Chinese starlet Zhang Ziyi, always a lightning rod for criticism in her home country, is under fire again over questions about donations she pledged for survivors of the 2008 Sichuan earthquake. Chinese web users have attacked the star of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon for allegedly failing to honour her pledges, a spat that media reports said was a symptom of the nation’s love-hate relationship with Zhang. Donationgate, as China’s state media dubbed the row, surfaced last month when the popular website Tianya reported that Zhang had given only 840,000 yuan (124,000 dollars) of the one million yuan she promised for earthquake relief. The 8.0 magnitude quake in May 2008 devastated parts of Sichuan province in southwest China, leaving at least 87,000 people dead or missing. Zhang’s agent issued a public apology on Monday, blaming the issue on careless financial management. Charities said the final donations had been made. Zhang has not made any public statements. But that has done little to quell the firestorm of criticism. Communist Party-controlled state television included a segment on the issue in a talk show that continued to imply Zhang had not come clean about the donations and the fate of further funds she pledged to raise. It is not the first time Zhang has come under attack in China, where fans often criticise film stars online for actions deemed shameful to the country. She has been criticised in the past for having a foreign boyfriend — Israeli billionaire Vivi Nevo — and for playing a Japanese woman in a Memoirs of a Geisha. In 2008, actress Gong Li’s decision to become a Singapore citizen sparked a similar outcry, with many branding the 44-year-old a traitor.
2 Responses to “Chinese star Zhang under fire over quake donations”February 22nd, 2010 at 7:51 pm Hey, I just wanna thank you for the work you put into this site. Good luck to you & to Ziyi. June 19th, 2010 at 3:41 pm Some people don’t have a life — coupled with lack of clue. Some of those indulge hate because it’s their only “normal” feeling. Most all are jealous. On its face the fake “controversy” — it can’t be a scandal unless there’s an actual scandal — it bogus: Zhang Ziyi is a multi-millionaire, so needn’t defraud, steal, or “embezzle”. And if in need of money, she has a significant number of mega-wealthy friends who’d lend herr money. In essence it’s the jealous endeavoring to tear down a person who is, unlike themselves, successful. Those are the conclusions to which the facts lead when one critically evaluates the underlying “evidence” and lack of logic used to advance whatever the current fake “controversy”. Leave a Reply |
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