Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi has been named image ambassador by the China Red Ribbon Foundation (CRRF), an organization working to prevent HIV/AIDS, Sina.com.cn reports. The actress appeared Sunday (August 8) with 100 AIDS orphans at an event in Beijing to help launch a summer camp co-organized by CRRF for the children. The children came from Sichuan and Henan provinces. Zhang has recently finished shooting her role in Gu Changwei’s new film A Tale of Magic, about an HIV-impacted village. “I am honored to be involved in this campaign for the prevention of HIV/AIDS, and thanks to the movie A Tale of Magic, I had the chance to get to know AIDS patients,” Zhang was quoted as saying. She also shared a story of an HIV-infected boy, who is also an actor in A Tale of Magic and gradually became optimistic during the filming process. Zhang said she was happy to see the child’s changes which made her believe in the importance of helping people affected by HIV/AIDS. Source: English.News.cn

During her darkest times when her career was plagued by a credibility crisis, Zhang Ziyi thought of ending it all by killing herself, reported Apple Daily. The paper cited an article written by Su Mang, the chief editor of the China?s edition of Harper?s Bazaar, after she visited the actress on the set of her latest film, The Tale of Magic. Amidst the donation scandal and break-up rumours, Zhang, who was under tremendous pressure then, confided in Su that she could not bear to see her mother?s tears and that she was worried that her friends might be affected by the incident. The thought of suicide crossed her mind in a brief moment when Zhang switched on the TV and saw Centre Stage, the award-winning film which starred Maggie Cheung as Ruan Lingyu, the famous actress in the 1930s who tragically took her own life, when gossip surrounding her private life got out of hand. It happened the TV was playing Cheung?s suicide scene and Zhang wondered whether that was a sign from the above, claimed the report. Luckily, Zhang, who is noted for her resilience, soon realised that death was not the solution and brushed off the thought immediately. Source: AsiaOne.com

The love saga of China’s fave screen darling has taken another turn. Rumours surfaced last month that Zhang Ziyi’s fiancé, Vivi Nevo, is a hardcore online gaming fanatic and even dabbles in web dating. Now, it seems something got brewing between him and an unknown girl online to the extent he has broken off his engagement with actress Ziyi. Several netizens have claimed that the Israeli multi-millionaire is in love with a fellow forum user. Vivi and Ziyi, who were first spotted as an item in Jan 2007, confirmed their engagement in July the following year, but have repeatedly delayed their wedding multiple times last year. The low-profile Vivi is a venture capitalist by occupation and a major shareholder in media giant Time Warner, while Ziyi is known for her international appeal, having acted in Chinese, Hong Kong, Korean, Japanese and Hollywood movies. Source: Msn.com

The love saga of China’s fave screen darling has taken another turn. Rumours surfaced last month that Zhang Ziyi’s fiancé, Vivi Nevo, is a hardcore online gaming fanatic and even dabbles in web dating. Now, it seems something got brewing between him and an unknown girl online to the extent he has broken off his engagement with actress Ziyi. Several netizens have claimed that the Israeli multi-millionaire is in love with a fellow forum user. Vivi and Ziyi, who were first spotted as an item in Jan 2007, confirmed their engagement in July the following year, but have repeatedly delayed their wedding multiple times last year. The low-profile Vivi is a venture capitalist by occupation and a major shareholder in media giant Time Warner, while Ziyi is known for her international appeal, having acted in Chinese, Hong Kong, Korean, Japanese and Hollywood movies. Source: Msn.com

Movie star Jackie Chan has topped this year’s Forbes Chinese celebrity list. Taiwan pop singer Jay Chou and Hong Kong movie star Andy Lau were second and third, respectively, behind Chan, who earned 206 million yuan in the entertainment industry last year, according to the Chinese version of Forbes magazine. Basketball superstar Yao Ming, who topped the list for the past six years, slipped to fourth, followed by Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi. The Forbes Chinese celebrity list is released in March or April every year and ranks 100 Chinese celebrities based on their personal income, public influence, estimated commercial value and the amount of media coverage and web traffic they generated during the previous year. “It’s the first time we’ve had Hong Kong and Taiwan celebrities on the list,” said Echo Yang, the producer of the list and features editor with the magazine. “We added them since most them make the majority of their income from the mainland market.” She said one-third of China’s commercial performance income was generated in Beijing last year, and predicted the capital will soon be the center of the country’s entertainment and cultural industries. Celebrities from Hong Kong and Taiwan are also now demanding much higher fees for working in the capital, said several industry insiders. “A company with a 10-million-yuan annual advertising budget can no longer sign these superstars,” said Tao Lei, president of Ogilvy China, an advertising company.Source: AsiaOne.com

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. Read more… »

Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi is in Singapore to open Omega’s first boutique in the city-state, at the ION Orchard shopping mall. During a media conference with the company’s president, Stephen Urquhart, she revealed a secret to potential suitors hoping to win her heart. “I say next time, you prepare a ring and a watch with diamonds. Then I will say yes, definitely,” Zhang said. She declined to say if she is currently working on another movie project, but said she will be returning to China to fulfil a busy schedule. The international actress is the Omega’s newest spokesperson, and she said that the partnership was fated as the first watch she ever bought was an Omega. “I spent pretty much all the money I had earned then. I still haven’t worn that watch till now. I can’t bear to as I’m scared I’ll lose it,” Zhang said. “I did not get a discount at the time. But I asked my boss, and he said that I can get a discount now,” she quipped.