Gong Li to renounce Singapore citizenship

Singapore — It appears that Gong Li may renounce her Singapore citizenship after reportedly being blacklisted by the Chinese government for holding a foreign passport.

Based on rumours that started circulating on the Internet last week, the 55-year-old is said to be renouncing her citizenship due to sweeping crackdowns on the Chinese entertainment industry and reapplying to be a Chinese citizen. The rumours surrounding Gong Li came in the wake of Hong Kong actor Nicholas Tse renouncing his Canadian citizenship last month.

In August, famed Chinese director Chen Kaige’s son, actor Arther Chen Feiyu who was born in the United States also renounced his US citizenship. Both Tse and Gong were on a rumoured blacklist of artistes who hold foreign citizenship.

Vicki Zhao was also said to be on this list as she is a Singapore permanent resident. She was abruptly erased from the Internet in China back in August, reported Straits Times.

Gong was granted Singapore citizenship in 2008. She married Singapore tycoon Ooi Hoe Seong in 1996. The internationally renowned star of movies such as Raise The Red Lantern (1991) and Memoirs Of A Geisha (2005) retained citizenship even after the couple’s divorce in 2009. Following that, Gong then got married to French electronic musician Jean-Michel Jarre that same year and now lives in France.

Chinese netizens cheered the latest rumours and welcomed Gong back after years of jeers at her for turning her back on her country.

Nevertheless, on local forums, there were snide remarks from Singaporeans about Gong using Singapore as a stepping stone while not contributing to the country, as well as jokes that she can now withdraw her CPF in full.

Netizens wondered if martial arts star Jet Li, who also holds Singapore citizenship, will be next to give it up.

Born Dec 31, 1965, Gong Li is a Chinese-born Singaporean actress. She starred in three of the four Chinese-language films that were nominated for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film. /TISG