Nicholas Tse renounces Canadian citizenship

Hong Kong — Following the scandals of stars like Vicki Zhao, Kris Wu and Zhang Zhehan, China has been taking extreme measures to crack down on all kinds of supposedly undesirable fan and celebrity behaviour.

It was recently reported that authorities have now implemented a “restriction order” that will prohibit celebrities with foreign nationalities from working in China.

Hong Kong singer-actor Nicholas Tse, 41 who has Canadian citizenship is said to be on the list.

Tse revealed on a CCTV talk show on Sep 5 that he had already submitted an application to renounce his Canadian citizenship, as reported by 8days.sg.

“I’ve seen a lot of comments saying, ‘Aren’t you Canadian?’ Actually, I was born in Hong Kong, so I am originally Chinese,” he said, adding that he believes he has the responsibility of “promoting the Chinese spirit and culture” to the world, be it through food, music, or movies.

Weibo users were pleased with Tse’s announcement and they praised him for his “strong sense of national pride” and for being “someone who loves his country”.

However, there are remarks on other websites condemning Tse for his decision, accusing him of being a “bootlicker” and scoffing that the renminbi must be “so fragrant”.

There were others who also questioned Tse’s true intention, saying that the actor-singer is only doing this after being in showbiz for so long and that it happens to coincide with the enactment of the “restriction order”.

Meanwhile, netizens have unveiled old footage where Tse’s dad, Patrick Tse, 84 reveals the reason Tse and his younger sister Jennifer Tse, 39, have Canadian citizenship. The elder Tse shared that his family immigrated to Canada to avoid “spoiling the kids” since they might receive special treatment as his children in Hong Kong.

As for what Patrick thinks of his son renouncing his Canadian citizenship, he told Hong Kong media: “Whatever [Nicholas] wants to do, as a father, I will support him.”

Mani Fok, Tse’s manager from Emperor Entertainment Group has responded to the news as well, saying that the company “respects” his “personal decision”.

Tse, who reunited with Chinese pop diva Faye Wong in 2014 is definitely enjoying a successful career in China.

Besides having his own popular food travelogue show Chef Nic, his films are doing well at the box office too, with his latest action flick Raging Fire reportedly raking in an impressive 1.1bil yuan (SGD229mil). /TISG