Actress Liu Yifei’s nomination for television award withdrawn allegedly over citizenship issues

Chinese-American actress Liu Yifei. Photo from Liu's Weibo

According to Sinchew, Liu had initially been nominated for the award’s Best Actress title. However, during the award’s second round of voting starting on Tuesday, her name was unexpectedly omitted, despite her acclaimed roles in TV series such as "A Dream of Splendour" and "Meet Yourself."

Chinese publications subsequently noted that this year’s Golden Eagle Awards require nominees for individual awards to be citizens of China. Liu, however, holds American citizenship.

According to China Press, besides Liu, Chinese-born Swiss actress Siqin Gaowa, Chinese-born Australian actor Feng Jiayi, and Chinese-born British actress Jiang Shimeng were also excluded from the nominations.

This action has sparked dissatisfaction among the public. Critics argue that if foreign nationals were ineligible from the start, these actors should never have been shortlisted. Some even allege that the committee may have exploited Liu’s celebrity to enhance the event’s profile before enforcing the citizenship rule retroactively.

"Are the organizers out of their minds?" one online commentator exclaimed. "They had a rule against nominating foreign nationals, yet Liu Yifei advanced to the second round. Once people noticed, her nomination was revoked."

"The mishap by the Golden Eagle should be rectified by them alone, do not ‘cue’ innocent actresses in this mess!" another stated.

As of Thursday, there has been no response from the Golden Eagle Awards.

Liu, 37, was born in China and formerly a Chinese citizen, as reported by Malaysian outlet Hype. She relocated to the U.S. at age 10 following her parents’ divorce and later became an American citizen.

She then returned to China for her entertainment career debut and gained fame with her appearance in the 2003 TV series "The Story of a Noble Family." Transitioning to films in 2008, she has since forged a significant career in both Chinese and Hollywood films.

In 2009, Liu was recognized as one of the New Four Dan actresses, a designation for the successors of the four most bankable actresses in China.