Remembering Coco Lee: tearful tribute as Chinese farmer, 83, recalls how late Hong Kong star helped entire village sell 100,000 kilos of fruit in 2016
- Tearful farmer in central China remembers how Hong Kong star came to his aid when he needed it most by helping him sell oranges
- Late diva Lee took time out of schedule to also gift poor man who was struggling in cold winter weather a down jacket
The late pop diva Coco Lee helped an elderly farmer in central China to sell oranges so he could get home for Lunar New Year, prompting tears from 83-year-old Zhang Wanghan as he remembered her act of kindness.
Lee’s death on July 5 at the age of 48 has prompted a massive outpouring of grief on mainland social media, with many recalling their encounters with the Hong Kong pop star.
“I’ve always remembered her kindness. I am grateful for her. Since I did not have her telephone number, I could not contact her to express my gratitude,” a tearful Zhang said, according to The Paper.
Li Xiaoyang, a volunteer with a public welfare NGO based in Hunan province, said Lee was appearing on a programme at a TV station in the provincial capital Changsha in January 2016 when she heard about an old man selling oranges on the cold, snowy street.
The volunteers at Li’s organisation told Lee that Zhang was sleeping on the roadside when he wasn’t selling his fruit as he had nowhere to go in the city.
With the Lunar New Year holiday looming, he could not get back to his village – more than 400km (250 miles) east of Changsha – until he had sold all of the oranges, according to the report.
