Barbie Hsu and Mazu

File Photo: On April 23, 2023, during the Dajia Mazu pilgrimage in Changhua, Taiwan, people knelt beneath the palanquin carrying the statue of the sea goddess Mazu. (Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images)

[People News] On February 2, 2025, shocking news of Taiwanese celebrity Barbie Hsu’s sudden passing while traveling in Japan spread across the internet, triggering a flood of reports.

The version circulating in mainland China claims that Barbie Hsu contracted influenza after arriving in Japan and passed away in Tokyo due to pneumonia complications. However, some sources suggest that she already had cold symptoms before traveling to Japan. Soon after, other reports emerged stating that although she had the flu, her actual cause of death was not pneumonia but sepsis. Regardless of the reported causes, all indications point to a weakened immune system.

Currently, new COVID-19 variants are still rampant in mainland China. Under the CCP’s deceit and strict information control, people are collapsing and dying suddenly in silence, disappearing as if they had evaporated into thin air—many of them still blindly trusting the CCP.

COVID-19 and Chinese-made vaccines both attack the human immune system and can lead to severe complications, including sepsis. When a COVID-19 infection causes severe pneumonia or other secondary infections, it may trigger sepsis. Sepsis occurs when bacteria or viruses enter the bloodstream, causing a severe immune response that can lead to multi-organ failure. Reports indicate that Barbie Hsu had pre-existing conditions such as mitral valve prolapse and epilepsy. To maintain her appearance, she had long practiced extreme dieting, which may have further compromised her immune system. Experts such as Dr. Sean Lin and journalist Li Muyang have shared similar assessments regarding the cause of her illness.

I initially knew little about her, but I first came across her in the movie Reign of Assassins. She played a stunning yet ruthless female assassin. After some research, I realized she was Taiwanese actress Barbie Hsu. Since it was a historical film, I noticed that, apart from the Chinese mainland actors, the other cast members seemed natural in their performances. The mainland actors, on the other hand, gave off a fake, plastic-like quality, lacking the natural essence and authenticity of historical figures.

Among the online tributes reminiscing about Barbie Hsu, some mentioned her natural and humanistic aura. She once had a clear and rational perspective, acknowledging Taiwan as an independent country. However, why she later married a pro-CCP "little pink" rich kid remains a perplexing mystery. Even more puzzling is why she publicly endorsed China’s toxic vaccines while criticizing Taiwan’s globally praised pandemic response and its president. To CCP loyalists, she was a "Taiwan independence advocate"; to those in the free world, she was a "little pink" nationalist. In the end, she managed to offend both sides—truly a unique case.

It is said that just one day before her passing, Barbie Hsu’s mother and sister were still recording dance videos and posting them online, indicating that her family did not believe she was seriously ill at the time. After her passing, her ex-husband, Wang, with whom she had previously engaged in shameless public disputes, was seen lingering around her home, walking in the rain, and bowing to the media. This suggests that her death deeply shocked him—just as it shocked the entire Chinese-speaking world.

What was even more shocking was that, in the past, Barbie Hsu had revealed on a talk show that a fortune teller predicted she would not live past 50, and a tarot card reader had told her that her marriage would not last more than three years. Both predictions came true. Why did she turn to fortune telling? It was undoubtedly because she believed in fate. Otherwise, rumors wouldn’t have spread that she, knowing her life would be short, treated each day as if it were her last.

Did she truly believe in fate? Based on her own words, the answer is undoubtedly yes. But if she truly believed, why did she align herself with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which denies destiny and preaches that human will can overcome all? It doesn’t make sense. The only conclusion is that she believed in fate selectively—believing some things while rejecting others. In fact, one could say she rejected what she should have believed in and instead embraced what she should not have.

Unlike many mainland Chinese who are brainwashed by the CCP or forced into submission, Barbie Hsu was born and raised in Taiwan’s free society, lived in the international world, had broad social connections, and was well-informed. Why, then, did she choose to align herself with the CCP, serve its interests, and deceive both mainland Chinese and Chinese communities worldwide?

Taiwanese society generally worships Mazu, and Barbie Hsu most likely had faith in Mazu or at least once revered her. Even in China’s southeastern coastal areas under CCP rule, many people are devout followers of Mazu. The CCP, despite being an atheist regime, dares not openly oppose this belief. In fact, it has even established “Mazu Arbitration Rooms” and bizarrely issued an identification card for Mazu, officially making Lin Mo, the young woman who became Mazu, the only deity in the world with a government-issued ID. Her ID number is 350321096003237001. The “Mazu Arbitration Room” is regarded as the last defense of integrity, while Mazu temples are seen as the most reliable sanctuaries for life itself. If Mazu were not truly powerful and efficacious, she would not hold such a revered status.

If fate is predetermined, then why does Mazu still protect people’s safety? The answer is simple—because you are a good person, and the deities are willing to shelter you and alter your fate for the better.

Maintaining righteous thoughts and staying away from sinister temptations is a crucial part of destiny—perhaps the most important part. The deities arrange one’s fate, not to keep them drifting aimlessly like a floating leaf, but to provide opportunities for transformation and improvement. The trials and hardships arranged in one’s life are meant to serve as wake-up calls, pushing one toward enlightenment.

Barbie Hsu has now passed. Hopefully, more overseas and Chinese-speaking individuals, who, like her, have straddled the fence for too long, will awaken to these truths. 

(First published in People News)

 

 

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