Old Wives' Tale on the Late Teresa Teng's Life and Death

It's a good thing I finally found a way on YouTube to watch Teresa Teng: Wish We Last Forever, starring Michelle Chen as the titular character. Thankfully, any creative liberties here were guided by her brother Deng Chang-Fu, unlike what happened to Mei Yanfang Fei in 2007. What was creepy was that the TV series came out in 2004 — sometime before Barbie Xu died in Japan of pneumonia (while Teresa died of asthma), and both celebrities are buried at Chin Pao San in Taiwan! This triggered me to write a nostalgia post between Thursday and Friday. 

It was back in the 2000s when I heard of the tales Teresa committed suicide. I remember starting to like Teresa's music because of one band — F4! Back in 2003, I remember when Jerry Yan sang "The Moon Represents My Heart". The song was already sung by other singers like Poon Sow-Keng. The popularization was done by Teresa's voice — often described as "sweet as honey". The Japanese producer Yukio Sasaki discovered Teresa's voice and fell in love with it. That explained why Teresa also sang in Japanese! I found it funny how Jerry's singing not only led me to Teresa's music but also to appreciate Andy Lau's music. I heard that Leslie Cheung ended in his life on April 1, 2003, and that year, Anita Mui died of cervical cancer on December 30, 2003. Those names are legends but it was Teresa who dominated the scene even after death. It was sad to think also how Anita and Roman Tam paid tributes to Teresa and eventually JOINED HER too soon.

People just love GOSSIP over mahjong, right? As I'm currently halfway in the Teresa Teng TV series, some revelations like Teresa having an immature romance with a certain someone (who was only dubbed as Zhou Taisheng as a pseudonym) and later, a stand-in who's probably Beau Kwok IRL (called Wang Zhonghen instead of using the real name probably to protect the privacy of the person, acted by Peter Ho) reminded me of another gossip. I can't be sure if that old crone is still alive right now. She was fond of gossiping what the Chinese language teachers' private lives. 

The old crone mentioned that Teresa had many boyfriends and may have had AIDS. The sad reality was that Teresa had a string of tragic romances. For some reason, the Teresa Teng biopic chose to cut off her tragic romance with Lin Zhenfa and even Jackie Chan. Jackie was open about the fact he dated Teresa at some point — all before he met his wife Joan Lin. I bet the selectiveness was done if it affected her musical career. The TV series showed Teresa's falling away with an unknown man in her younger years (only referred to as Taisheng). The reality showed that she and Jackie were INCOMPATIBLE. Zhenfa actually died just as about they were to marry. Beau broke up with Teresa because the latter chose her singing career. These weren't multiple men at once. They were a string of tragic romances!

The rumor of the suicide was this. It was said by the old crone that Teresa may have had AIDS and suffering from AIDS was painful. The last man known in Teresa's life was Paul Quillery, a French man younger than her by 15 YEARS. Teresa was in Thailand. The old crone said that Teresa may have chosen to end her life because of the pain. It was said that the asthma was a cover-up. However, reality check has proven that old wives' tale wrong. 

The reality was far different. Instead, the hotel butler told the news like how my aunt said, that Paul was told to buy some things (which I heard, INCLUDED fruits). The reality was this:

It’s almost 31 years since legendary singer Teresa Teng had an asthma attack and passed away in a hotel room in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Recently, the hotel butler that served her that day finally spilled it all on Chinese social media. Speaking to a RedNote influencer, the butler, Billy recalled that Teng had an asthma attack in the shower at the hotel room. She had just gotten back after exercising, and didn’t have medications within reach. Her partner Paul Quilery was also away. There was also a traffic jam on the way to the hospital, so she unfortunately missed the life-saving golden window.

Teresa Teng’s beautiful singing voice reverberates, almost 31 years on. Details of that fateful day when she passed away remain shrouded in mystery. That’s until recently, when Billy, the hotel butler that served her in Chiang Mai, gave an interview with a Chinese influencer on RedNote.

- I called the manager, and the manager told us to send her to the hospital.

- She didn’t have meds with her?

- No, she didn’t. She would’ve been okay with just one pump. But on that day Ms. Teresa Teng didn’t have easy access to her inhaler.

- But had she used it at any point that day?

- No.

- But what happened could’ve been avoided had she used it, right?

- I understand.

The legendary singer passed away on May 8, 1995 from an asthma attack in a hotel in Chiang Mai. The butler recalls that on the day she died, he had entered her room and asked her what else she wanted for breakfast. In the afternoon, Teng had returned to her room to shower after exercising. That was when she had an asthma attack. She didn’t have an inhaler within reach, and her partner Paul Quilery was also away.

- We rushed her to the hospital, but there was a traffic jam, so we missed the golden window. She could not be resuscitated at the hospital, and soon afterwards, well…

- It was really rushed. By then, she had spasms and numbness in the limbs.

- Yes, spasms and numbness. The doctor also said she hadn’t seen the doctor in a long time.

After Teng died, Billy was forced to sign a non-disclosure agreement with the hotel. However, being unable to save the singer prompted him to learn emergency first aid skills. That way, he would be able to help should he ever run into a similar incident again.

Lin Yung-zen

Immunologist

Asthma patients could get an asthma attack anytime and anywhere, and so patients are advised to carry medications that expand the trachea at all times. Patients are especially prone to attacks when they inhale polluted air, after strenuous exercise, or when they inhale cold air.

Yes, Teresa died of an asthma attack which may have been avoided. However, it was a series of unfortunate events. Sadly, Teresa's death got sensationalized on the mahjong table. I don't think the rumors would die just because the old mahjong mates had died sooner or later.