Chinese-American actress/model Bai Ling's footage was removed from a television documentary series titled "Long March Shakes the World" following backlash from netizens. Ling is seen by many as anti-China over her past criticism of the country and unflattering film roles.
Two decades after Bing was banned from China, she featured in an episode of a television documentary series about the Long March, a military retreat undertaken by the Red Army of the Communist Party of China. State broadcaster CCTV, who produced the eight-part series, was forced to remove the episode from its website following backlash from several Weibo users, according to BBC News.
CCTV later reposted the same episode after editing out footage of the banned actress, who is a hated figure among Chinese masses. This hatred comes from her public criticism of her time as a People's Liberation Army troupe member, when she claims she was sexually abused repeatedly and even forced to have an abortion.
Chinese citizens are also not very happy with her role in the 1997 Hollywood film "Red Corner" starring Richard Gere. In the film, the 50-year-old actress played the role of a lawyer who exposes conspiracies and corruption that prevails among top Chinese leaders. Shortly after the film's release, it was banned in the mainland and Bing was prohibited from returning to China.
"I am deeply sorry for all those things in my past that friends on the Internet have brought up," Bai was quoted as saying by The Straits Times in a lengthy open letter shared on Weibo last week. "From now on, I want all of you to see a brand new Bai Ling, a Bai Ling who is full of positive energy, a Chinese Bai Ling."
A recent report claims a series of vulgar nude photographs and her shoplifting arrest in 2008 at a Los Angeles airport are some of the other reasons behind China's negative impression of her. The actress has also walked the red carpet almost nude on several occasions in the past.
