The body of Taiwanese-Canadian actor and model Godfrey Gao (高以翔), who died on Wednesday after suffering a heart attack in China, was returned home yesterday.
Gao’s girlfriend, Bella, and his elder brother, Charles Gao (高宇橋), accompanied the body, which arrived at Taoyuan International Airport at about 2am on a China Eastern Airlines flight.
Godfrey Gao, 35, passed away after he collapsed while competing as a guest in the Chase Me reality show produced by Zhejiang Satellite TV in Ningbo, Zhejiang Province.
His heart stopped beating for about three minutes, local Chinese-language media have reported.
He was rushed to a hospital and underwent emergency treatment for almost three hours, but doctors were unable to resuscitate him and he was pronounced dead, his agency JetStar said.
Guests on the show, which started early last month, are divided into two teams and compete in various physically challenging missions.
Before filming, Godfrey Gao had worked 17 hours straight and was probably fatigued, which might have contributed to his collapse, local media reported.
After Godfrey Gao’s body arrived in Taiwan, his family held a simple memorial ceremony before it was moved to Municipal Taipei First Funeral Parlour.
He is to be laid to rest at Chinpaoshan Cemetery in New Taipei City and a memorial service has been scheduled for Dec. 15, local media reported.
Godfrey Gao’s fans gathered outside the funeral parlor where his body was kept in Hangzhou, before it was transported to Shanghai Pudong Airport for its flight home.
Godfrey Gao was born in Taipei in Sept. 22, 1984, to a Taiwanese father and a Malaysian mother, and has two elder brothers.
He studied in Canada and earned a bachelor’s degree before returning home to pursue a career in entertainment in 2004.
Several participants in Chinese reality shows have been injured over the past few years.
Wu Mochou (吳莫愁), a Chinese singer, fell and sustained a concussion during filming of the Trump Card show in January 2016. That show was also produced by Zhejiang Satellite TV.
Zhang Jie (張杰), another Chinese singer, was injured after being deprived of oxygen while competing in the same show in March last year.
Godfrey Gao’s death sparked an outcry from Chinese Internet users, who urged the company to pay more attention to the safety of the contestants in its reality shows.
Some accused the Chase Me production team of not providing adequate first aid to Godfrey Gao and criticized it for continuing filming after he collapsed.
DEFENSE: The National Security Bureau promised to expand communication and intelligence cooperation with global partners and enhance its strategic analytical skills China has not only increased military exercises and “gray zone” tactics against Taiwan this year, but also continues to recruit military personnel for espionage, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said yesterday in a report to the Legislative Yuan. The bureau submitted the report ahead of NSB Director-General Tsai Ming-yen’s (蔡明彥) appearance before the Foreign and National Defense Committee today. Last year, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) conducted “Joint Sword-2024A and B” military exercises targeting Taiwan and carried out 40 combat readiness patrols, the bureau said. In addition, Chinese military aircraft entered Taiwan’s airspace 3,070 times last year, up about
The Overseas Community Affairs Council (OCAC) yesterday announced a fundraising campaign to support survivors of the magnitude 7.7 earthquake that struck Myanmar on March 28, with two prayer events scheduled in Taipei and Taichung later this week. “While initial rescue operations have concluded [in Myanmar], many survivors are now facing increasingly difficult living conditions,” OCAC Minister Hsu Chia-ching (徐佳青) told a news conference in Taipei. The fundraising campaign, which runs through May 31, is focused on supporting the reconstruction of damaged overseas compatriot schools, assisting students from Myanmar in Taiwan, and providing essential items, such as drinking water, food and medical supplies,
STRICTER ENFORCEMENT: Taipei authorities warned against drunk cycling after a sharp rise in riding under the influence, urging greater public awareness of its illegality Taipei authorities have issued a public warning urging people not to ride bicycles after consuming alcohol, following a sharp rise in riding under the influence (DUI) cases involving bicycles. Five hundred and seven people were charged with DUI last year while riding YouBikes, personal bicycles, or other self-propelled two-wheelers — a fourfold increase from the previous year, data released by the Taipei Police Department’s Traffic Division showed. Of these, 33 cases were considered severe enough to be prosecuted under “offenses against public safety,” the data showed. Under the Road Traffic Management and Penalty Act (道路交通管理處罰條例), bicycles — including YouBikes and other
A magnitude 4.3 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 8:31am today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was located in Hualien County, about 70.3 kilometers south southwest of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 23.2km, according to the administration. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taitung County, where it measured 3 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 2 in Hualien and Nantou counties, the CWA said.
RSS