A few months ago, Chinese actor Gordon Liu was spotted looking very frail and haggard in public. The 65-year-old, who is known for his many classic martial arts flicks as well as his roles in both Kill Bill films, was left partially paralysed and wheelchair-bound after suffering a stroke and a head injury 10 years ago.

To make things worse, his ex-wife and children started to pressure him for money while his former assistant refused to return HK$1.8mil (S$309,000) worth of his assets. Fortunately, his friend, Hongkong actress Amy Fan, managed to help recover his belongings and has continued to take care of him ever since.

Recently, a report emerged alleging that some fans of Gordon were selling T-shirts with his picture printed on them to raise funds for his nursing home expenses, raising concerns about his financial situation.

Amy has since come forward to clarify that it is all just a misunderstanding. She explained that while there is indeed a group of fans who sells the items, their earnings are used to buy snacks for Gordon as a simple gesture of goodwill.

The group also shared about their project on their Facebook page, saying that they hope to one day “generate a steady income for Gordon” through sales of the T-shirt.

In fact, Gordon is apparently recovering so well, he is now a lot more energetic and has even gained a bit of weight, which can be seen in the selfie that was sent to Apple Daily (see below). Definitely a welcomed far cry from how he looked in that earlier shot.

Amy also revealed that Gordon was conferred a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Copenhagen Asian Film Festival for his contribution to the performing arts. The organisers had wanted to travel to Hongkong to personally present the trophy to him but couldn’t do so ‘cos of the COVID-19 pandemic, so they sent it to Amy and asked her to pass it to him instead.

However, she could only share the good news with Gordon through a video call as the virus situation in Hongkong has made her unable to visit him in person.

“He smiled and shook his head, wondering why they would give him an award, but he is actually very happy,” Amy said. “I would also like to add that the nursing home staff have been very kind to him and chat with him every day to relieve his boredom, but as long as he has his TV, he is very happy.”

Photos: Apple Daily, IMDb, Sohu, Gordon Liu 劉家輝/Facebook