“It’s a promise now that could never be realized”

The New Zealand Chinese Herald

A farewell ceremony for Ms. An An Liu, the murdered mother of abandoned 3-year-old Qian Xun Xue, and wife of fugitive Nai Yin Xue, was held at All Souls Chapel, Purewa Cemetery, Meadowbank, Auckland this afternoon (26th Sep).

The ceremony started at 3 pm and lasted about 40 minutes.

Police strictly banned all media and the address was kept secret until after.
Mr. A, an associate to Liu’s family who attended the ceremony told the Chinese Herald that his cell-phone was turned off at arrival by one of the police officers at the scene, so was that of other guests.
He said no more than 20 people were present at the ceremony, including Ms.

Liu’s mother Xiao Ping Liu and close family, representatives from the Auckland Chinese Consulate, and some police officers.
Qian Xun did not attend the ceremony.

Mr. A said he saw 7 wreaths at the ceremony. “One from An An’s parents, one from her grandparents, one from Qian Xun, two from her aunts and uncles, one from the Chinese Consulate and one from the police.”
The police expressed their sorrow and “vowed to catch her killer”, according to Mr. A.

Mrs. Xiao Ping Liu was the last to speak at the ceremony. Mr. A describes her speech as “brief and very emotional”. “With tears in eyes, she said, ‘I can’t tell you how deep my sorrow is at this moment. My daughter died so young, I never got to come to New Zealand to visit her since she came. ’‘An An told me not long ago that she’d decided to take Qian Xun back to China. We could then reunite and go to see the 2008 Olympics. It’s a promise now that could never be realized.’”

Mrs. Liu then said, she would bring An An’s ashes back to Changsha, China and the funeral will be held there, “because this is your hometown, so Qian Xun and I and come to visit you often.”

“You could hear sobs starting from the audience”, said Mr. A.
Mrs. Liu said she would bring up Qian Xun in a way that “An An would like to see”, and that “would be the best comfort she would have”.

Mrs. Liu expressed her thanks to the police, Mr. A said.
An An’s body was then sent to cremation and is likely to be claimed tomorrow.

Mr. A also told of the details of a sentimental Tuesday——It was the annual traditional Chinese Moon Festival, and the most important time of the year for family get-along, while Mrs. Liu had to see here beloved daughter’s body.

“Mrs. Liu was going to see An An’s body and had to leave Qian Xun. Qian Xun started to cry and held her grandma’s hand really tight. Mrs. Liu had to lie to her that she was going to buy her some chip……and Qian Xun finally let go”, said Mr. A.

“Mrs. Liu was very strong when seeing An An’s body. She tried very hard not to cry. She placed two moon-cakes beside An An’s body and whispered good-bye.”

By Johnny Zhuang

Editor

The New Zealand Chinese Herald

ENDS

© Scoop Media