A celebrity apologized Tuesday after receiving a torrent of abuse online when her decision to move to Canada was interpreted by netizens as a plan to migrate.
"I said I like the rainy weather here [in Vancouver] and wanted to move here. However I have unexpectedly put my foot in my mouth and was criticized by many Net users. I apologize for the joke that has gone too far," Ni Ping, a former TV presenter on Central China Television, wrote on her Sina Weibo account Tuesday.
Reports about celebrities moving abroad often become hot topics of discussion with the narrative online usually focusing on their "betrayal" of China even if the reports turn out to be inaccurate. Some stars have even posted pictures of their passport to prove they haven't changed their nationality.
This kind of criticism shows a narrow-minded nationalism, since everyone has the freedom to choose where to live, Zheng Yefu, a sociologist at the Renmin University of China, told the Global Times.
Should I stay or should I go?
Ni, 57, told the Hong Kong-based Sing Tao Daily on February 12 that she planned to move to Vancouver, where she held an art exhibition, and she had already started looking for a house in the city.
After being criticized, she apologized and posted a picture of her Chinese passport with a note reading "me and my country" on her Weibo. Under the posts, netizens' comments were split between those supporting her and saying she doesn't need to apologize, and those who continued to abuse her.
"Ni is a hypocritical bitch who betrayed her country where she gained fortune and fame," wrote one Net user on his Weibo.
Some Net users mocked the "fall of China after the country's backbone leaves," as Ni was given a "backbone of China" award for her achievements in culture in 2011 from China Federation of Patriotic Projects, an organization affiliated to the Ministry of Culture.
Some public figures also wrote articles on social media criticizing celebrities who had changed their nationality. Bi Dianlong, a commentator on international affairs, said "you can still keep your Chinese nationality when you live abroad if you really love your country."
The fact that Ni announced she loves her "country deeply" in 2010, when she was a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the country's top political advisory body, was also used against her, with some questioning her "hypocrisy" and asking "if you love your country so much why are you moving abroad."
Zhou Xiaozheng, another sociology professor with Renmin University of China pointed out that the mindset of labeling migrating celebrities as unpatriotic or betraying their country has its roots in popular discontent about the gap between the rich and the poor.
Around 60 million of China's 1.3 billion citizens currently live abroad, and China exports the largest number of migrants of any country, according to the Annual Report on Chinese International Migration issued by the Center for China and Globalization in 2015, Guangming Daily reported.
Under watch
The nationalities of celebrities are monitored especially closely by the media and the public when they have political positions, such as being deputies of the National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislator.
Yang Lan, a well-known media figure; Deng Yaping, a former Olympic ping-pong champion; and Zhao Benshan, a famous comedian all hold or have held political positions and had controversies emerge over their nationality. Yang, also a CPPCC member, wrote on her blog in 2012 that she has neither changed nationality nor acquired permanent residency abroad after receiving abuse.
Some celebrities emigrate because Western passports save them time when applying for visas, said a sociologist at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences who requested anonymity.
Others emigrate for personal reasons, such as marriage, wanting to have a second child without paying fines, or merely for an undisturbed life in a foreign place where they are less famous. "I feel at ease here, no annoying business calls, no paparazzi and no gossip about me," news site people.cn quoted famous actress Ning Jing as saying in 2012 after she moved to the U.S.
