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在线翻译:
szdaily -> Entertainment -> 
Actress’ surrogacy scandal rocks social media
    2021-01-21  08:53    Shenzhen Daily

A SCANDAL involving a high-profile celebrity and two surrogate children has rocked Chinese social media, setting off heated debate over whether there should be an outright ban of surrogacy in China.

At the center of the controversy is popular actress Zheng Shuang, who has been accused by her former partner, producer Zhang Heng, of abandoning their two children born to U.S.-based surrogate mothers after the couple’s relationship ended before the children were born.

Zhang said on Weibo, China’s Twitter-like service, Monday that he has been stranded in the U.S. for over a year because he and his family “must take care of and protect two young and innocent lives.”

A friend of Zhang’s provided documents to Chinese platform NetEase Entertainment which showed the birth of a boy Dec. 19, 2019 and a girl Jan. 4, 2020, both born in the U.S. and alleged to be children of Zheng and Zhang.

The friend also provided a voice recording in which Zheng, Zhang and their parents allegedly discussed what to do with the then-unborn children, as the two had broken up.

Zheng’s father suggested that they abandon the children at the hospital, while Zhang’s father said it would be illegal. Zheng’s family then suggested giving the children up “for adoption,” while Zheng expressed annoyance that they could not be aborted as they had been in the womb for seven months.

Zheng responded to the claims Tuesday afternoon, saying “it’s a very sad and private matter for me.” She accused Zhang of trying to extort her and said her lawyers were negotiating with Zhang’s family to protect her rights.

Zheng, who has 11 million fans on Weibo, became an overnight sensation after appearing in the 2009 romance TV series “Meteor Shower” and its sequel in 2010. In 2016, she was named one of the four most popular Chinese actresses born in the 1990s by Southern Metropolis Entertainment Weekly.

She has repeatedly faced controversies over her acting and her interactions with others, as well as been questioned over her emotional state, but has an enormous and loyal fan base.

The scandal has revived discussions on whether there should be a clear ban on surrogacy in China, as critics believe the practice exploits the rights of women, and treats women’s bodies as if they are commercial products. There isn’t a surrogacy ban in legal codes in the country, but multiple government administrations do not allow the practice, according to Gao Mingyue, a Shanghai-based lawyer.

On Tuesday, Prada announced that it has terminated Zheng’s ambassadorship, making her the most short-lived brand ambassador in the brand’s history, lasting only nine days. So far five out of seven fashion brands that have contracted Zheng as their image spokesperson have canceled their cooperation with Zheng.

(South China Morning Post)

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