Who's Who
William Burgess 
Actress Gong Li became an international star with the 1991 Oscar-nominated Raise the Red Lantern, directed by her then-lover Zhang Yimou. Considered one of the world's most glamorous movie stars and an elegant throwback to Hollywood's golden era, Gong, 33, has appeared in several international successes since then, including the lead in Chen Kaige's Farewell My Concubine, which won the Palme d'Or at the 1993 Cannes festival. Gong is a celebrity critic of the culture of censorship in China and says the government should let the movie industry breathe a little. "Under the new wave of directors, films in China are getting more in depth and have more Chinese characteristics than before," she says. "But mainland directors face an entirely different system from their counterparts elsewhere. You can't just make whatever films you like." Born in the northern city of Shenyang, Gong spiralled toward star status after Zhang discovered her at the Central Drama Academy in Beijing. Her career seems to have quietened of late. She is married to Singapore business tycoon Ooi Hoe Seong and lives in Hong Kong.
