Qiao Kangqiang 乔康强 and Gao Caiping 高采萍 are the parents of late singer-actor Kimi Qiao Renliang who took his own life in 2016 at age 28. At the suggestion of their niece, the couple started a Douyin (China’s tiktok) food account called “Gao Caiping and Master Qiao” 高彩萍和乔老爷 two and a half years after their son’s death. They have amassed 8.5 million followers.
On the show Talk to Her 和陌生人说话, Papa Qiao opened up about how he kept wanting to find the reason for his son’s death at first. He kept asking, “why, how can he have depression, such a person who normally seems very cheerful and quite rational since young. How can this be?” They never knew about his depression because Kimi told his friends to keep it a secret and even said he’d commit suicide if they told. Papa Qiao eventually realized there won’t be any meaning even if he finds the reason why it happened. He says, “He (Kimi Qiao) must wish that we live well so life must go on.” He believes that living well is the greatest comfort for their son.
Being active on social media, Kimi Qiao’s parents were bashed for their looks by some netizens. Kimi’s father said it was like experiencing what his son experienced before. Nonetheless, he’s learned to be unaffected by antis and there are even those that have gathered to help them police malicious comments.
Papa Qiao reveals that he plays his son’s music during his streams because it feels like he’s there. In a way, their social media account is a way to keep their son and to let more people know about him.
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