China’s top film star Zhang Ziyi of Rush Hour fame refuted allegations that she had sexual relationship with disgraced politician Bo Xilai. Zhang, 32, who became famous with Hollywood movies like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Rush Hour 2 and Memoirs of Geisha, said she visited Hong Kong this week to prove that she has not been barred from leaving Chinese mainland because of the scandal, the South China Morning Post reported.
The actress issued an angry rebuttal on her Sina microblog of allegations that she was paid to have sex with Bo under an arrangement made by Xu Ming, a tycoon and one of Bo’s close allies. Zhang said she met her lawyers to discuss possible legal action against a Hong Kong based tabloid, which first published the story based on a report from a news website.
Bo remains under investigation by the Communist Party’s anti-graft watchdog for “serious disciplinary violations”. He was removed as Chongqing party chief in March.
Published 31 May 2012, 18:38 IST