Chen Hanwei had suspected he was adopted since he was in his twenties but the confirmation came only years later.
The 56-year-old actor, who is a Singapore Permanent Resident, debuted as a sales livestreamer on May 1 and recounted his adoption story in his livestream on May 2.
He said: “I remember when I was in my twenties, I received a call one day at my home in Johor Bahru. The woman on the line asked if I am Chen Hanwei.
“After I confirmed my identity, she said, ‘You must go and check, you are not your parents’ biological child, you must check [your real identity].’ She hung up the phone after that. At that point, I thought she was being nonsensical for saying something like that.”
Despite that, he decided to clarify with his parents.
“I asked my father where I was born and he told me it was at the hospital. When I asked my mum the same question later that evening, she told me I was born at home,” Hanwei said.
That was when he suspected what the woman told him was true, but he didn’t ask his parents for the truth because he felt it “didn’t matter”.
However, he believed that because rumours of his parentage continued to spread over the years, his parents heard about it eventually and his mother — who died aged 90 in 2024 — confessed to him when he was 40.
“My mum cried as she told me I was adopted,” Hanwei said as he teared up, pausing his livestream for a moment.
He told his mum then that he had always known but wondered why she only decided to reveal it at the time.
“My mum said she was afraid I wouldn’t want her anymore after I knew the truth,” Hanwei recounted tearfully.
On the contrary, their relationship got even better subsequently because he believed his adoptive parents are greater than his birth parents.
He added: “My mum was worried I would look for my birth parents and wouldn’t want them anymore, but I told myself I wouldn’t do that.
“I told her even if my birth parents come for me one day, I would greet them politely but my adoptive parents are the most important people in my life.”
Lianhe Wanbao reported in 2009 that Hanwei’s birth mother was a hawker who gave him up for adoption under difficult financial circumstances.
In his livestream, Hanwei encouraged everyone to cherish their parents and express their love for them outwardly whenever possible.
Hanwei’s father was his form teacher in primary school
During the livestream, Hanwei also spoke about his adoptive father and recounted a time when he didn’t speak to the latter for a year during his primary school days.
His father, who was his form teacher, caught him cheating in a class test when he was in primary 3 or 4.
Hanwei said: “I was caught while looking at my classmate’s answer. During a weekly classroom meeting, he hit my buttocks in front of the class.
“I was very angry at the time because I felt he didn’t leave any dignity for me and hurt my pride. So I didn’t speak to him for a year.”
As he grew older, he understood his father’s actions, and the latter did right by showing others he wasn’t partial towards his own son for doing something wrong.
He also remembered his father apologised to him in front of the cameras when they appeared in a show together decades later.
Hanwei said: “I teared up and felt quite sad when I heard that because I felt like telling him he wasn’t wrong… I told him I was thankful.”
When asked why he didn’t speak about his father much, Hanwei revealed the elderly man, who is believed to be in his 90s, has mobility, visual and hearing issues.
He shared: “In my family, only I can communicate with him [because of his hearing issues]. I will use a certain low pitch to speak to him slowly.”
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