Millions in China mourn ‘giant star’ Hawking
SHANGHAI (AFP) — Millions of Chinese mourned Stephen Hawking yesterday, bidding farewell to a “giant star” admired in China for stoically rising above physical disability and posting heartfelt messages to his Chinese fans on social media.
Already well-known in China, the British cosmologist two years ago further endeared himself to fans in the country when he opened an account on the Twitter-like Weibo platform, posting in both Chinese and English.
The account garnered one million fans within its first few hours and now has nearly five million, with his infrequent posts typically generating tens of thousands of admiring comments and earning him the affectionate nickname “Hawking Dada,” or “Uncle Hawking.”
News of Hawking’s death at 76 quickly became the top-trending Weibo topic, with the hashtag #Hawking passed# generating more than 300 million reads and nearly 200,000 comments within a few hours after his death was announced.
Many said his passing was “the falling of a giant star.”
“The deterioration of his body did not trap him. Today this superhuman brain has left this world, and his next journey, death, remains a mystery,” one user said.
“I hope he has the strength to send us information from the next world,” a Chinese netizen said.
Another user wrote: “Even though I can’t understand Hawking Dada’s books... he is the one who knows the secret of this world.”