Pop diva Anita Mui ‘deeply involved’ in saving June 4th dissidents: activist
Hong Kong’s former pop superstar Annita Mui (梅艷芳) was “involved deeply” into the “Project Siskin” (黃雀行動), a pro-democracy secret campaign that helped bring hundreds of student leaders of the Tiananmen Massacre and other Chinese dissidents to safety to western countries between 1989-1997, according to Hong Kong media reports.
Annita Mui was the Madonna-equivalent pop diva during the 80s and 90s in Hong Kong. She has been well known as patriotic and pro-democratic movement in China. She passed away five years ago of ovarian cancer, at age 40.
“Project Siskin” was started by a few people, a few members of the HK’s entertainment circle being the pillar, in 1989 around the Tiananmen Massacre. Director John Shum (岑建勳) has only been the only “outed” member of the industry to have a leadership role in the rescue project. The project also involved members of triad gangs (who helped smuggle dissidents out of China) and some businessmen (who funded the project). Taiwan president Ma Yingjeou also dominated money to the project.
According to the Apple Daily, businessman Chan Ta-ching was one of the leaders of Project Siskin. He spoke publicly in a forum in Hong Kong yesterday and disclosed more details about the project. According to Chan, Annita Mui and famous actor Kwong-wing Tang were also involved in saving Chinese dissidents, with Mui being “involved much deeper”.
He fell short of disclosing more details, quoting safety of many other people who are still alive and/or living in China.
Mui was one of the organizers of the mega stars-filled fund-raising event, Concert for Democracy in China (民主歌聲獻中華), held at Hong Kong’s Victoria Park on May 27, 1989. The event raised HK$30 million in one day of marathon performances.
“The pro-democracy movement has changed me completely,” Mui told an entertainment magazine published on June 4th 1989.
“I never have any interest in politics. I don’t even fully understand the (politics behind the) handover of Hong Kong after 1997. However, this student movement has shaken me from my ignorance. Like most HK citizens with conscience, I was awaken by the patriotism of the students, which turned me from a clueless bystander into an active participant (in political events).”
“When I was really angry watching the event unfolding in Beijing, I have impulses to fly over to Beijing and show my support to the students. But my friends stopped me, saying a single person couldn’t do much. But I tell you, if I could meet Li Peng (the premier at the time who urged Deng Xiaoping to crash down on the student movement) I’d go… I wanna ask him what he’s doing, and see what he’s done,” Mui said in the interview.
Asked if she was worried if China would forbid her to go to China, she said she had no regret. “My songs are for the people, it doesn’t matter if I personally go there or not.”
Mui was an Canadian immigrant. But she torned her landing paper after she was treated roughly at the border by Canadian officials.
on the eve of 6-4 let me write some nonsense. i don’t know what is meant by deeply involved. all this talk about what they did was vague and nothing extraordinary. after all these years why mentioned it now why not mention it on the first secpnd or third anniversary of june 4 instead of 20 yrs later . give me a break.
at the time of this crisis many people did many things to help. but soon it became business as usual again in hongkong.
now they need some publicity for the 20 yr thing so they bring up the deeds of a dead entertainer. except all they can say was deeply involved or she was deeper involved than the others.
hk people grow up u have never given up your own life for democracy either under british or chinese rule. by commemorating the brave sometimes we end up believing we were the brave
i don’t agree that they bring anita mui up for the sake of publicity. project siskin lasted until 1997, how could any one imagine they could mention any details in the first or second year?
yes, it’s business as usual in hk. yes, hk ppl are still money thirsty. yes, hk ppl never given up their own life for democracy. yes, neither you nor i want to get “deeply involved” in this kind of stuff. yes, i don’t like 李卓人、張文光 and i think they are fake. (the only person i really admire is 司徒華) and yes, i don’t think these ppl would try to stand in the way of the tanks if there’d be a gov crack down in hk.
but no matter what, it is necessary for our society to have some ppl who are willing to spare their time and effort chasing after justice. justice is vague but it’s an ultimate goal of life and the ultimate tool to keep society balanced.
my salute to the 150,000 hkers who attended the anniversary at victoria park last night! that’s the power of ppl…. so no more brainwashed theory, please…
(too bad Ming Pao and Apple Daily are the only HK papers who put this story on the front page. Sing Tao, Oriental Daily, Sing Pao, HK Daily…. all bury the story on page A100….)