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My Hong Kong | Why Anita Mui will always be in Hong Kong people’s hearts, as biopic of the actress and Canto-pop singer reminds us, and why we should honour all who’ve helped make the city a global icon

  • Anita Mui is known as the ‘daughter of Hong Kong’ and her rags-to-riches story strikes a chord with many Hongkongers
  • Her life and 20-year show business career are celebrated in the biopic Anita, which perfectly captures the spirit of the 1980s and ’90s

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Hong Kong diva Anita Mui Yim-fong (pictured in 1987) lives on in the hearts of her fans, 18 years after her death. Photo: SCMP

Can we truly love and miss someone we have never met? It’s certainly rare, but I think it’s possible.

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I’m not thinking of the unrequited love of a super fan, which can often verge on the obsessive. People can genuinely love a celebrity like they are family, a friend, or a child of their own. And sometimes, this feeling can last a lifetime.
In Hong Kong, many people still love the late Canto-pop diva and actress Anita Mui Yim-fong, who died from cervical cancer 18 years ago. Although her legacy has never waned, it has been renewed through the new biopic Anita.

If you mention the name “Anita” in Hong Kong, most locals will assume you are referring to Anita Mui. Even in overseas Chinese communities, her mononym is well-known.

Anita Mui performs at the Queen Elizabeth Stadium in Hong Kong in 1988. Photo: SCMP
Anita Mui performs at the Queen Elizabeth Stadium in Hong Kong in 1988. Photo: SCMP

To this day, she is affectionately referred to as the “daughter of Hong Kong”. But she isn’t just Hong Kong’s daughter, she’s also someone’s sister and best friend, and she will forever be embraced in the arms of the city. This is the magic of Mui or Mui Jie (sister Mui), as she is lovingly known to Hongkongers.

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