Farewell Leslie...

The funeral ceremony of superstar Leslie Cheung was one that bears the most tears in recent years. Inside the funeral parlor, more than 400 relatives and friends were raining tears and outside, thousands on fans were sobbing their hearts out. A close friend of Leslie who witness all these happening commented : "Leslie's life has not gone to waste".

Daffy Tong became the center of attraction throughout the ceremony. One of Leslie's niece who went on stage to offer her last words, told him : "Uncle Daffy, I represent my Uncle to thank you. I feel that he is so blessed to have you!"

The ceremony began yesterday at 11.10am but Tong and Leslie's family were there since about 8am to make preparation. Donning a black suit, black tie and with a yellow rose on his chest, Tong sat in the first seat of the front row reserved for family. Sitting next to him was Leslie's elder sister. Tong sat very straight up, with a sorrow expression on his face and was whispering to Leslie's sister occasionally. Leslie's sister would also lightly pat Tong's shoulder from time to time. Sometimes, Tong would stare at Leslie's huge portrait, that was chosen by Tong himself, seemingly deep in his own thoughts.

At 11.10am, the ceremony began. HongKong DJ Suzie Wong went on to the stage and started to relate about Leslie. The program was arranged in such a way that after each phase of Suzie's narration, they would start to replay Leslie's previous interview. When Leslie's voice emerged, many suddenly gasped, then everyone become silent, wanting to listen to Leslie, hanging on to his voice. When Leslie "related" about the painful past of his early showbiz years, Tong, who has been controlling himself, could not bear any longer. He took out a tissue from his pocket and secretly wiped away the tears that formed at the corner of his eyes. Leslie said : "When I first started showbiz , my monthly pay is $1,000. I paid $500 for the rental, and because there were clothing allowance, so I gave $300 to my mother. I would than use the rest for myself. Sometimes, I would even save a few ten-dollars at month-end!"

As the ceremony progress, DJ Suzie said : "Leslie met Tong on 9 Dec 1982 at Regent Hotel. At 2 Jan of the following year, the two started their 20 years relationship." This bit was also printed on the ceremony card. Leslie and Tong could said to be HongKong's frontier for being so open about their relationship. Lastly, when Suzie finished his speech with "April 2003, passed away", Tong had to look for tissues once again.

Leslie's good friend, Jacky Cheung, Tsui Hark (director), James Wong (lyricist), and niece took turns to make their farewell speech. Each time, Tong's tears could not stop falling, many times, Leslie's sister had to help him look for tissues. Those would made their speech frequently mentioned Tong. Jacky also praised Leslie for being brave enough to love and to express himself. Leslie's niece forthrightly told Tong : "Uncle Daffy, tenth uncle had also treasured your relationship. He said that you once lent him a few month's worth of salary to help him tie over the difficult period. For the past one year, I have also witnessed what real love is. You have never forsaken tenth uncle who was suffering from depression, taking care of him day and night. Uncle Daffy, I represent my Uncle to thank you. I feel that he is so blessed to have you!"

James Wong mentioned that Leslie was not only talented, he is also very hardworking. He said : "Leslie was good looking, talented, treat people well too. He is like a precious present from the God. Wong also said that he feels that if he was asked who in the Chinese world does he feel is the best looking, he would without a doubt choose Leslie. He said that he has never seen such a beautiful person. In another part, Wong mentioned that Leslie is a very nice person who does not put on airs. He remembered very well at one of his concert tours, he gave all 100-odd staff a branded gift each. What impressed him was not the branded present but that Leslie handwrote and signed on every present. He also remembered each and every staff's name. There was a stage where Wong choked and said that God has given us such a precious present as Leslie. But why, at the moment when he is so glamorous, must God retrieve his present at this time? Is it to teach us that there can never be anything perfect in this world? So when there is someone like, we have to treasure while we can, because God will take back his present anytime. When he said that, even friends like Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Tony Leung Ka Fai, etc, who do not show their tears in public, finally broke down and cried.

Following, they showed some short snaps of Leslie, coordinated with Leslie's song "The Wind Kept Blowing". First, it was Leslie with his first girlfriend, Mao, Maggie Cheung, Anita Mui and so on. And then, there were many photo shots of Leslie and Tong together. Lastly, they ended with the shot of Leslie walking towards the forest, alone. Throughout, Tong longingly stared at the screen, not wanting to miss any of Leslie's shots. But when the song played to the part "You are already in my heart, no need to asked remembering who" tears flowed again and someone had to give him another box of tissue. When the ceremony ended, and it was time to send goodbye, Tong kept standing at the first front. But his body could not withstand the sorrow and pain anymore and had to be helped to walk by two of Leslie's previous assistants.

