Desperate 17-year-old attempts suicide for Jay Chow
By Jessie (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2005-12-22 14:21

Jay Chow, the super singing idol in the Chinese mainland and Taiwan Province, may not have anticipated that any of his fans could go so far as committing suicide just because of him. However, this is exactly what 17-year-old hemiplegic (a person paralyzed on one side of the body) Zhou Feng attempted -- by swallowing 30 sleeping pills at Jay's Guangzhou concert on December 17.

"Only Jay Chow can save me!"

17-year-old Zhou Feng has been engaged on a relentless search of his idol, Jay Chow

When hailed by people as being just yet another "crazy fan," Zhou Feng refuted instantly, "I am not a fan. I am looking for Chow's help. My hemiplegia is getting worse day by day. If I can't find him, I will never stand up. Only he can save me! "

Asked why he tried to commit suicide, Zhou said, "Guangzhou is the last stop of Jay's 2005 Asia Tour. For this concert, I arrived in Guangzhou 10 days earlier, lived in a local relief station, and bought a 180-yuan (US$22.29) ticket. As I was listening to him sing on the stage, the idea of not being able to see him for the next two years sickened me (Jay Chow won't hold any concert for the next two years), so I swallowed the pills. " Subsequently, in a off-and-on manner, he told the story of his search for Jay Chow.

Born to a remote village of Shaoyang in Central China's Hunan Province, Zhou Feng was brought up by his maternal grandma for several years from since he was a small baby, as his parents went to work in another city. They did not return until Zhou turned 7, bringing with them three other children -- siblings Zhou Feng had never before seen -- but no parental love.

Instead of placing him in school, his parents brought him to the city where they worked as migrant workers, and made him cook for them. They even beat him once.

"I became an intermittent hemiplegic after suffering trauma resulting from a beating. Without treatment, I will become totally paralyzed one day," Zhou told reporters.

However, the poverty-stricken family couldn't afford any medical treatment. Due to the illness he was even more despised by his family. From then on, listening to Jay Chow's music in a local net bar became the happiest and most interesting part of his life, and Jay his only hope.

With this idea in mind, Zhou left home and started his longtime search of Jay Chow. According to him, he visited 6 provinces within half a year, staying in 20 relief stations. Except for Jay's Beijing concert, Zhou attended the rest of the singer's concerts in China -- Nanjing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Guangzhou, with the money given by kindhearted people and the

Jay Chow

relief stations.

Psychologist: "He is desperate"

At the hospital, thin and weak Zhou Feng kept asking the reporter, "Can you help me find Jay Chow?" Facing many people's criticism and doubts, he repeated again and again that he was not seeking Jay for sole adoration, but for spiritual "friendship" and family "warmth."

"I fully understand what is in the boy's mind and his behavior. He is desperate," said Yi Ping, vice dean of Guangzhou No. 1 People's Hospital.

According to Yi, posed with an unfriendly environment and a physiological disability, Zhou Feng feels his life is dark and hopeless. Under such circumstances, it is normal for him to pin his only beam of hope on a remote idol -- Jay Chow. When the last dream of his is dashed and when the whole society believes his behavior ridiculous, it is likely he will feel his life meaningless.

Yi also added, "The key is for the society and family to show support and care for him, to make him know many others, besides his idol, will also encourage and help him."

According to a manager of Jay Chow's PR company, Jay is not supposed to visit the boy whose behavior is considered extreme and of bad influence.

"Jay remains ignorant of the news, but as head of his PR company, I can state his position on this matter. He won't visit the boy, as he has always been a staunch opponent of fans' extreme behaviors. We only hope this fan (Zhou Feng) could fully recover as soon as possible and live an active life." said the manager.