Veteran actor and OG catchphrase master Stanley Fung dies at age 81

New Taipei, Nov. 1 (CNA) Veteran actor Stanley Fung (馮淬帆) died on Friday at the age of 81, according to New Taipei City Councilwoman Tsai Shu-chun (蔡淑君).

Tsai made the announcement on Saturday through Facebook on behalf of the late actor, who lived in the Kuomintang (KMT) councilwoman's constituency district of Linkou.

Fung, who was single and lived alone, was friends with Tsai, which was why she broke the news of the veteran actor's passing.

His outspoken pro-Republic of China (ROC) political views were what brought the two together, and Tsai invited him on multiple occasions to be part of her New Year's flag-raising ceremony in Linkou.

Born in 1944 in the Chinese province of Guangdong under the rule of the ROC, Fung was unapologetically outspoken about his identity after acquiring ROC citizenship in 1986.

He once said his love for the ROC was what drove him to move from Hong Kong, where he lived from the age of 6, to Taiwan, as he believed the ROC government legitimately represented his Chinese identity.

On Facebook, Fung stated he was a Chinese man of the ROC, adding that he was a citizen of the ROC and not Taiwan.

Fung also addressed his failing health on Facebook just two days before he passed away.

On Wednesday, he wrote a eulogy for his friend and fellow actor from Hong Kong Benz Hui (許紹雄), who died late Tuesday.

In his Wednesday post, Fung said he himself was terminally ill and asked Hui to wait for him.

During his career, the late entertainment industry veteran not only appeared on screens large and small in Taiwan, Hong Kong and China, but also wrote and directed film projects in Hong Kong.

He became a staple cast member of Hong Kong's "Lucky Stars" film franchise (福星系列) from the 1980s to the 1990s, which featured cameos from many famous actors, including Jackie Chan (成龍), in various installments.

Fung first garnered the attention of Taiwanese audiences in the 1988 Hong Kong movie "The Crazy Companies" (最佳損友) starring Andy Lau (劉德華).

Through the Mandarin-dubbed version of the movie, Fung became regarded as one of the first cinema catchphrase creators when various profanities were replaced with the names of fruits, a colloquialism that is still used in Taiwan today.

Already famous, Fung made his debut in Taiwan with Chinese Television System's (CTS) 1992 TV drama "Fairy Godfather" (神仙老爸), but in his later years took far fewer acting roles in Taiwan, Hong Kong and China.