Leslie Cheung

Leslie Cheung Kwok-wing ({{zh-ts|t=張國榮|s=张国荣}}; Cantonese {{IPA2|ts??55 kw?k33 w??11}}, Jyutping: zoeng1 kwok3 wing4; Mandarin Pinyin: Zhāng Guóróng, Wades-Giles: Chang Kuo-jung)

Death

Cheung committed suicide on April 1, 2003. He had leaped from the 24th floor of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, located at the Central district of Hong Kong Island. He left a suicide note* saying he had been suffering from depression. He was 46 years old.

Related Topics:
Suicide - April 1 - 2003 - Mandarin Oriental Hotel - Hong Kong Island - Depression

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As one of the most popular performers in Asia, Cheung's death shocked the asian entertainment industry and Chinese community. Rumors about his death spread so fast that his family urged tabloids to let Cheung rest in peace, and to not sensationalize about his sexual orientation and reasons for his suicide. On the day after Leslie's death, his long time partner, Mr. Tong, confirmed that Cheung suffered from (clinical) depression and had been seeing psychiatrists for treatment for almost one year. He also revealed that Cheung had attempted suicide in 2002. Later at his funeral, Cheung's niece mentioned that Cheung was very ill and suffered much over the past year (2003).

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Despite the threat of infection from SARS and WHO's warning on travels to Hong Kong; tens of thousands, including celebrities and his fans, many from other parts of the world such as mainland China, Taiwan, Japan, South East Asia, United States, Canada, etc. attended to Cheung's memorial service, which was held by his family for the public, on April 5, 2003. Cheung's funeral was on April 7, 2003. For almost one month, Cheung's death dominated newspaper headlines in Hong Kong and his songs were constantly on the air.

Related Topics:
SARS - WHO - China - Taiwan - Japan - South East Asia - United States - Canada

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Cheung's last album 'Everything Follows the Wind' (一切隨風) was released about a month after his death. Most of the songs in that album were composed by him prior to his death.

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(*)Cheung's suicide note (translation): "Depression! Many thanks to all the friends. Many thanks to Professor Felice Lieh Mak(his last psychiatrist). This year had been so tough. I can't stand it anymore. Many thanks to Mr. Tong. Many thanks to my family. Many thanks to Fat Sister(Lydia Shum Din-ha). I have not done one single piece of bad thing in the whole life, Why does it have to be

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like this? "

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(*)As some examples, Faye Wang from mainland China, John Woo and Chow Yun-Fat from U.S. flied to Hong Kong for Cheung's Funeral during the time.

Related Topics:
John Woo - Chow Yun-Fat

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(*)BusinessWeek: April 14, 2003

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