Singapore welcomes Gong Li

Dear Gong Li,

On behalf of fellow Singapore citizens at home and abroad, welcome to your new life as one of us!

Since an international movie star like yourself must be busy jet-setting across the globe to make blockbusters, attend gala premieres and all, here are a few gentle reminders on what life is like in The Little Red Dot.

From the world's most populous country of 1.3 billion people to a tropical island republic home to less than 5 million, with more than two-thirds being ethnic Chinese, you will have no problem fitting into our garden city.

Hey, it is only half the size of Beijing, but this place packs a punch. There are casinos to come and more highbrow events like Formula 1 races to ensure you get your fair share of the global entertainment scene in this "Monaco of the East". There is more than one reason why this is one of the wealthiest countries in the region.

But remember, try to keep the beautiful streets clean! Make use of all those litter bins and resist that urge to spit, unless you want to land up with a fine. It is also going to be hard to find chewing gum here, so you might want to switch to sweets or munchies. You will find a good stock of Chinese-made snacks on the supermarket shelves, since much of the foodstuff here comes from China.

I suspect you will be too busy enjoying the smorgasbord of local fare to be thinking about tidbits, though. From chili crab and fish head curry to laksa noodles and chicken rice, you will once again understand why people in multicultural, multiracial Singapore like their food spicy.

Oh, Singaporean women are also modern, independent and give the men a real run for their money. A feisty, northeastern girl like yourself will most certainly feel very much at home. Should you decide to spend more time with the family, the government will even pay you to have children.

You will also get little trouble from the paparazzi in this cosmopolitan city, where foreigners make up about one-fifth of the population, but I am sure there will be a fair share of high-profile, well-heeled official functions you will be invited to attend. With your experience in public service as a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, you might even be the first movie star to act as a member of Singapore's Parliament.

That means you will probably have lots of opportunities to speak English too, since it is the lingua franca here. But we have all witnessed the impressive headway you have made in English through movies like Memoirs of a Geisha and Miami Vice, so keep it up - you will be ready for the colloquial, strangely addictive Singlish in no time at all.

And if you need any extra lessons, I will be more than happy to oblige.

(China Daily 11/13/2008 page20)