
last wish, expressed in a 12 page letter, was for Andy Lau to see
his daughter again.
Lau's reps denounced the accusation and showed
three photographs as proof the pop star did spend time with the
girl. They offered some help on the day the tragedy occurred and
expressed hopes that the family would return to their hometown to
start life anew.
"Who do you think you are, Andy Lau?" The father
protested in his letter, saying the reason why he committed suicide
was because he was not satisfied with the way Any Lau treated his
daughter. He blamed all the tragedies and his death on Andy Lau and
told the star he would not rest in peace until his daughter spent
time again with him.
"Andy Lau ... you are selfish and hypocritical ...
my daughter has wasted her adolescence and we are living in heavy
debt ... aren't you guilty for this?"?
?
It was reported that due to the incident, Andy Lau has cancelled a
scheduled film shoot for his part in the epic Three Kingdoms:
Resurrection of the Dragon in Gansu Province, where the
family's hometown is located.
The girl and her mother were stunned by Yang
Qinji's death. They?were back from Hong Kong to Shenzhen
Wednesday night but refused to claim the father's body, citing
money and heartbreak as the reasons.
Despite all of this, Yang Lijuan still wants to see
Andy Lau and said she would be back to Hong Kong again to fulfill
her father's last will.
Most Chinese people were angry with the girl after
learning the news, which soon became the hottest headline across
China. Netizens poured their anger and sympathy upon the daughter
while a batch of Chinese stars accepted interviews and asked their
fans to be rational and think twice before taking any extreme
action.
Li Zixun, a well-known Chinese psychologist, told
Chongqing Times that the family must be paranoiac to take
these extreme actions, while professor and sociologist Zhou
Xiaozheng with Renmin University of China said the case only
represents an individual case of psychosis in the fan.
But Chinese critic Zhang Ruoyu said the incident
might hint at the possible culture crisis for Chinese society in
the entertainment era. When stars like Andy Lau have become the
spiritual comforts for some hearts, people should realize that
humanity is suffering.
Yang Qinji from China's
northwestern city Lanzhou, is rushed to hospital after he drowned
himself in the sea following his declined request by Hong Kong
singer Andy Lau of a personal engagement with his daughter Yang
Lijuan, a fanatical fan of Andy, in Hong Kong, March 28, 2007. Yang
Lijuan has been seeking close contact with Andy for over a decade,
flying across China to see his show, and her family have spent all
they own to fund the woman's far-flung pursuit of the
singer.
Yang Lijuan (L) from
China's northwestern city Lanzhou, a fanatical fan of Hong Kong
singer Andy Lau, and her mother rest at a street corner in Hong
Kong.
The posthumous paper of
Yang Qinji, who commited suicide after Hong Kong singer Andy Lau
declined his request of a personal engagement with her daughter Yan
Lijuan, a fanatical fan of Andy. In the paper,the old man accused
Andy of being prideful and again solicited? him of meeting his
daughter. Yang Lijuan has been seeking close contact with Andy for
a decade, flying across China to see his show, and her family have
spent all they own to fund the woman's far-flung pursuit of the
singer.
(China.org.cn by Zhang Rui, March 30, 2007)
