Definitely one from the weirder side of the news - Hong Kong property tycoon Cecil Chao has offered HK$500 million ($65 million) to any man who can woo her away from her lesbian partner. Gigi Chao has eloped with her partner to France and the pair have had a church blessing.
If that wasn't bizzare enough, she's not cross with dad. "I'm actually on very, very loving terms with my father. We speak on a daily basis. He just has a very interesting way of expressing his fatherly love."
However, she then explained: "What this whole episode really highlights is that perhaps still, the Chinese – or in fact the Hong Kong mentality – can perhaps tolerate the 'don't ask, don't tell' view of sexuality, but as a social statement, it's still very much a sensitive issue."
Cecil Chao said Friday in a separate interview with the AP that reports that his daughter had married were just rumors. He added that he has received hundreds of offers from suitors since he made the offer and his daughter has probably had thousands. He said he's offering the money because he wants to make sure his daughter has a comfortable life in Hong Kong, which he believes will require a house worth HK$150 million ($19 million). The rest of the money can be used for investments, he said.
Source: Associated Press (hosted on Yahoo! Finance)
Comments
In Laws
My father in law wanted to pay my wife to divorce me , is that the same thing?
Needless to say...
Given she's been in a relationship for several years, I'd imagine the chances of any would-be suitor claiming the prize are similar to that of the average spermatazoa reaching and penetrating an ovum... i.e. somewhere between nil and negligible. I'd imagine that Gigi is comfortably well off in Paris, where property may be a little bit cheaper than HK...
As the right side of the brain controls the left side of the body, then only left-handers are in their right mind!
relevant question
Would Gigi's partner get the money if she had SRS?
The Rich And The Rest Of Us
Cecil Chao epitomises the worst features of a Hong Kong playboy. I forget how many times he has been married but his last episode was a sham marriage to a lovely Vietnamese-American girl called Terri Holladay, who he flaunted around the traps of Hong Kong to the delight of the local scandal rags and then tried to ditch when he'd tired of her charms (and she had borne him a son). To her credit the girl fought back and made him take some responsibility for his behaviour and she is now a fixture on the HK social scene.
I would laugh...if I did not simultaneously cry...at his statement that Gigi needs a HKD 150 million house to live comfortably. This would equate to about a 10,000 square foot dwelling on The Peak in HK Island, when most HongKongers live in a 500 square foot flat (or less).
And, of course, that good old-fashioned notion that his daughter can be "cured" by a good rogering by a "real" man. Only in Hong Kong!
Joanne
P.S. Ben, the story has been around for some time.
HK tycoon offers $65m dowry for lesbian daughter
Wondering who just might try.
May Your Light Forever Shine