Asian Stars to Hold Show for Tsunami Aid

[pemberly]

article

HONG KONG (AFP) - Over 150 Asian music and movie stars, a majority of them from Hong Kong, will join forces in that Chinese territory for a huge fund-raising show to help the Asian tsunami relief effort.

Four popular Hong Kong singers Andy Lau (news), Jacky Cheung (news), Leon Lai, Aaron Kwok (news) -- known locally as the four Gods of canto-pop -- are set to headline the show.

Chinese action star Jet Li, who and his family narrowly escaped the disaster when they were on holiday in Maldives, will also share his story of survival.

Thailand action star Tony Jaa, who starred last year in surprise international hit movie "Ong Bak", is expected to appeal cash donations.

Jaa, whose home country is one of the worst hit areas by the disaster, said he was grateful for donations his country had received.

"No-one wanted disasters. But then this has made people realise how important life is. Everyone should learn how to enjoy life and give the others care and warmth," he told Hong Kong-based newspaper Apple Daily.

Hollywood action star Jackie Chan (news), one of the conveners of the show, will not be able to attend due to a prior engagement in the Unites States but will raise funds by telephone.

Other celebrities, such as actor Chow Yun-fat and Maggie Cheung (news), are yet to confirm.

The seven-hour show, "Crossing Borders Fund Raising Show" will be held at the Hong Kong Stadium from 4pm (0800 GMT) to 11 pm.

More than 100 singers from Hong Kong, the mainland and Taiwan have recorded the show's theme song, "Love", a Chinese-language version of "We Are the World", originally released by USA for Africa in 1985 in aid of African famine relief.

All major TV stations in Hong Kong, Taiwan, China, Singapore and Malaysia will broadcast the show live and are expected to draw over 100 million viewers, organisers said.

Nearly 150,000 people were killed and several million left homeless or hungry after a massive earthquake deep below the Indian Ocean off Indonesia on December 26 sent huge waves crashing into coastal communities in 11 countries.

credits to Yahoo News, AFP

[cherrie]

so happy to hear this news. kinda remind me of the charity show anita mui and company organized for 9/11. by the way, why are some actors' names have (news) after their names?

[pemberly]

because there were other news articles about those people. if you click on the link to the real article, then you'll see what i mean.

[pemberly]

article

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Some of Asia's biggest stars, including kung fu hero Jet Li and singer Andy Lau (news), dazzled fans in a marathon Hong Kong concert on Friday to raise funds for survivors of the deadliest tsunami on record.


Fans streamed into the Hong Kong Football Stadium throughout the seven-hour "Crossing Borders" charity show, which showcased well-loved singers from China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, many of whom have not performed in public for years.

Many turned up after work and more than 10,000 people stayed until the show ended at about 11 p.m. (1500 GMT), clapping and swaying as they held luminous sticks high in the air.

The show was the first major event to be held by the celebrity world in response to the Dec. 26 catastrophe. Another is planned for Cardiff in Wales and British singer Sting will hold a special concert in Australia.

A string of famous actors, directors and sporting personalities have also made large individual donations.

In Hong Kong, top regional stars like Hong Kong's Andy Lau, Jackie Cheung, Frances Yip, Taiwan's Chang Hui-mei, Coco Lee (news), Zhang Xiao-yan, and China's Sun Nan packed the stage where they gave a rendition of the signature song "Love."

"Love" is the Chinese version of "We Are The World," the song which Michael Jackson (news) and Lionel Richie wrote in 1985 to raise money for famine-struck Africa.

Tickets to the show were free and it was beamed live to 40 television stations and Web sites across the world.

BRUSH WITH DISASTER

China's top action movie star, Jet Li, who was in the Maldives with his family during the disaster, made a surprise appearance and spoke of his brush with the Dec. 26 tsunami.

"The waters were swirling and rose so fast. After I ran three steps, they were up to my neck and I was carrying my little daughter and holding my aunt ... we fought on," Li said.

"Today we stand here, we are here to give. After such a life and death experience, I want to do more," Li said, adding that he was about to hand over checks totaling more than HK$1 million on behalf of his family and friends.

The stars urged fans to fill up more than 120 donation boxes dotting the stadium while television viewers were encouraged to call hotlines to donate. Company representatives took turns to walk onstage to hand over giant checks.

Tennis star Serena Williams (news - web sites), who is in Hong Kong for a tournament, surprised fans when she walked onstage.

"I'm pledging HK$80,000 to the tsunami victims," said Williams, adding that she would also set aside part of her takings from Hong Kong to the cause.

By the end of the show, donors who called into the event's hotlines and handed over checks onstage had pledged over HK$30 million (US$3.8 million) to the tsunami victims.

The show is the latest in a string of private sector efforts in Hong Kong to raise funds for survivors of the tsunami, which killed over 150,000 people.


The catastrophe has left no one untouched and ordinary people from across the territory have dug deep.

More than 760 prisoners in the high-security Stanley Prison, where some of the city's most hardened criminals are locked up, donated HK$141,788 (US$18,178) on Thursday.

Hong Kong's government, criticized for acting too slowly after the tsunami, has pledged HK$17 million, while private donations have surpassed HK$530 million so far.

credit to reuters, yahoo news.

i encourage anyone who has yet to donate to do so. there are many outlets and many charities. you can donate online through yahoo, amazon.com, msn, yesasia, etc.

[cherrie]

i watched the last 3 hrs of the charity show. of course i enjoyed the show very much, but the show also encouraged me to donate also. im very happy these artists gave so much effort in organizing such meaningful activity and still cared to reach out to their brothers/sisters in need. my special acknowledgments to dicky cheung, cecilla cheung, jaycee chan, and chapman to who flew to indonesia, thailand, and sri lanka respectively to show to the world the actual situation to these affected areas and share their experience. (lol, i sound like the hosts of the show )
anyway, im encouraging also to help the victims in any way you can.