15th September 2026 – (Taipei) Taiwanese entertainer and basketball executive Blackie Chen, 49, was rushed into emergency surgery for an acute myocardial infarction on Tuesday afternoon and later moved to intensive care at National Taiwan University Hospital, with his condition described as turning more stable while he remains under observation.
Chen, widely known by his stage nickname Blackie, felt unwell in the afternoon and was taken to the hospital by work colleagues. Doctors diagnosed a myocardial infarction and sent him straight to theatre. Surgery has been completed and he has been transferred to the intensive care unit. His wife, singer Christine Fan, hurried to the hospital as soon as word reached her and has been at his side.
People close to him said the episode came without warning. He had generally been considered fit and had gone swimming with his son only the day before, with nothing obviously amiss. Colleagues were shocked by the sudden turn into a cardiac emergency. Accounts stressed that spotting the symptoms early and getting him into surgery quickly mattered, and that he had effectively been given another chance after the afternoon collapse.
P. League+, Taiwan’s professional men’s basketball league, confirmed the medical outline on Tuesday evening. It said Chen, who serves as the league’s vice-president, began feeling unwell while watching a P. League+ friendly match, went for treatment at once and was assessed as having an acute myocardial infarction before being scheduled for surgery. Under the National Taiwan University Hospital team’s care, the league said, his recovery was going well and he was resting as directed — language that aligns with separate reports that he remains under inpatient watch after leaving theatre for intensive care.
Chen played professionally before moving into television and entertainment. In 2020 he helped found P. League+ and served as its chief executive; he became vice-president in 2023. The Tuesday scare underlines how abruptly heart disease can strike even someone with an athletic past and an active public role in Taiwanese basketball, and leaves fans and the league awaiting further updates as he continues intensive-care monitoring in Taipei.