Taiwanese pop diva Fong Fei-fei (鳳飛飛), whose legacy includes 81 albums and numerous popular singles, died of lung cancer in Hong Kong on Jan. 3, a representative confirmed yesterday. She was 58.
Lawyer Chiang Yen-wei (江燕偉) said the singer’s body has been cremated and the urn placed at a Fokuangshan-affiliated temple in Dasi Township (大溪), Taoyuan County, where Fong was born.
According to Fong’s official Web site, the singer had thanked her fans for supporting her throughout her career.
Photo: CNA
“I have lived a happy and wonderful life,” Fong said. “Thank you for being by my side all this time, my brothers and sisters. As for the songs I never got to sing in this life, I will sing them to you in my next life.”
The Web site said that Fong had insisted on personally signing birthday and New Year cards for fans, even during the last month of her life.
Chiang said Fong’s death had only been announced now because she wanted a low-key funeral.
“It [her death] happened at a time that was very close to the Lunar New Year holiday,” he said. “Fong was a very considerate person and wanted to keep everything low-key. She insisted that we not make an announcement until after the funeral was over. We hope fans will understand why we chose to handle the matter in this way.”
Chiang said that Fong canceled a concert in June last year after finding something wrong with her vocal cords.
After comprehensive examinations, she was diagnosed with lung cancer, which had already affected her vocal cords, he said.
Fong apologized to her fans for canceling the concert at the last minute, but said that doctors had recommended she rest for a year to recuperate.
Born Lin Chiu-luan (林秋鸞) in August 1953, Fong’s talent was first discovered at a singing contest in 1968.
Some of her popular songs include Wish You Happiness (祝妳幸福), I am a Cloud (我是一片雲), The Wild Goose on the Wing (雁兒在林梢) and When I Heard the Applause (掌聲響起).
Fong was known as the “Queen of Hats,” because she wore a different hat every time she performed.
Her unique voice and style made her a popular figure for other singers to imitate.
In addition to singing, Fong was also cast in several movies and TV dramas in the 1970s and 1980s and hosted a number of entertainment shows.
In 1980, she married Hong Kong businessman Zhao Hongqi (趙宏琦), who died of lung cancer in 2009 at the age of 70.
‘CROWN JEWEL’: Washington ‘can delay and deter’ Chinese President Xi Jinping’s plans for Taiwan, but it is ‘a very delicate situation there,’ the secretary of state said US President Donald Trump is opposed to any change to Taiwan’s “status quo” by force or extortion and would maintain that policy, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told the Hugh Hewitt Show host on Wednesday. The US’ policy is to maintain Taiwan’s “status quo” and to oppose any changes in the situation by force or extortion, Rubio said. Hewitt asked Rubio about the significance of Trump earlier this month speaking with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) at the White House, a meeting that Hewitt described as a “big deal.” Asked whether the meeting was an indication of the
‘RELATIVELY STRONG LANGUAGE’: An expert said the state department has not softened its language on China and was ‘probably a little more Taiwan supportive’ China’s latest drills near Taiwan on Monday were “brazen and irresponsible threats,” a US Department of State spokesperson said on Tuesday, while reiterating Washington’s decades-long support of Taipei. “China cannot credibly claim to be a ‘force for stability in a turbulent world’ while issuing brazen and irresponsible threats toward Taiwan,” the unnamed spokesperson said in an e-mailed response to media queries. Washington’s enduring commitment to Taiwan will continue as it has for 45 years and the US “will continue to support Taiwan in the face of China’s military, economic, informational and diplomatic pressure campaign,” the e-mail said. “Alongside our international partners, we firmly
KAOHSIUNG CEREMONY: The contract chipmaker is planning to build 5 fabs in the southern city to gradually expand its 2-nanometer chip capacity Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, yesterday confirmed that it plans to hold a ceremony on March 31 to unveil a capacity expansion plan for its most advanced 2-nanometer chips in Kaohsiung, demonstrating its commitment to further investment at home. The ceremony is to be hosted by TSMC cochief operating officer Y.P. Chyn (秦永沛). It did not disclose whether Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) and high-ranking government officials would attend the ceremony. More details are to be released next week, it said. The chipmaker’s latest move came after its announcement earlier this month of an additional US$100 billion
PERMIT REVOKED: The influencer at a news conference said the National Immigration Agency was infringing on human rights and persecuting Chinese spouses Chinese influencer “Yaya in Taiwan” (亞亞在台灣) yesterday evening voluntarily left Taiwan, despite saying yesterday morning that she had “no intention” of leaving after her residence permit was revoked over her comments on Taiwan being “unified” with China by military force. The Ministry of the Interior yesterday had said that it could forcibly deport the influencer at midnight, but was considering taking a more flexible approach and beginning procedures this morning. The influencer, whose given name is Liu Zhenya (劉振亞), departed on a 8:45pm flight from Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) to Fuzhou, China. Liu held a news conference at the airport at 7pm,
RSS