Bruce Lee's daughter urges HK government to build a permanent tribute to her father
The daughter of Bruce Lee has encouraged the Hong Kong government to establish a permanent tribute to her father, while local fans remain furious that nothing has been done to mark the life and times of our most famous film star.
'There really should be something there for him,' said Shannon Lee, speaking from her home in Los Angeles ahead of the 30th anniversary of Lee's death on July 20.
'I haven't ever personally had any discussions with or even been contacted by the government so that is something I'd like to pursue in the future.
'One of the goals of [Bruce Lee's] family is to establish a Bruce Lee museum and we are working towards that already. Maybe the Hong Kong government would like to become involved in that.'
Apart from the unofficial Bruce Lee Cafe on Robinson Road, Mid-Levels, which closed last year, there has never been an attempt in Hong Kong to establish a memorial to Lee, the actor acknowledged as the man who put the Hong Kong film industry on the world map.
There is a museum paying tribute to the star and his family in the Daliang district of Shunde in Guangdong but this has never been officially recognised by anyone involved with his immediate family.
The lack of action by the government has raised the ire of the local Bruce Lee Fan Club, particularly the president and founder, Wong Yiu-keung.
Mr Wong, whose club is holding an exhibition at the Arts Centre in Wan Chai to mark the anniversary of Lee's death, said he was 'disappointed' by the government.
'Maybe they like foreign things so much that they'd pay a lot for things like Disneyland,' he said. 'But for Bruce Lee, who is unique to Hong Kong, they've decided to do nothing.'
His view is shared by local actor and Bruce Lee fan Stephen Au Kam-tong, whose series on Bruce Lee is screening on Kowloon Motor Bus TV channel Roadshow.
'[Bruce Lee] doesn't concern the Hong Kong government somehow,' he said. 'Hong Kong is a strange place.'
Shannon Lee, 34, said it had also taken her family a long time to come to grips with her father's legacy but it had now formed the Bruce Lee Foundation and would this weekend co-host the first official Bruce Lee Convention in Burbank, California.
'It has been a long time coming,' she said. 'But it took time for my mother [Linda Lee Caldwell] to come to terms with just how popular my father still is.
'We are just sort of getting things off the ground with the foundation but this [a tribute or museum] is definitely something we'd like to become involved in and hopefully we can start drawing together all the elements from everywhere and with time we can make a bigger presence worldwide and a lasting legacy for him.'
Although born in Seattle, Lee spent much of his youth in Hong Kong and returned here to begin his film career in his mid 20s. He went on to make 31 films.
Lee died of a cerebral edema on July 20, 1973. He was 32 and his most successful film, Enter the Dragon, had yet to be released.
A spokesperson for the government's Leisure and Cultural Services Department said yesterday that in 1999, the now defunct Urban Council had approved a plan to build a memorial 'gallery' for Lee at the Film Archive in Sai Wan Ho but this plan had been shelved due to safety concerns.
The spokesperson said there were similar plans for a gallery at an entertainment area planned for the West Kowloon reclamation complex.
This plan has been referred to the Planning and Lands Bureau and also the Tourism Commission. The first phase of that project is not due for completion until 2008, the spokesperson said.
