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28 Sep 2012

Lesbian heiress "moved" by dad’s offer of US$68 million reward for son-in-law

Gigi Chao says in an interview that she's a "really lucky girl to have such a loving daddy" and that his views is not based on his own non-acceptance but society's non-acceptance of same-sex couples.

Many have expressed their outrage as news of a Hong Kong billionaire’s offer of a whopping HK$500 million (US$65 million) "marriage bounty" for a man who can win his lesbian daughter’s heart went viral earlier this week. Gigi Chao, the 33-year-old daughter of Cecil Chao, has however responded to the media with poise and rationalised her father's announcement as "an expression of his fatherly love."

Top: Gigi Chao with her father. Above: Gigi Chao with her partner Sean Yeung.

The younger Chao read aloud several of the thousands of proposals she had received in a video interview and joked that she had thought of some as being "quite entertaining". In an interview broadcast by CNN and other media outlets, she said that she has a close relationship with her father and understood his reasons, and that she’s a “really lucky girl to have such a loving daddy.”

"I wasn't angry at all. I was really quite touched, very touched and very moved, by daddy's announcement. I mean, it's really his way of saying 'baby girl, I love you. You deserve more,' basically," she said.

"It's not that he can't accept me," she told The Telegraph. "It's that he can't accept how society would view me and the status that it would incur. Marriage is still a form of social status."

She added: "At first I was entertained by it, and then that entertainment turned into the realisation and conviction that I am a really lucky girl to have such a loving daddy, because it's really sweet of him to do something like this as an expression of his fatherly love."

Her father’s offer of the reward to a suitable son-in-law came after recent media reports that the younger Chao and her female partner Sean Yeung had "a church blessing” in France. The couple is often seen at high society events in Hong Kong.

“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," