Today, March 2, 2008, is a sad weeping day for Hong Kong. There was a huge public memorial service for Hong Kong’s loved celebrity icon Lydia Shum Din Ha (???) in a Hong Kong stadium who recently died of cancer at the age of 63. The whole of Hong Kong and all Chinese people in all major Chinese communities in the world watching live TV mourn the death of our loved Lydia Shum, also popularly known as “Fei Fei” or “Sister Fei”. The service drew thousands of friends, fans, family, and media people from all over the world. “Fei” in Cantonese (a Chinese dialect spoken in Hong Kong) means “Fat”, so “Fei Fei” is literally translated as “Fat fat”. “Fei Fei” or “Sister Fei” is a term of endearment Hong Kong people used to calling Lydia Shum. It’s a friendly way “Fei Fei” enjoyed to be called.

Lydia Shum

Lydia Shum was a popular comedian, actress, and MC, well-known for her iconic thick black-rimmed glasses, heavy build, and laughter. Her laughter brought lots of joy and happiness to Chinese people who enjoyed her shows on TV. Since she was a child star in Hong Kong, many Hong Kong people (including myself) actually “grew up” with her early black and white TV dramas, movies, and many big TV shows during the past 40 years. Her name became a household name in every Chinese community in such cities/countries as Vancouver, New York, Singapore, Malaysia, and Taiwan. Of course, she enjoyed much love and respect in Hong Kong and China as an actress, MC, and comedienne.

In every organized activity, she was a great performer on stage. Behind the scenes, she was known as a very professional actress and MC and a very caring and loving person and mom by both younger and older friends and colleagues. Everybody respected and befriended her. Because of that, she has friends over the world. And, more meaningfully, because of her contribution to the community of the city Vancouver, Canada, Vancouver mayor Sam Sullivan honored her by declaring her birthday on June 1 as “Ms. Fei Fei Day”.

Joyce Cheng, 20, Lydia’s only daughter, received the certificate of honor with gratitude and said: “If my mother knows that the Vancouver government has set 1 Jun as Fei Fei Day, she will laugh her signature loud laughter even in heaven.” British Columbia (BC) premier Gordon Campbell also released a statement, which was posted on the BC government website, celebrating Lydia’s achievements and thanking her fundraising efforts. He wrote, “She was instrumental in bringing together performance artists from Hong Kong and contributing to charity events in Greater Vancouver. She was truly a community culture ambassador in the province of British Columbia. In her passing, she leaves behind a legacy of joy, laughter and caring.” On Wednesday, February 27, Vancouver time, “Fei Fei” was buried in Vancouver, Canada. The funeral was held at the Forest Lawn cemetery in the suburb of Burnaby with a large police contingently on guard and a heavy media coverage.

Today, Hong Kong along with many other local and overseas Chinese again gathered and wept over the loss of another great beloved actress after singers and actress/actor Leslie Cheung, Anita Mui, Roman Tam, Danny Chan … etc. These figures were popularly known as great contributors to Hong Kong’s entertainment industry. Many Chinese (both local and overseas) people grew up with their songs, movies, gala shows, laughter and even sadness. Now they all left us with only memories in our hearts and minds - forever. Sadly, all of them were close friends to each other and were gone forever. To me, they were all living a life with great accomplishments and contributions to society but, sadly, all died young.

I know many of you in the West may not know who Lydia Shum Din Ha (???) is. It does not matter. What’s important is we realize that death can be very near us at anytime, no matter how fit/healthy/young we think we are. It can come to us anytime with or without any warning. When we open the newspapers, it is almost impossible not to find the word “death” more than 3 or probably 10 times. So, let us all cherish our life, the days we have left in the second half of our life, and the beloved ones we today can still talk and laugh with. When we are still alive, let’s say to those we loved,”I love you!” for we do not know when we may not be able to say these three words face to face to them, probably the most important words we learn on earth. More important than anything else.

I wonder how life would be without “Fei Fei” Lydia Shum for Hong Kong people and Chinese communities overseas. Perhaps, yes, life should and must continue tomorrow. True. It has to be true. But, is it that easy for people who are actually close friends and family of her? I would say, it is not easy even for her fans, not to mention her family (especially her daughter of only 20) and her close friends …

Time heals. I heard some people say. Maybe. Yes, I hope so.