‘It warms my heart’: Hong Kong superstar Andy Lau makes wedding day of abduction victim’s father he played in hit movie with special gift
- Based on a true story, Hong Kong star played a father who staged a 15-year motorbike search for his son who was abducted by human traffickers on the mainland
- The real-life father, whose boy was eventually found by police, was presented with the driving licence prop Lau used in the movie at son’s recent wedding
An unusual – and touching – gift given by Hong Kong actor Andy Lau Tak-wah has captured the imagination of millions of people on social media.
The present, which was gifted by Lau to the real-life father of a mainland abduction victim who the iconic Hong Kong actor played in a movie, was the driving licence he used in that film in which he played the father, Guo Gangtang.
It was given at the recent wedding of Guo’s son, Guo Zhen.
Lau played a character based on Guo in the film Lost and Love, which tells the story of a father’s 15-year countrywide search on his motorbike for his abducted son.
Guo is from Liaocheng city in China’s eastern province of Shandong, from where traffickers took his son in 1997. Guo staged an unfruitful search of the local area for two years.
Then, in 1999, he got on a motorbike and began a nationwide hunt for his lost boy.
The search lasted 22 years, during which Guo went through 10 motorbikes in an epic adventure which was widely covered by the mainland media, garnering national attention.
In 2015, Guo’s story was made into the film Lost and Love in which Lau played the character based on Guo. During filming the two men got to know each other.
The film raked in more than 200 million yuan (US$29 million) at the box office and refocused national attention on human trafficking.
In 2021, mainland police found Guo’s son and arrested two traffickers.
At the age of 27, Guo Zhen was recently married in a ceremony in the father and son’s home town of Liaocheng.
During the wedding, a clip from Lost and Love and a video of Guo’s journey to find his son were shown on a big screen.
In addition to relatives and friends, the parents of other children who had been trafficked also attended.
“It was worth all the bumps and bruises along the way, and today is a success,” the older Guo said at the ceremony.
The most striking part of the wedding was when Lau sent a representative to present the father with the driving licence prop he used in the film.
Lau said in a video message shown at the wedding: “We know that Guo has suffered a lot and this prop means a lot to him. So today, I want to give it to him and wish him a happy and prosperous life.”
Of the gift, the older Guo said: “It keeps my heart warm.”
On the social media platform Weibo, the wedding attracted the attention of millions.
A happy online commenter said: “It is really bittersweet. I wish the family many sunny days in the future.”
