HONG KONG — Bruce Lee fans in the late action star’s native Hong Kong on Tuesday urged the local government to buy his old home — currently used as an hourly love motel — and covert it into a museum.
Supporters made their case Tuesday at a press conference in front of a statue of Lee on Hong Kong’s harbor-front, one of few local monuments honoring the actor.
They said the government hasn’t properly paid tribute to Lee, known for films in which he portrayed characters that defended the Chinese and the working class from oppressors.
“Which Hong Konger isn’t proud of Bruce Lee? But the ridiculous thing is in Hong Kong, the city where Bruce Lee made his name, grew up and died, there isn’t a proper-looking place to remember him,” director Manfred Wong said.
Philanthropist Yu Pang-lin recently put up Lee’s old home for sale to raise funds for victims of the recent earthquake in China’s central Sichuan province. An earlier newspaper report put the value of the plot at $13 million.
The Hong Kong government didn’t immediately comment on the fans’ proposal.
Other supporters of the proposal said Lee wasn’t just a movie star, but helped improve the image of Chinese around the world.
“Bruce Lee doesn’t just belong to Hong Kong. He belongs to Chinese around the world. … Everyone knows he was the first Chinese celebrity,” popular Hong Kong commentator Chip Tsao said.
Tsao, who studied in England, said British locals became less likely to harass Chinese immigrants because Lee projected an image of Chinese toughness.
Agnes Lui, a publicist for Land Power International Property Consultants (HK) Ltd., which is handling the sale of Lee’s old home, declined to give information about offers for the plot. The deadline for offers is Wednesday.
Lee, who died in Hong Kong in 1973 at age 32 from swelling of the brain, was born in San Francisco but grew up in Hong Kong, where he also made his name as an actor. He lived for a time in Seattle, where he attended the University of Washington and taught martial arts. He is buried in Seattle’s Lake View Cemetery next to his son, actor Brandon Lee.
His credits include “The Chinese Connection,” “Return of the Dragon” and “Enter the Dragon.”
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