When asked about her views on the cuts to the hit TV series "The Empress of China," Hong Kong actress Chau Hoi Mei said that "it felt pretty weird."
Inspired by ancient history, the series is a 300-million-yuan ($48.04 million) production telling the story of China's first and only female ruler.
The State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and TV, China's top TV watchdog, ordered the cutting of the scenes from the show, removing the parts where the actress' cleavage shows through their bodice. The watchdog stated that the scenes were "unhealthy."
Chau plays the role of Yang, one of the many wives of powerful Chinese Emperor Li Shimin. Yang was a princess from a fallen dynasty who fell in love with Li. She is depicted as a complicated woman who did everything in her power to protect herself and her son.
The 48-year-old actress said: "The scrolls and sculptures excavated from Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907) sites show the royal ladies did dress that way." Chau said that she was saddened by the censorship because, according to her, it is a disrespect toward history.
Chau is appealing to authorities to support historically relevant shows and give the film people "more creative space."
Aside from the TV series, Chau is also promoting her upcoming comedy movie "Hot Blood Band."
Chau became popular when she joined the Miss Hong Kong pageant in 1985. Although the crown was won by someone else, it was the beginning of Chau's long showbiz career and she found herself working in a variety of TV series, including "Looking Back in Anger" which became one of the most popular shows in all of Southeast Asia during the '90s.
At the height of her career, Chau became one of the most popular TV stars with millions of fans in all of China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Several years later, she is an established actress and enjoying a more relaxed career pacing, doing only two to three productions per year.
Although living in Beijing for more than 10 years now, Chau admits that it was not the money that lured her to the capital of China.
"I shot dramas on the mainland as early as 1998, when the renminbi was worth less than the Hong Kong dollar. So it's not the money that made me want to settle down in Beijing," Chau said.
Chau further stated that she moved to the capital for its four clearly defined and changing seasons compared to Hong Kong's only one. This, she says, overrides her discomfort brought upon by China's smog.
"Beijing is actually much better now than the time when I first made it here. I still remember seeing donkey or horse-drawn transport in the streets. As a lot of coal was burned for heating, the sky always seemed gray at the time. It's much better now," Chau said.