Rest In Peace, Anita
We attended Anita Mui's (梅豔芳) funeral.
As with Leslie Cheung's (張國榮) funeral, it was held at the Hong Kong Funeral Home in North Point.
The scheduled time for the public to pay its respects was from 4-7pm. The police worked in tandem with hired security personnel to coordinate the movements of six thousand people as they streamed in.
We arrived at 4pm. It took two and a half hours to go through the shuffle from one staging area to another and through the building.
We would have gotten through sooner were it not for the media scrum. As Mabel and I approached the beginning point of the queue, a reporter spotted us and began asking Mabel questions. Within a minute, we were encircled by a dozen other reporters, photojournalists, video cameras and microphones. It took five minutes to answer their questions.
A few queries were directed toward me. We suspected the interest came as I was the only white face on-site. In the two hours we stood outdoors, I saw only one other Caucasian: a woman with her Chinese husband. Otherwise it was a sea of Asians, mostly dressed in black.
Crowd management was well-run; visitors were respectful and well-behaved during the long wait. Security staff split the crowd into small groups, leaving plenty of space in between for forward movement. They urged everyone to remain calm and walk slowly. Once we reached the head of the column, the staff split us into numbered groups and then led us into the building.
Once inside, we were directed to the main lobby, where six blocks of chairs were arranged, in fifty-seat configurations. As one group left to go upstairs to the main hall, another took its place. When our turn arrived, we walked upstairs, gathered in an anteroom, then moved into the main hall.
The second floor was packed with floral arrangements; the scent of white and yellow roses was overwhelming. A short walk brought us face-to-face with a huge photo of Anita Mui, the image posted above. Following murmured instructions, everyone observed the Chinese funeral custom, bowing three times in succession. Turning left, we bowed once to her family, who returned the bow.
Exiting the room, we were handed a commemorative booklet with Mui's portrait on the cover (the same as in the hall) along with a packet containing a single dollar coin and a candy. We were advised to eat the candy, spend the coin, and discard the packet before we returned home.
Outside, we were again accosted by reporters and cameras. Though emotional, Mabel spoke with eloquence and from the heart. Later we saw parts of our interview aired on both TVB Pearl and ATV news. The turnout was lower-than-expected; the organisers had predicted 10,000. I reasoned that many people weren't over the death of Leslie Cheung; another funeral was too much to bear.
It was the first Chinese funeral I've ever attended. I went to support my wife, yet experienced another facet of Chinese culture. The day was tough on Mabel, but Anita Mui was an important figure in her life, and she didn't want the regret of not attending. I can't classify myself as a fan, but I did appreciate her talents and know she'll be missed.
The loss of Anita Mui Yim-fong will be felt in Hong Kong for a long time.
Rest In Peace, Anita.
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