Big PRC citizens cannot swallow the fact that GongLi gave up a big superpower passport in exchange for a Peesai passport? Do you think she will have problems if she gets an uncle sam passport?
Outrage as China's leading lady defects to Singapore
By Clifford Coonan in Beijing
Wednesday, 12 November 2008
REUTERS
Gong Li, star of Memoirs of a Geisha, is married to Singaporean tobacco tycoon Ooi Hoe Seong
China's leading lady Gong Li, best known in Britain for her role in Memoirs of a Geisha, is being accused of treason by her irate countrymen for becoming a Singaporean citizen.
The 43-year-old actress embodies Chinese womanhood in the way Helen Mirren sets British hearts racing, or the way Catherine Deneuve is an icon in France, so her decision to take Singaporean citizenship was always bound to cause trouble.
State media ran images of the actress with her hand on her heart being sworn in at a ceremony alongside 149 others at the Teck Ghee Community Club in the island state, which has a large Chinese community. Her husband is the Singapore businessman Ooi Hoe Seong, whom she married in 1996.
Angry webizens said Ms Gong was betraying her Chinese roots. "She earned enough money in China, didn't she?" wrote one online commentator on Sina.com. "Then she becomes a foreigner! Why do we make her money for her, just so she can take the money and run." Another complained: "I'm disappointed in her. Why do rich and famous people all want to change their nationality?"
China Film Group said on its website that Ms Gong was viewed internationally as the pride of China, and that it could make Chinese audiences unhappy if she goes on to win prizes abroad as a Singaporean star. The actress was born in China's Liaoning province and for many years was the darling of the arthouse film circuit as the partner and leading lady of Zhang Yimou, an avant-garde director who later embraced the establishment and this year directed the opening ceremony of the Olympics. Ms Gong was his muse and starred in his earlier, better movies, including Red Sorghum and Raise the Red Lantern, as well as The Curse of Golden Flower in 2006.
China does not recognise dual nationalities, but travel restrictions forced many Chinese celebrities to take citizenship elsewhere. Others opt for Hong Kong citizenship, which is Chinese citizenship without travel restrictions.
Outrage as China's leading lady defects to Singapore
By Clifford Coonan in Beijing
Wednesday, 12 November 2008
REUTERS
Gong Li, star of Memoirs of a Geisha, is married to Singaporean tobacco tycoon Ooi Hoe Seong
China's leading lady Gong Li, best known in Britain for her role in Memoirs of a Geisha, is being accused of treason by her irate countrymen for becoming a Singaporean citizen.
The 43-year-old actress embodies Chinese womanhood in the way Helen Mirren sets British hearts racing, or the way Catherine Deneuve is an icon in France, so her decision to take Singaporean citizenship was always bound to cause trouble.
State media ran images of the actress with her hand on her heart being sworn in at a ceremony alongside 149 others at the Teck Ghee Community Club in the island state, which has a large Chinese community. Her husband is the Singapore businessman Ooi Hoe Seong, whom she married in 1996.
Angry webizens said Ms Gong was betraying her Chinese roots. "She earned enough money in China, didn't she?" wrote one online commentator on Sina.com. "Then she becomes a foreigner! Why do we make her money for her, just so she can take the money and run." Another complained: "I'm disappointed in her. Why do rich and famous people all want to change their nationality?"
China Film Group said on its website that Ms Gong was viewed internationally as the pride of China, and that it could make Chinese audiences unhappy if she goes on to win prizes abroad as a Singaporean star. The actress was born in China's Liaoning province and for many years was the darling of the arthouse film circuit as the partner and leading lady of Zhang Yimou, an avant-garde director who later embraced the establishment and this year directed the opening ceremony of the Olympics. Ms Gong was his muse and starred in his earlier, better movies, including Red Sorghum and Raise the Red Lantern, as well as The Curse of Golden Flower in 2006.
China does not recognise dual nationalities, but travel restrictions forced many Chinese celebrities to take citizenship elsewhere. Others opt for Hong Kong citizenship, which is Chinese citizenship without travel restrictions.
