By Helen Luk
Hong Kong (AP) -- More than 1,000 fans poured into the streets Monday to bid farewell to Chinese pop diva and actress Anita Mui, who died last month at age 40.
A private funeral for Mui, whose deep and melancholic voice captivated Chinese audiences worldwide, drew many of Hong Kong's entertainment elite, including action film star Jackie Chan and one-time Bond girl Michelle Yeoh -- both her close friends.
Mui died Dec. 30 of complications from cervical cancer.
Yeoh, actors Andy Lau and Tony Leung, and Taiwanese R&B singer David Tao were among Mui's pallbearers.
"So many people grieved for Anita Mui not only because she is an outstanding singer-actress, it's because she is a true Hong Kong legend," Cheung Man-yee, Hong Kong's former director of broadcasting, said in a eulogy.
"She left her most beautiful side to the world. She is ... our Edith Piaf," he said, referring to the great French singer.
Other famous mourners included actress Maggie Cheung -- known in the United States mainly for the 2000 movie "In The Mood for Love" -- actress Carina Lau, singers Jacky Cheung, Nicholas Tse, Andy Hui, Kelly Chen, Sammi Cheng, Alan Tam and comedian Eric Tsang.
Mui's altar was adorned with a sea of white flowers -- traditional at Chinese funerals -- a black-and-white portrait, and a sign with the Buddhist inscription: "Toward a heavenly place."
Many grieving fans waved and shouted her name as Mui's hearse drove by. More fans, each holding a white rose, waited outside the crematorium and some broke down in tears.
The star's versatile image earned her the nickname of the "Madonna of the East."
On Sunday, an estimated 6,000 fans lined up near the funeral parlor to pay their respects, local media reported.
"No other female singer can replace her," said Stewart Wong, a 50-year-old surveyor who has been a fan for 20 years.
Mui was revered for her tough character and generosity. She insisted on continuing with a concert tour in November despite announcing she was suffering from cancer two months earlier.
She also performed in concerts to raise funds for China's pro-democracy movement and for the victims of last year's SARS crisis in Hong Kong.
"I came to pray for her. She's been fighting for democracy for many years," said veteran Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Lui Yuk-lin.
Former student leader Wu'er Kaixi, who fled China after Beijing's bloody crackdown on protesters in Tiananmen Square in 1989, flew in from Taiwan to attend Mui's funeral. He called her a "dear friend."
Mui, who began singing at age 4 in a local amusement park to support her family, shot to fame in 1982 after winning a local singing contest.
She also appeared in acclaimed films and won Taiwan's best actress award in 1987 for her role as a tormented ghost in the movie "Rouge."
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