Beijing — Chinese actress Vicki Zhao has been going through a lot lately, from dealing with rumours of a troubled marriage to losing more than 100 lawsuits over securities disputes last year. Sadly, it seems things are not getting any better. According to Tianyancha, a business data search firm that provides information about Chinese enterprises, the 45-year-old’s shares in three companies have been frozen by a Beijing court. The shares worth about 2.726 million yuan (S$558,800) in all will be frozen until April 2024.
Beijing Pulin Production, which was established in 2002, is one of the affected companies. Zhao is their largest shareholder with 70 per cent. About 2.1 million yuan (SGD430,500) worth of her shares there have been frozen. Zhao wholly owned a trading company. There 500,000 yuan (S$102,500) worth of her are shares frozen. She also holds 10 per cent of the shares of a creative technology company. There she has 126, 000 yuan (SGD25,800) worth of shares frozen.
The bad news is rumoured to have affected promotions for the actress’ new drama As Long As We Are Together, with its trailers apparently being removed. It’s not known why Zhao’s shares have been frozen, but some netizens speculate it might have something to do with disgraced Chinese actress Zheng Shuang’s tax evasion scandal, as reported by 8days.sg.
It was reported that Zheng Shuang’s career was destroyed after her former boyfriend accused her of abandoning their surrogate children. On April 26, the actress was also accused of signing “yin-yang contracts” in order to get paid more and evade taxes. Actress Fan Bingbing allegedly did so as well. The State Taxation Administration and the National Radio and Television Administration have launched investigations into the matter.
Subsequently, Zhao too came under attack with netizens making comments such as “Vicki is a celebrity who is notorious for her misdeeds”, “Investigate her strictly”, “She can earn it all back in two or three days anyway”, and “To celebrities, millions for dollars is just like hundreds to us ordinary people.”
Zhao does not seem to be perturbed. She continues to update social media. When the news of her frozen shares broke, she reposted the trailer for a show about fertility and marriage and added: “Give women more tolerance, space, and understanding.” /TISG