'Home is here'

Moody's terminal illness was diagnosed about three years ago, and the disease forced him to use his index fingers and finally his thumbs' knuckles to type; the past two years had made it hard for him to button his shirt. He told only a few close friends about the illness, but carried on as if nothing had happened.

It took him years to finally write a 2,500-word email to tell his sister about his condition, but he told her not to tell his elderly parents about it.

In his final months, friends suggested he return to the UK, but in the weeks before he died, at his request, he signed another contract with China Daily until early next year.

Wang, the doctor, said Moody told her that he was solely focused on continuing to work.

"He had been working in China for more than a decade and had strong feelings for the country," she said. "He told me that although he didn't have Chinese citizenship, he was totally devoted to this country."

She added: "His brain worked very well, and he was an experienced journalist who had a wealth of knowledge. He was reluctant to give up his job at the newspaper."

Moody worried whether his brain would remain sharp as the disease advanced. "He kept asking me, if my body is like that of Stephen Hawking, will it mess up my brain? I said no. The mind will always remain clear. So we spent a lot of effort on how he could use his mind and to continue writing," said the doctor.

They also discussed the use of speech input machinery in case Moody could not move his fingers, and the use of an eyeball tracker in case his voice was no longer clear enough.

Nicholson, the editor, said Moody paid "a high price for his dedication and determination in getting out his last stories", for as he was researching and writing them, he could have done more to look after his health.

"I think he was under considerable physical distress in those last weeks, much more than he was willing to let on. But whenever you asked him whether he was all right, he would simply reply, 'I'm OK'."

Liu, Moody's housekeeper, said, "During his last days, he always asked me to dress him neatly to make sure he looked OK before receiving any visitor."

Jacques was interviewed for Moody's last work, and was still "in a state of shock" two days after hearing about his death.

"He never breathed a word about his own tragic illness.… He was very brave, selfless and noble," he said.

Moody wrote in his diary in April that a colleague, Wang Linyan, suggested he "go home to the UK", and he answered, "Home is here now."