Houston Community News >> Gong Li Nomination in Green Chinese Awards
10/30/2007-- The nomination of
Gong Li, one of China's most famous actresses, in the country's "Green Chinese"
awards in 2007 has drawn criticism.
Though some netizens believe Gong Li has for years earned herself a positive
image as an advocate of environmental protection, she is condemned by some
others as "talking about environmental protection in furs."
The actress was seen wearing furs when attending a session of this year's
National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC)
in March on which she made a proposal on environmental issues.
Though it is still not clear whether the furs were man-made or not, it is still
the subject of hot debate among netizens.
Wang Panpu, secretary-general of China Environment Culture Promotion Association
(CECPA), the event's organizing committee, explained the reasons for her
nomination on Tuesday.
The "Green Chinese" annual award is co-sponsored by seven government departments
which selects five to ten Chinese who have made a great contribution towards
protecting the environment.
"Negative examples" and "controversial figures" have for the first time being
added to the nominations to serve as a warning, according to Wang.
From September 5 to October 20, more than 50,000 people participated in this
year's nominations for the "Green Chinese" award via Internet, mail and phone
calls, etc.
Popular Chinese comedian Ge You is also among the "controversial figure"
nominees.
Ge You's good image deteriorates after he endorsed the Yilin Wood Company.
The company cheated investors by promising high returns on sales of forest
lands. It used the illegal pyramid-selling model, in which one salesperson
recruits other salespeople who pay a fee to the first salesperson. Those
salespeople in turn attempt to recruit further salespeople who in turn do the
same.
Police said the company took more than 1.6 billion yuan (206 million U.S.
dollars) from about 20,000 people across China
However, the popular comedian earned support from nominators for the green
awards on the grounds that he has rectified his mistake by taking part in
public-interest advertisements.
Neither Gong Li nor Ge You have been involved in sabotaging the environment,
however, both of them are criticized for their discrepancy between words and
deeds in environmental issues, Wang said.
The "Green Chinese" award caught public attention last year as a result of the
controversial nomination of Chinese film directors Chen Kaige and Zhang Jizhong,
though neither of them made it to the final short list.
Chen's film, "The Promise", damaged the environment near a pristine lake shore
in Shangri-la in southwest China's Yunnan Province, and the film company behind
Zhang's film was accused of damaging the environment in the Jiuzhaigou National
Park in Sichuan Province during shooting. Zhang later agreed to make a
documentary as recompense. Chen was fined as a result of his film damaging the
environment.
Many netizens described the nomination of the directors as an outrageous irony,
saying if it wasn't for Chen's movie there wouldn't have been such huge
attention focused on environmental protection.
The award's organizing committee announced on Tuesday a list of 280 nominees for
the "Green Chinese" award, consisting of people from various circles, different
regions in China and even other countries.
Those who top the list of nominees for role models are Wang Yongchen, the
founder of Green Earth Volunteer, a non-governmental organization focusing on
environmental protection; Chai Jing, a CCTV-based journalist who has conducted
in-depth reports on environmental issues; Zhao Xihai, a retired worker who has
planted hundreds of thousands of trees over the ten years or so.
Jackie Chan, the world-famous movie star and Zhang Yimou, the celebrated
director, are also nominated as role models for their attention to and
engagement in environmental protection.
And five people nominated as "negative figures" are all in charge of polluting
enterprises responsible for significant pollution accidents, according to the
organizing committee.
The people listed include Ma Zhengxiang, head of the Zhengxing Chemical Co. Ltd
in Linxiang city of central China's Hunan Province, which was blamed for illegal
discharges of a highly toxic arsenic compound into a river causing a water
shortage for 80,000 people for four days last year.
Other negative figures include Zheng Yonggang, head of Wuhu Tianrun
Biotechnology Co. Ltd in Anhui Province, for causing water pollution; Wu Shuren,
head of Caixin Group in central China's Henan Province, for illegal discharges
that caused pollution in the Huaihe River; Yang Shijiang, head of Tianma Beer
Co. Ltd, for illegal discharges causing pollution in the surrounding areas ; and
Zhuang Kai, head of a plant under the Panzhihua Iron & Steel Group in Sichuan
Province for causing pollution in the Jinshajiang River.
The award, co-sponsored by seven Chinese government departments, including the
State Environmental Protection Administration and the Ministry of Culture, and
supported by the United Nations Environment Program, was established in 2005.
The award ceremony will be held on Dec. 12 after nominees go through public
voting.
(Contributed by Xinhua)