Hong Kong actor Louis Koo donates 111th school in rural China

The latest elementary school donated by Louis Koo Tin-lok, a well-known Hong Kong actor and movie producer, has been completed in Tianpeng Town of southwest China's Yunnan province. This is believed to be the 111th school he has helped build in different remote rural areas of the Chinese mainland.

Hong Kong actor Louis Koo Tin-lok attends a press conference for the Hong Kong action film "White Storm 2 - Drug Lords" in Hong Kong, China, on 30 August 2018. [Photo: IC]

As the president of Hong Kong Performing Artistes Guild, Koo is a particularly admirable star. In 2018, Koo was awarded the Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actor, Asian Film Award for Best Actor for his performance in the 2017 film, Paradox. But it is Koo's low profile philanthropy to help the underprivileged children, and especially those in poor mountainous areas, over the past two decades that has attracted the attention of microblogs and caused him to become a trending topic in the news. Koo was reluctant to comment on the issue but it was learnt that he set up his charity foundation after witnessing the devastation from the Wenchuan earthquake in 2008.

It has been 11 years since the earthquake. His appeal and unifying nature in the entertainment industry has not diminished. Koo is said to have starred in about 60 movies in the past 16 years, half of which were believed to be low-budget projects. That is to say on average he appears in two low-budget films a year. "I want to star in films, and there are many people who need me," Koo reportedly said.

In 2008, many people were displaced after the earthquake, and their children lost their schools, so they were desperate for assistance from outsiders.

Every school building or dormitory donated by Louis Koo is named after him in line win the regulations of the Hong Kong Charity Union, which state that individual donation projects must be named after the donor. Koo also stated that naming the schools after him commits him to addressing any problems related to the quality of the school building.

Koo has previously said that as long as there's a need and he has the ability he will continue to support communities in building schools. He has refrained from disclosing the amount of money he's contributed to building the schools.

In 2017, Louis Koo attending a public event was photographed making calls with an outdated cheap slide phone, at a time when almost everyone had begun to use a smartphone. Many people know that Louis Koo has been living with his parents and has no particularly excessive desire for life because his ambition is to do something truly meaningful. Of course, these include offering donations to help build schools and support poor artists, especially fledgling Hong Kong film directors.