Will the abandonment of dual citizenship become a trend of chinese entertainment industry stars?

A few days ago, two Hong Kong celebrities announced that they would give up their overseas passports. They are action star Nicholas Tse, who has applied to renounce his Canadian citizenship, and Maria Cordero, a Macau TV presenter who has recently renounced his Portuguese citizenship. In early August, young actor Arthur Chen renounced his American citizenship. Weibo users react differently to celebrities' decisions. Some people call Nicholas Tse's behavior "patriotic and full of positive energy" and can set a good example for others. Others have described such decisions as hypocrisy. Some netizens believe that the actors are just scared of their careers on the mainland.

But there is something to be feared about. In addition to Nicholas Tse, six successful stars may be subject to these restrictions, according to the Malaysian tabloid the sun daily: Jet Li, Zhang Tielin, Liu Crystal Liu, Will Pan, Wang Lee Hom and Mark Chao. There are even rumors on social media that Chinese regulators have issued a secret list of "restriction orders." However, the existence of such a list has not only not been officially confirmed, but also refuted by the stars themselves.

A spokesman for Hongsheng Music, the agency to which Wang Lihong belongs, said in response to numerous media inquiries that such news is nothing more than rumors.

"This fake news has been rumor-mongering for more than 18 months," Macro Music declared.

Representatives of Singaporean singer Stefanie Sun also denied the news.

The abandonment of foreign passports comes against the backdrop of government regulation of the entertainment industry. That oversight was tightened after kris Wu, a Chinese-Canadian pop singer, was high-profiledly detained on suspicion of seducing underage women.

In addition, it is difficult to deny that due to dual citizenship, well-known artists in China's entertainment industry may also receive sky-high income due to tax evasion and tax evasion. Tax evasion and evasion not only violate the law, but also pose serious problems for China's income distribution, social equity and common prosperity. Regulating the entertainment industry has become a new official initiative in China. After Wu Yifan's arrest, China Central Television (CCTV) issued a formal commentary saying, "To be an artist is to be a person first, and to be a person is to be moral first." Artists are not only professional, but also socially responsible." The official statement also said that the entertainment industry plays an important role in this regard, because it "should force artists to improve their moral cultivation through industry self-discipline."

In the article "Today's Sharp Commentary on | Strong Drugs to Purify the Network" published on the website of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the State Supervision Commission, it is pointed out that the Central Cyberspace Administration, the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, and other departments will continue to increase supervision and control.

However, today's trend did not appear out of thin air, but gradually developed. As early as February 2020, Chinese media reported that according to the work deployment of The State Administration of Radio and Television of China and under the leadership of the Department of Network Audiovisual Program Management of the State Administration of Radio and Television, the Detailed Rules for the Review of The Content of Online Variety Shows were formulated. The Detailed Rules cover the following platforms: The China Online Audiovisual Program Service Association may select artists who have a negative social impact due to scandals, bad behaviors, crimes, etc. One of the main points of the Rules is that actors with dual citizenship are not expected. The statement said: "There must be no improper selection of foreign nationals or Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan nationals. ”

According to media and social network users, it is the Detailed Rules that are now being implemented.