[News] Asian Artistes Gather to Raise $18 Million for Japan.Source: Mingpao
Translated by: sparkles_n15 @ asianfanatics.net
Organized by the Hong Kong Performing Artistes Guild, over 300 singers and artistes took part in the 'Love Without Borders' candlelight event last night in Victoria Park. The three-hour concert ran from 7:00-10:00 p.m. and was broadcasted live. Approximately 10,000 people came to show their support, with more people showing up as the night wore on. Jackie Chan personally donated $3 million towards the cause. By the end of the night, they raised over $18 million, which will be donated to the Salvation Army to help with the relief efforts in Japan. The Japanese Consulate-General in Hong Kong went on stage to thank the generosity and support of all the Hong Kong citizens. He promises to relay their messages of hope back to everyone in Japan.
The fundraiser gathered stars from all over the world, including Hong Kong, Japan, Taiwan, Korea and Indonesia. However, singers from China were noticeably absent. Artistes from Japan who specially flew to Hong Kong for the event included renowned Enka singer Sen Masao, Nakamura Masatoshi, Judy Ongg, and members of AKB48. Everyone thanked the citizens of Hong Kong for their support. Sen Masao sang his classic song 'Kitaguni no Haru' along with Joey Yung and Shirley Kwan.
The song was sung in Mandarin, Cantonese and Japanese. Sen Masao said, "Everyone has gathered here today for this cause. I am so grateful for all the warmth we've received." He also said 'thank you' in Cantonese. Judy Ongg, who resides in Japan, performed the themesong from the Japanese series 'Oshin' with Miriam Yeung and Mag Lam. On stage she said, "Japan is my adopted country. It is suffering so much right now. However, with so many Hong Kong friends showing their support for this fundraiser, I'm sure these sentiments will reach everyone in Japan. Japan will surely rise from the ashes and rebuild itself again."
Nakamura Masatoshi says that Japan is in the midst of a large crisis. He hopes that everyone can lend their support. He also revealed that his younger cousin passed away when his car got swept by the tsunami. There are still 5,000 people unaccounted for in his hometown, which is half of its population. However, he believes Japan has the power to overcome this crisis. He is very thankful for the help everyone in Hong Kong has given. He also expresses that he's worried about the radiation in Tokyo. There has been a lot of discrepancies with the government reports, so the news is not very reliable. Right now Tokyo is also facing a water deficit. He is prepared to turn his efforts to support Tokyo as well. That night Nakamura performed the song 'Oretachi no Tabi' alongside Aaron Kwok.
Agnes Chan, who has a Japanese husband and resides in Japan, said that she was in tears when she lost contact with two of her sons during the earthquake. She hopes that everyone will cherish their lives and not take anything for granted. She also believes that there is hope in life and sang the song 'Soko ni wa Shiawase ga Mou Umareteiru Kara' for everyone in Japan.
Many Korean artistes also attended the event. Kwon Sang Woo, Wonder Girls and Park Jin-young all showed their support for Japan. Kwon Sang Woo said that it's a rare opportunity for so many artistes in Asia to gather together for a fundraiser. While he still feels the pain and sadness from the destruction in Japan, he believes that everyone's efforts will help the Japanese face the challenges ahead. As for the Wonder Girls and Park Jin-young, they sang the song from the 'I Love Asia' concert, which was written for the Sichuan Earthquake in 2008.
Yesterday TVB broadcasted clips of singers from the Big 4 Companies. However, the only TVB artistes that took part were Raymond Lam, Myolie Wu, Bosco Wong, Mag Lam and Joyce Cheng, which was little in comparison.
Artistes from China did not take part in the event. Eric Tsang was asked whether this was due to the tense relations between China and Japan? He said, "We contacted China artistes. They indicated the possibility of holding their own fundraising event. That was why we didn't invite them. This time the Hong Kong fundraiser mainly featured artistes from around Asia."
