Woman gives up business to fulfil dad’s dreams

Compiled by CHOW HOW BAN, BENJAMIN LEE and R. ARAVINTHAN

A WOMAN who was adopted as a baby has sold off her business to spend more time with her ageing father and help him fulfil his dream of travelling around China, reported Sin Chew Daily.

Zhang Shuangqi, 75, from Henan province, found an abandoned baby girl in a box by the roadside while returning home from work 23 years ago.

In order to raise the girl, Zhang made more money by working extra hours in farms and collecting recyclable items.

As she grew older, Zhang’s daughter, Baige, realised her father had sacrificed a lot for her and she decided to work hard to repay him.

In May last year, Baige sold her cosmetic business to buy a bigger house and car for her father.

The stories of their travels and life, which were shared on her social media accounts, received an overwhelming response garnering some five million followers.

Their stories reached even more people after they were featured in several variety shows.

Tough time: Cordero says being quarantined almost drove her mad.

> China Press reported that Hong Kong singer and TV host Maria Cordero revealed she had a near mental breakdown during her mandatory quarantine after being diagnosed with Covid-19 last month.

The 68-year-old said it was agonising while being confined in her house for nine days.

“It was really tough. On day four of the quarantine, I started crying and even spoke to myself and to my late husband (Rick da Silva) even though he is no longer around. I told him that it was a very torrid experience,” she said.

On June 24, Cordero revealed on her social media account that she was down with Covid-19, but she returned to work on July 5.

> Kwong Wah Yit Poh reported that Malaysian singer Fish Leong would become the fourth female coach in the upcoming Sing! China programme.

The 44-year-old has shared on her Instagram her experience of undergoing quarantine in China before she started work in the reality TV singing show.

“I wish to have the support of everyone!” she said.

Previously, there had been three female coaches in the line-up – Na Ying, A-Mei and Li Yuchun.

This year, Chinese and Hong Kong singers Liao Changyong, Li Ronghao and Hacken Lee will be retained as the panel of coaches while Canto-pop star Andy Lau will make an appearance as the “witness” in the show.

The above articles are compiled from the vernacular newspapers (Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil dailies). As such, stories are grouped according to the respective language/medium. Where a paragraph begins with a >, it denotes a separate news item.