Chinese starlet's beach photos spark heated debate.

Photos of Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi cavorting with her Western fiancE¨ on a beach have sparked a heated online debate, with many netizens roasting her for shaming China, but others defending the star.

The paparazzi pictures, which cropped up on Chinese internet portals this week, showed Zhang, 29, sunbathing topless on a Caribbean beach as her Israeli billionaire beau Vivi Nevo touched her intimately.

"Zhang Ziyi is really shameless. She is with a foreigner, but should remember certain conduct is expected of Chinese women," said an entry in a forum on the popular portal Sina.com.

Due to the global fame some Chinese film stars enjoy, they come under close scrutiny in China and often fierce criticism online -- the main public mode of expression for many Chinese -- for actions deemed shameful to the country.

In November, actress Gong Li's decision to become a Singapore citizen sparked a similar debate, with many branding the 43-year-old a traitor.

However, many came to Zhang's defense, saying the problem was not her conduct but the intrusiveness of the paparazzi.

"We should pity famous people since they can't just lead a normal life when they want to," said a forum entry on the Chinese version of msn.com.

A poll of more than 15,000 web-users found that 72 percent considered Zhang and Nevo's actions "normal contact between lovers."

The state-controlled China Daily newspaper weighed in on Friday, running an opinion piece calling Zhang's critics hypocritical voyeurs.

"You're not part of her life, so don't let her be part of yours. Go get your own life," it said.

The pictures were apparently considered too hot for China's web censors and have disappeared from most sites.

Uptight social attitudes have softened considerably since communist China began opening up three decades ago, but public displays of affection or too much skin are still frowned upon.

Recent debates over the overseas relations of Chinese stars have come amid a spike in nationalist sentiments in China in the past year.

Those passions were partly triggered by Western criticism of a military crackdown on Tibetans following an uprising against Chinese rule in March. --AFP

Daily NewsEgypt 2007

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