5 Chinese celebrities with foreign citizenships, from martial art master Jet Li and Canto-pop ‘bad boy’ Nicholas Tse to Mulan stars Gong Li and Liu Yifei – but which of them gave up their passports?

Sep 10 , 2021

Chinese celebrities, from left, Nicholas Tse, Gong Li and Jet Li, all have foreign citizenship, attracting varying degrees of criticism on social media. Photos: @nicholastsefansclub, @officialgongli, @jetli/Instagram

Born in Liaoning, Gong Li is known for her roles in The Monkey King series and Memoirs of a Geisha, but attracted criticism for acquiring Singaporean citizenship

Zhang Tielin’s British citizenship caused controversy when he played Mao Zedong, while Arthur Chen Feiyu chose to trade his US passport for a Chinese one

Ethnically Chinese stars who hold foreign passports but work in mainland China face something of a conundrum: do they keep those passports, or give them up to prove their “Chinese-ness”? Over the years, these celebrities have been facing mounting pressure – especially lately, as the Chinese government pays closer attention to entertainment and fan culture.

But although foreign citizenship is a sensitive and complicated matter for Chinese A-listers, many continue to hold onto their foreign nationalities for a variety of reasons. Here are six of them …

Gong Li – Chinese-born Singaporean actress

Gong Li has starred in three of the four Chinese films nominated for best international film at the Oscars. Photo: @officialgongli/Instagram

Born in the province of Liaoning, timeless beauty Gong Li is known globally for her roles in both Chinese and Hollywood blockbuster films such as Mulan (2020), The Monkey King series, Memoirs of a Geisha (2005) and many others. Through her first marriage to tobacco tycoon Ooi Hoe Seong, Gong acquired Singaporean citizenship in 2008.

Gong Li shared behind the scenes photos of her on the set of The Monkey King 2. Photo: @officialgongli/Instagram

When news of her choice to change citizenship first broke, the Chinese media was outraged and fans expressed their disappointment about her decision, which they perceived as unpatriotic.

Nicholas Tse – Hong Kong/Canadian actor (who is renouncing Canadian citizenship)

Aside from being an actor, Nicholas Tse is also a talented chef who goes by the name “Chef Nic”. Photo: @nicholastsefansclub/Instagram

Actor Nicholas Tse made waves on social media with the recent announcement of his application to renounce his Canadian citizenship. The Hong Kong-born actor inherited the status from his father, veteran actor Patrick Tse, who was quoted in The Straits Times as saying he immigrated to Canada to spare his kids from being spoilt by the family’s fame and wealth. Tse nevertheless flourished as a star in Hong Kong, making plenty of money for himself, while also gaining a reputation as something of a “bad boy”.

There are speculations around Nicholas Tse renouncing his Canadian citizenship as fans wonder if there are any hidden motives. Photo: @nicholastsefansclub/Instagram