Taiwanese musician and director Liu Chia-chang died on Dec 2 at the age of 81 after a battle with cancer. Photo: Liu Chia-chang/Facebook
Famed veteran Taiwanese musician and director Liu Chia-chang has died at the age of 81.
The composer of hit songs for Mandopop stars like Liu Wen-cheng, Fong Fei-fei and Fei Yu-ching died on Dec 2 from cancer. His family released a statement to Taiwanese media, which referred to Liu, sometimes known as the “Godfather of Music” in Taiwan, as “teacher”.
It read: “Teacher’s life was filled with music and love. His talent and effort resulted in many works of art which have accompanied and touched countless people. In this difficult time, our family would like to thank everyone for their concern and support.
“In his last days, Teacher was with his closest family and was in a state of peace. His smile and warmth still stay in our memories. We understand the love people have for him, but out of respect for our family’s privacy, his affairs and funeral will be handled in a quiet and simple manner.”
Liu had reportedly discovered a lump in his neck, and found tumours in both his brain and lungs, after a February trip to Hong Kong.
In his last post on Facebook from April, he said he had moved to scenic Yilan county in Taiwan. In recent years, his social media posts have been mainly about the state of Taiwan’s politics.
While his death has been seemingly confirmed, Liu’s estranged son, singer-actor Jeremiah Chang, said he was “shocked and confused” by the news.
In a post on Facebook on Dec 4, the 38-year-old said: “All the reports only cite ‘friends’ and ‘family’, instead of anyone who is named, so I’m left wondering if the news is true or false.”
Chang is the son of Liu and actress Chen Chen, whose heyday was in the 1960s and 1970s.
Chen Chen and Liu married in 1978. In 2015, she revealed that she and Liu had divorced back in 1987, when Chang was only one, but kept the news quiet to protect their infant son.
Liu and Chen Chen, 76, have been publicly estranged since 2017, after Liu lashed out at her and Chang and called them “ignorant and shameless” over a copyright dispute.
Chen Chen then refuted Liu and said he was a habitual gambler who interfered with Chang’s career and forced him to terminate his contract with Warner Music.
The ugly fallout deteriorated into a war of words online and a lawsuit, with Liu accusing Chen Chen and Chang of attempting to take control of his assets, among other complaints.
Chang, who was formerly known as Liu Tzu-chien, sided with his mother and adopted her surname in 2019. (Chen Chen was born Chang Chia-chen.) He has been in series such as Netflix’s crime drama Nowhere Man (2019).
Liu has another son from a previous marriage with actress Chiang Ching. They split up in 1970.
He is known for a varied and prolific career. It includes directing and scoring the 1976 war movie The Victory, which won Best Feature Film at the Golden Horse Awards.
He wrote classic songs such as Wang Shi Zhi Neng Hui Wei (The Past Can Only Be Reminisced, 1970) and Yi Lian You Meng (Fantasies Behind The Pearly Curtain, 1974), the theme song to a drama adapted from famed Taiwanese author Chiung Yao’s romance novel of the same name.
In a poignant coincidence, Liu and Chiung Yao died days apart, with the novelist found dead in her home at the age of 86 on Dec 4. – The Straits Times/Asia News Network
