Zhang Ziyi embroiled in donation scandal
Zhang Ziyi embroiled in donation scandal
BEIJING : Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi is suspected of delaying the release of donation funds she had garnered for victims of the 2008 Szechuan earthquake during her fundraising activities at the Cannes Film Festival that same year.
Zhang's fiance, multi-millionaire Vivi Nevo, had reportedly set up the Zhang Ziyi Foundation on her behalf in the United States to conduct fundraising activities for the earthquake victims.
Citing information from Nevo's close friend in Hong Kong, Chinese media reports alleged that the Foundation's donation funds, earmarked for the Chinese Red Cross Foundation, were channelled into Zhang's personal overseas account and remained there for almost 18 months after her fundraising efforts at the film festival.
The actress had actively sought donations during the 2008 Cannes Film Festival to aid victims of the deadly 8.0 earthquake in Szechuan, China.
She reportedly also felt so strongly about the calamity that she pledged to donate one million yuan (S$208,000) and even berated festival attendees who were ignorant about the natural disaster which claimed almost 60,000 lives.
Following Zhang's statement in January that she "welcomed questions about the matter and would report on the status of the donations"; her manager Ji Ling Ling told Chinese reporters on Tuesday that "[detailed accounts of the donations] will be released by the end of the week".
The promised details have yet to be released. However, some believe Zhang may have simply been unaware that the funds were parked in her account for so long, resulting in the delay.
Chinese actresses Zhou Xun and Vicki Zhao as well as singer Na Ying have also been affected by the fallout from Zhang's donation scandal. People have questioned whether they are donating as much as they claimed to be.
Dubbed the "Fraudulent Donation Gate", the incident follows on the heels of December's "Ink Splash Gate" where a group of hooded men splashed black ink on a giant window advertisement bearing Zhang's image, after creating a scene at the Park Hyatt Beijing hotel.
It is unknown if Zhang's recent scandals will threaten her numerous endorsement deals.
According to Chinese media reports, representatives from the brands Zhang endorses have refused to comment on the matter.
Will Actress’ Racy Photos Complicate Omega’s China Push?
Zhang Ziyi and an Omega (Photo courtesy Omega)
Ask Kevin Rollenhagen, a top executive for Swatch Group’s China operations. Three weeks after the group’s Omega brand named mainland actress Zhang Ziyi as a global brand ambassador — alongside Nicole Kidman, George Clooney and Michael Phelps — risque paparazzi photos of Ms. Zhang hit the Internet, capturing her as she sunbathed on a European beach with boyfriend Vivi Nevo. (Link is safe for work.) Though tame by European sunbathing standards, the images caused a swirl of outrage in the Chinese online community, much of it directed at Ms. Zhang and the fact that her boyfriend isn’t Chinese.
Mr. Rollenhagen’s reaction? Let it blow over.
“Those photos certainly got a lot of attention,” he said, “but it happened on a private beach, and from my point of view, it’s an irrelevant distraction.”
Mr. Rollenhagen pointed to a similar incident years ago with the high-end Omega brand. Not long after signing American supermodel Cindy Crawford to represent the brand, she appeared on the cover of Playboy magazine. While awkward at the time, that incident “never really made any long-term impact,” Mr. Rollenhagen recalled.
“Now are Chinese superstars held to a higher standard than Western ones? Maybe, but there’s no sign that this incident was inappropriate,” he said. “She’s a beautiful woman, on vacation with her boyfriend on a private beach. And some photographer climbed over a fence and took some photos that shouldn’t have been taken.”
Mr. Rollenhagen seems to have gotten his wish. Ms. Zhang is back on Chinese television, and posted a Chinese New Year’s greeting on her blog (in Chinese) last week, where she plays with a stuffed toy ox — a symbol of the Chinese New Year — and tips her hat to the “too many stories that happened in the past year — from the heartbreaking to the soul-stirring, the deeply touching to the unforgettable.”
“These memories make us stronger,” she wrote.
– Jonathan Cheng
Translated From Chinese
Jun-Jun basic information
Real Name: Chen Yi
Nickname: Jun-Jun, glutinous rice balls
Height: 160 cm
weight: 45 kg
Measurements: 32B, 24,33
Birthday: November 24, 1990
Constellation: Sagittarius
blood type: O the type
Album: http://www.wretch.cc/blog/sandy1124e
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