Many continue to pay their respects to the late Leslie Cheung

It may be April Fool’s Day but it is a solemn occasion for those who knew the late Hong Kong singer and actor Leslie Cheung. They and his legions of fans pay their respects to him on this day every year.

The Cantopop superstar fell to his death on this date 17 years ago from a hotel in Hong Kong. He was 46 and would have been 63 this year.

Among those who paid tribute to him on social media were his partner Daffy Tong and veteran actor Law Kar Ying.

On Wednesday (April 1), the 73-year-old Law posted a photo of Leslie on social media, reminiscing about “Gor Gor” (elder brother) and asking him if he was doing well in heaven. According to 8days.sg on Sunday (April 5), most of the comments on the post were from fans paying tribute to Cheung.

One person was, however, upset and said that Law should have instead been be more focused on Covid-19. He wrote that everyone should think of the people protecting them against Covid-19, such as the firefighters, medical staff and police.

The man criticised Law for not highlighting Covid-19. His comment was reported by others on the post and then hidden. Law was so affected by the man’s comments that he said that he wanted to stop posting on Weibo. Law said that he was being reprimanded although he had over many years always honoured Cheung on April 1.

Law then pointed out that he did care about the pandemic, privately donating masks to Hubei province in China. His wife, actress Liza Wang, also donated to the efforts against Covid-19 last month.

Law, who then said that there was no need to talk further about it, encouraged Hong Kong opera singers to perform Cantonese opera songs to lift the spirits of the people during the current pandemic.

The actor had been filming the drama Forensic Scientist JD in Malaysia and had just returned to Hong Kong last week. He is in self-quarantine at home.

Wang shared on social media that her husband was resting but also teaching students traditional songs over the phone. She shared a photo of them rehearsing but in different rooms. She said that she was one of his students, adding that she had a 10-day performance at the Xiqu Centre in September. /TISG