Veteran Taiwanese singer Yu Tian’s daughter dies of cancer aged 39

After battling colorectal cancer for the past eight years, Taiwan veteran singer Yu Tian's daughter Yu Yuan-chi died on Sunday (Aug 21) at the age of 39, according to media reports.

The 74-year-old entertainer, best known for his 1977 Mandarin classic Under The Banyan Tree, confirmed the death of his daughter to Taiwanese reporters waiting outside the hospital.

He revealed that Yuan-chi, his second daughter and also a singer, seemed alright on Sunday morning. But her condition suddenly took a turn for the worse.

“We originally wanted to resuscitate her but she had signed (the do-not-resuscitate form),” he reportedly said tearfully. “It was better this way, she wouldn't be in so much pain anymore."

According to reports, Yuan-chi was first diagnosed with Stage III colorectal cancer in 2014. She got married in 2017 after the diagnosis and gave birth to a daughter and a son in 2017 and 2019, respectively.

She suffered three relapses over the years and reportedly underwent almost 70 rounds of chemotherapy treatment. In July this year, the family found out that the cancer cells had spread to her liver and lungs.

Yu Tian, who is also a former legislator, described to reporters how Yuan-chi was like moments before her death. "She didn't close her eyes. She only did so when Ya-ping and I said we have accepted it."

Li Ya-ping, also a veteran Taiwanese singer, is Yu Tian's wife and Yuan-chi's mother.

The devastated father also shared that he had secured a new cancer treatment for his daughter, but lamented that it was too late now.

The Yu family had been with Yuan-chi every step of the way during her battle with cancer, which not only included multiple rounds of chemotherapy but also new clinical trials, according to Chinese media reports.

Several days prior, Yu Tian told Taiwanese reporters that Yuan-chi had begged him, through hand gestures, to "let her go".

“But how could I bear to do so?” he emotionally said in tears at that time. “I told her ‘no’ and she gestured to me again to say 'please, just let me go'. How could I be so cruel?". She had been drifting in and out of consciousness since Aug 18.

According to Yu Tian, Yuan-chi recorded her will two days ago but the contents will not be revealed for now.

Yuan-chi, who had consistently helped raise funds for underprivileged cancer patients while battling the disease herself, left behind her husband and two young children.

Yu Tian suffered a mild stroke last year and admitted that excessive worrying about his daughter’s condition contributed to his poor health.