Since her debut in 2002, Chinese actress Liu Yi Fei (刘亦菲) has been a prominent figure in the Chinese movie and television industry, having acted in some of the country’s top projects. Unfortunately, she won’t be able to get her well-deserved recognition at one of China’s most prestigious award ceremonies because of her nationality.
In August, the star received nominations for the Best Actress award at the China TV Golden Eagle Awards (中国电视金鹰奖) for her roles in “A Dream Of Splendour (梦华录)” and “Meet Yourself (去有风的地方)”. However, during the most recent voting round, fans noticed that Liu Yi Fei’s name was no longer on the nomination list, leading to confusion. As it turns out, the award show has suddenly revoked her nomination because the actress is not a Chinese citizen.
For your information, Liu Yi Fei was born in China to Chinese parents. Her parents divorced when she was ten years old, and the actress then moved to the United States, where she later received American citizenship. According to reports, the eligibility criteria for the Golden Eagle Awards state that participants in the individual awards, including Best Actress, must be citizens of the People’s Republic of China.
Liu Yi Fei isn’t the only nominee affected by this rule because stars Siqin Gaowa (斯琴高娃), Jiayi Feng (冯嘉怡) and Jiang Shimeng (蒋诗萌) also had their nominations cancelled because of their citizenship. Nevertheless, fans have voiced their dissatisfaction with the award ceremony. Many claimed that the voting panel should have never shortlisted Liu Yi Fei’s name in the first place if they knew she wasn’t qualified. On the other hand, others claimed that the organisers were using Liu Yi Fei’s name and her nomination to create hype for the award ceremony.
The Golden Eagle Awards have yet to respond to this matter – but we hope the organiser can clarify what led to the mistake. What are your thoughts on this issue?
Sources: China Press, Sin Chew
