My first reaction when I read Fan Bingbing’s apology for tax evasion was to laugh. Who wouldn’t? It was so wonderfully OTT in that unmistakably communist way. ‘I have failed my nurturing country,’ declared China’s highest-earning actress, who resurfaced this week after disappearing from sight over the summer. ‘I have failed society’s trust, and I have failed the love of my fans.’
She talked of having ‘experienced pain and torture like never before’ (a figure of speech, one hopes) but ultimately she had come through her ordeal a better person, thanks to ‘the good policies of the [Communist] party and the state’. Bingbing, who has agreed to pay £100m in unpaid taxes and fines, ended her mea culpa with a reassurance that ‘after personal reflection, I feel deeply ashamed and guilty for what I’ve done.’
It was then I stopped laughing. Hang on, Bingbing’s words were familiar. A couple of minutes searching on Google and lo and behold, a myriad of apologies as grovelling as hers.
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