Posted on 08/11/2024 1:18:19 PM PDT by nickcarraway
A 69-year-old man's final wish is to reunite with his two estranged daughters whom he has not seen in more than 20 years and seek their forgiveness.
Retired businessman Chen Tuguang (transliteration), is suffering from terminal pancreatic cancer, Shin Min Daily News reported.
In an interview with the Chinese evening daily, he shared that his wife had died of liver cancer in 1993, leaving behind his daughters aged 11 and eight.
Deciding to "leave this sad place", Chen packed his bags for Shanghai, China where he worked for several years.
He got married to a Chinese woman there and later brought her to Singapore.
However, his daughters did not get along with their step-mother and they often quarrelled about money, said Chen.
"One day in 2003, my elder daughter took her sister and left. I never saw them again."
He stated that he'd tried to search for them but was unsuccessful.
"Now that I'm seriously ill, I only hope they can let go of the past and forgive me," said Chen.
"I hope to see them one last time before I go, that's my only wish," he added, sharing that his daughters would now be aged 42 and 39.
His friend, Chen Meiru, 58, who's helping him in the search, told Shin Min that Chen is suffering from end-stage pancreatic cancer and that the cancer cells had spread.
He was given the diagnosis in April, after Chen found blood in his stool.
"Doctors had said it was incurable, but he had a strong will to live and went through chemotherapy but it was unsuccessful," said Meiru.
To aid his friend in fulfilling his final wish, Meiru also appealed to funeral director Roland Tay to help find Chen's daughters.
"He doesn't have that many days left and time is of the essence," said Meiru.
According to Shin Min Daily News who visited Chen at his home, the latter looked thin and frail, and needed someone to assist him when walking.
His discomfort was also plain to see as he laid his head down during the interview, his voice soft and weak, Shin Min reported.
Chen managed to pull out old family photos from 30 years ago, which showed him hugging his daughters.
Said Meiru: "He cries every day as he's very worried that he won't be able to see his daughters."
Despite his poor health, Chen penned down his remorse in a 200-word letter written on Aug 5, which detailed his regrets, Shin Min reported.
He expressed hope for his ashes to be placed alongside those of his ancestors, mother and wife so it'll be convenient for his daughters to pay their respects.
The guy sounds like he did them wrong. I would not be optimistic about a reunion. Real life ain’t a Hallmark movie.
Unless he was rich.
Hopefully the ladies have made their peace with his actions and have forgiven him long ago.
Because that is a heavy load to carry.
Yeah, women are not very forgiving. It’s freaking evil, but that’s how they are. More important to some people like that to show how hard they are going to be able to fly to compassion to a dying man. Basically he got remarried, and his daughters were worried that the money was going towards his wife.
“The guy sounds like he did them wrong.”
I took it to mean that he brought someone (step mother) into the home which changed the family dynamics. That may have been how he “did them wrong”. Wicked stepmothers aren’t just in fairy tales; some are real life.
The daughters ran away when they were 11 and 8? He searched for them but “couldn’t find them?”
How does he know they weren’t snatched off the streets soon after? How does he know they’re even alive? If they simply disappeared, never to be seen again, were he and his second wife ever questioned by the authorities about it?
The story as excerpted here doesn’t add up, IMO.
…And what happened to wife #2? She’s not mentioned past the fight that drove the daughters away.
Thank you for working it out for me. They left as young adults then. I get it now.
It could have been written better.
No, they left when one daughter was 18 and the other was 21, allegedly because they didn’t get along with the stepmother.
My thanks for pointing that out. Harmless Teddy Bear squared me away, too.
Can’t say as I blame them.
It’s not the new wife. It’s HIM. Abandoning them.
his daughters did not get along with their step-mother and they often quarrelled about money
>More like the ungrateful children thought HE did them wrong......
” I only hope they can let go of the past and forgive me,”
What an ego on this guy.
Sounds like three oriental women arguing about money to me. Compassion for a man dying of cancer, reflecting on his life, asking for forgiveness? sheesh, not likely.
He should’ve said something about a big inheritance and that he’s trying to locate them. He would’ve got his two daughters back, probably a couple of extras.
Yeah, a dying man asked for forgiveness. Clearly an egomaniac. I think that’s how Jesus would see it also. “Verily I say until you. When a dying father wants forgiveness, withhold it. Ruminate on somebody’s wrongs from many years ago. Hold the hate inside your heart, use it to hurt people all you can”.
Book of Grudges 3:16
Let's assume he was gone for only three years.
That is a long time choose to leave your grieving daughters after the loss of their mother to what was probably a prolonged and painful illness.
Then just when they had adjusted to life without him he pops back up with a "replacement" mom and proceeds to tear up what stability they had regained.
Out of all the things kids need one of the greatest is stability. They need to know that tomorrow will be somewhat the same as today. Even when they go on a vacation to some place and enjoy it after a few days they are ready to go back home.
And at that age a "Few years" is an eternity.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.