Leslie's twin nieces carried Leslie's portrait, followed Tong's behind. This time, they played the song "The Moon Represents My Heart". This was the song that Leslie expressed his love to Tong with. At the crematorium, Tong once again had to face the most difficult of time; he had to push the button for incineration, sending Leslie on his way. This time, he could not bear it any longer and cried out loudly. Some others also sobbed out : "Gor Gor Ah! Gor Gor Ah!"

Anita Mui has been very affected by Leslie's death and that she has been crying and praying for him at home. On both 7th and 8th, she arrived and left the funeral parlor through the back entrance, avoiding the media. And on both days, Anita broke down several times, crying very loudly. Her eyes were puffy and red and her gaze were dazed. She was so weak that her friends have to help her move around. On the 7th April, when Anita saw Leslie's coffin, she cried : "Why?! Why are you like that (meaning why did you do it)?!" Later, when some of her friends wanted to leave, she said that she wanted keep Leslie accompany a little longer. But throughout, she did not really have the courage to look at Leslie's picture. At one stage, she tried to look. But when her vision came into contact with just Leslie's hair, she could not control herself and started wailing again. Upon seeing this, her friends supported her out into her vehicle. On the 8th, when all went to the hotel for the reception, Anita was still very deeply affected. Her tears kept falling even as she ate. At one stage, in the middle of eating, she simply cried out loud, and her friends had to take her home.According to the reports, apparently, Anita wanted to do the makeup for Leslie and did approach Leslie's family about it. But after discussion, the family felt that it is more appropriate for the experts to do it, so they rejected Anita.

Later, during the lunch, Tong could somewhat control his emotion slightly. When someone inquired after him, he said : "I am like a cloud, not knowing where to float to". That person consoled him, telling him to take care, because there is still a long way to go. He answered : "I know."

During the funeral, one of Leslie twin nieces gave out a speech in response to peoples' concern about his motive to commit suicide. "Last April, I got a call from "sup" (10th) "kou fu" (uncle), he asked me to go with him to visit grandma's grave, which is his mom. I realized that he was having depression. After that, I always visited him and talked to him, and I saw it clearly how he suffered from depression and how hard it was for him."

One week before Leslie commit suicide, she went to his house to visit him. At that time, he was really suffering from depression and he said to his niece, "You know, I really love you, so no matter what, you have to live well." And her niece thought that, that is what his uncle really wants to let everyone who loves him to know, "Everyone has to live well."

She also talked about the stories when she and her sister were both young. "I remember when we were small, my mom always asked "sup kou fu" to tutor both of us, my younger sister and I were so naughty and "sup kou fu" had to take "ding ding" (a tram) and two buses to get to our place to teach us. There was a time he brought us out and we went for shopping. We saw a pencil case that we both loved so much and he said that if we study hard and be good, he will buy the pencil case for us. But we were still naughty and "sup kou fu" had only very few pocket money at that time, he still bought a pencil case for each of us, as a gift for the beginning of school year."

"Right now, "sup kou fu" left us, I remember there is a lot of things about him that I have to learn, he really loves us, we thank him for teaching us to be a better person, to love our family and to love our friends." She also mentioned that Leslie always said that although family is important, so are friends. She said, "I know that "sup kou fu" has a lot of friends, but I never thought that everyone can be that good to him. These days, everyone left all of their work and concentrated on helping and looking after his business. Our family was so touching and we are really thankful." At the end, the elder twin said that she and her sister have a card for his uncle, "Thank you for your kindness. Thank you for your caring. Thank you for your smile. Thank you for your love..."

After the reception in the hotel, Tong carried Leslie's portrait back to their home. He had insisted that he wanted the portrait to be placed at home. Along with him was Kenneth. When they reached home, there were throngs of media waiting for him. The situation was a bit chaotic. Everyone was jostling to interview and take his pictures, etc. On seeing the media, he hugged Leslie's portrait even more tightly to himself, obviously out of fear that the media would knock the portrait onto the floor amidst all the jostling. It was quite evident how important Leslie meant to him. Fortunately, Kenneth was there to help him ward off the media and he could finally safely place Leslie's portrait at home.

News from Sina and other newspapers translated by Nicole Tan and Kelly Kwong - LCIFC Memorial Forum

For more news in English, please visit LESLIE CHEUNG ALWAYS

back