Li Yapeng Might Sell The Children's Hospital He Set Up With Faye Wong To Repay His S$10mil Debt
That, or re-enter showbiz.
After a voice recording of Chinese actor Li Yapeng allegedly “begging for mercy” from his debtors was leaked online, all eyes have been on the 49-year-old to see how he’ll go about repaying his S$10mil debt.
Yapeng, who formally retired from showbiz in 2014, turned his sights to the business world in an attempt to find his “true purpose in life”.
However, it seems that the cutthroat world of business and investing might not exactly be the best fit for Yapeng, and his assets are reportedly frozen by Chinese authorities due to his continued refusal to pay up.
Yapeng and Li Yan sharing a sweet moment in one of the hospital's wards
Now, new reports are speculating that the actor might be selling the children's hospital he established with his ex-wife, Chinese singer Faye Wong, to try to repay his debt.
The Beijing Smile Angel Children's Hospital was set up in 2012 by Yapeng and Faye's charity, Smile Angel Foundation. Both the charity and hospital are named after their 14-year-old daughter Li Yan, who was born with a cleft lip.
According to reports, the Beijing Smile Angel Children's Hospital has around 200 doctors and nurses, and offers free surgeries to 600 children with cleft lips every year.
However, because the hospital was borne out of his love for Li Yan, it's said that Yapeng is not exactly willing to sell it off.
Will we see the actor on our screens soon?
Luckily, there are other options for the actor. Fellow Chinese entrepreneur Luo Yonghao, who was once 600mil yuan (S$123.6mil) in debt, offered up a word of advice to Yapeng in an online article.
“Can’t you repay [your debt] by simply appearing in a few television dramas? You could even start selling products on live streams.” he wrote. An anonymous industry insider later shared that it's likely that the actor will be able to stage a successful comeback.
“However, if he were to make his comeback, he might have to face the reality of being viewed as having no commercial value,” the insider went on to say, adding that Yapeng’s only “value" to producers is how he's always featured in gossip columns.
Harsh.
Photos: PBE Media, Li Yapeng/Weibo
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