A former high-profile presenter on state-run Central China Television (CCTV), Ni Ping, shared plans to migrate to Canada sparked and it sparked a debate on social media about patriotism. Ironically, about 60 million Chinese have joined the global diaspora and are found in almost any country in the world.
Yet, commenting on pleasant rainy weather in Vancouver, a Canadian city, and saying she wants to migrate to the North American country, created a Sina Weibo storm as Chinese netizens debated on the issue of migration, reported Global Times. Many netizens feel that Ni would be betraying China if she moves to another country.
The heavier expectation from the TV personality comes from her having received a backbone of China award from the China Federation of Patriotic Projects in 2011. The group is connected with the Ministry of Culture.
In 2010, Ni also publicly said that she loves China deeply as a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference. The conference is China’s top political advisory body.
Among the criticisms that Ni received from netizens were that she is a hypocrite and that she no longer deserves the backbone award.
Ni held an art exhibit in Vancouver and was captivated by the place that she considered moving to Canada. She also shared her migration plans with Sing Tao Daily, a Hong Kong-based newspaper, on Feb. 12. However, because of the ruckus, the 57-year-old backtracked and claimed she was just joking about moving to Canada. She said on Tuesday, “I apologize for the joke that has gone too far” on her Weibo account.
However, Zhou Xiaozhen, sociology professor at Renmin University of China, backed Ni and said that looking at celebrity migrants as unpatriotic is rooted in the long contentious issue of the wide gap between the rich and the poor.
If Ni would still push through with her migration plans, she would join about 1.3 million Chinese migrants in Canada, who comprise about 4 percent of Canada’s population.