Today, April 1st, is the ninth anniversary of Leslie Chueng's death. Leslie was a famous Hong Kong singer and actor, who committed suicide at the age of 46. As a most renowned Chinese star, Leslie shocked all his fans and Chinese community worldwide. His death note implied that he was in depression, which people largely related to his sexual orientation.
Leslie was also known for his bisexual orientation. He was one of the few Hong Kong actors who dare to come out and play gay characters. His first gay character was Cheng Dieyi, a Beijing opera artist in Farewell My Concubine, by far the only Chinese-language film that ever won the Cannes Palme d'Or. Besides his on-screen contribution, his relationship with his life partner Daffy Tong was under heated discussion as well. In a society that "gay" was still a forbidden word, and homosexual people were unequally treated, Leslie's outstanding achievements and respectful characteristics reverse stereotypes on gay people to some extent. And also, his loyal and sincere relationship with Tong has been a positive pulse on the attitude towards LGBT people in HK as well as in Chinese community. However, his sexual orientation inevitably became a target for homophobic people and media to hurt and damage him.
Now I am listening to his music and writing this post. His fall from the 24th floor of the Madarin Oriental Hotel was a fall of a super star, a role model of LGBT community. We now commemorate him every year for his distinguished performance in both film and music, and also his love and life. Someday, hopefully, every LGBT individual can live a life with equal rights and be free from suffering of depression and discrimination.
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