Famed romance novelist Chiung Yao (瓊瑤) was found dead in an apparent suicide at 86 years old, two days after pop culture icon Steven Liu (劉家昌) died of cancer at age 83, sources said.
Police found the writer dead of an apparent suicide in an apartment in New Taipei City’s Tamsui District (淡水) after receiving a call at 1:22pm from one of Chiung’s in-laws, a New Taipei City Police Department spokesperson said yesterday.
Officers did not summon medics after deeming Chiung impossible to resuscitate, they said.
Photo: Taipei Times
Chiung’s family told investigators that the son of the novelist received a note addressed to his wife’s secretary, which he sent unopened, the spokesperson said.
Realizing that the document was a suicide note, the daughter-in-law reportedly rushed to Chiung’s residence to find that she had died, they said.
Chiung had for many decades been the leading romance author in Taiwanese popular literature, writing best-selling novels and screenplays, and producing shows.
File Photo: Taipei Times
In 2017, Chiung came out as a supporter of assisted dying, writing in a Facebook post that her husband’s long struggle with illness demonstrated the necessity for a humane end to life.
Separately yesterday, Liu’s family in a statement said the veteran entertainer had died on Monday after battling cancer.
Liu, nicknamed the “grandfather of Chinese-language pop music,” sang, composed, acted and directed numerous works throughout his long career in Taiwan and Hong Kong.
The family requested the public respect their privacy as they wished to mourn in peace.
“Thank you for your consideration and understanding. We also ask that friends from the media give us space so that we can quietly mourn,” they said.
Liu was credited with composing many classic songs for stars, including Unforgettable Past by You Ya (尤雅), On the West Tower Alone by Teresa Teng (鄧麗君), Promise by Liu Wen-cheng (劉文正) and Sea Gull by Weng Qian-yu (翁倩玉).
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