Coopting Leslie and Anita, 20 Years Later

What do fans think of this government tribute, 20 years later?

Hard to believe but 20 years ago on April 1, Hong Kong lost one of its brightest stars, Leslie Cheung Kwok-wing, a talented Cantopop singer and actor. Later that year in December, Anita Mui Yim-fong passed away from cancer. 

I was not in Hong Kong at the time -- a friend was so distraught he sent me copies of the Chinese newspapers covering Cheung's suicide at the Mandarin Oriental in Central in 2003. 

Fans used to remember Cheung every April 1

Since then every April 1, fans have bouquets of flowers sent to the outside of the hotel where a makeshift memorial is set up every year.

Fans come to take pictures of the flowers that have messages telling "Gor Gor" how much they miss him.

However last year with the national security law in place, the police made it very difficult for fans to even gather. Plainclothes police shooed people away, and they could only take a quick picture of themselves holding their flowers by the hotel and then leave.

This year it seems the government wants to take advantage of the two-decade anniversary with the first annual "Pop Culture Festival" with the slogan "Let's Pop"... 

Let's pop???!!!

What does "Let's Pop" mean?

The Leisure and Cultural Services Department has organised the extravaganza to celebrate the glory days of Cantopop in the 1980s and 1990s. There will also be a "Miss You Much Leslie Cheung Exhibition" at the Hong Kong Heritage Museum to remember the much-loved star, while a concert will be held at Queen Elizabeth Stadium.

Cheung and Mui will also be celebrated in a show called "When Leslie and Anita Meet Hei & Gin", featuring some of the two performers' greatest hits at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Grand Theatre.

It is rather macabre for the government to resurrect these two stars from the dead in the hopes of reviving Hong Kong's fortunes. Fans should be given the opportunity to remember them the way they want to commemorate their favourite performers. Were fan groups notified about these massive initiatives? 

Also -- why is Hong Kong looking to the past when it should be looking to the future? The authorities seem to be politicising these two performers, using their names and reputations to earn street cred.

When a "Pop Culture Festival" says, "Let's Pop", it's just popping pathetic...