An actress known as the “Divine Bosom” for her risqué roles in Hong Kong erotic thrillers has caused controversy in China after she signed up for a high-level government advisory body.
Diana Peng (40) starred in movies like the 1995 softcore thriller Midnight Caller and the 1997 supernatural erotic kung-fu movie Erotic Ghost Story: Perfect Match.
Now the actress, who hails from Changsha in Hunan province, has signed up to sit on the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) in the poor province of Gansu.
The CPPCC reports to China’s annual rubber-stamp parliament, the National People’s Congress, next month. It has regional branches across many provinces.
Credentials
Ms Peng points to her revolutionary credentials – her grandfather took part in the Communists’ Long March across China – and wants to boost the film industry in the province.
In recent years she has made less controversial fare, including a propaganda film, Lovely China, in 2009.
Other stars taking part on the CPPCC include Kung Fu comedian Jackie Chan, who in recent years has become a staunch defender of single-party rule by the Communist Party and argues there should be limits on public protests in Hong Kong.
Stephen Chow, a Hong Kong comedian and film director, has been selected as a member of the Guangdong CPPCC, while another prominent member of this year’s CPPCC is Nobel literature laureate Mo Yan, who has been criticised for not being outspoken enough about fellow writers who have suffered at the hands of the government, such as fellow Nobel laureate Liu Xiaobo.
Fears
There are fears that efforts to boost the profile of the CPPCC by including more celebrity names could harm the panel.
Kong Zhiyong, a sales manager, said on his Twitter-style Sina Weibo account, Peng was selected to stop male members of the CPPCC falling asleep during sessions. “Thus, more porn stars will be admitted to the committees,” he wrote.
