ORIENTAL DAILY, SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST (Hong Kong), LONDON EVENING STANDARD (UK)
HONG KONG – Cecil Chao Sze-Tsung, a Hong Kong real estate tycoon, has offered a $64 million “marriage bounty” to any young man “who can impress my daughter and give her happiness,” reports the China Times.
Oriental Daily reported a week ago that 33 year-old Gigi, the tycoon’s daughter, had announced that she had wed her girlfriend of seven years Sean Yeung in France five months ago. After initially denying the same-sex wedding, Cecil Chao launched an appeal for a man to “love his daughter.”
According to the South China Morning Post, the tycoon is very close to his daughter. “Gigi is a very good woman with both talents and looks, who is devoted to her parents, is generous and does volunteer work.”
Regarding the ideal man for his daughter, Cecil Chao told the South China Morning Post, “I don’t mind whether he is rich or poor. The important thing is that he is generous and kind-hearted.”
Hundreds of ffers have been pouring in, including from the U.S., Nigeria, South America, Turkey… One man suggested his brother, “a George Clooney body double,” would be the ideal candidate.
Speaking to London’s Evening Standard, Gigi said “My father … wants me to live in the closet and marry a man to promote my social status and he thinks marriage is a prestigious thing. Hong Kong is a long way from even talking about legalizing gay marriage but we need to change first social perceptions so the word ‘gay’ doesn’t immediately cause blushing and embarrassment.”
“Due to my parent’s high public profile, I don’t flaunt my sexuality”, she says. “And that’s a very Chinese cultural way of life. We accept people in the closet. In Europe, one could say to be gay is cool, but in Asia we’re far from that.”
Gigi and partner Sean:
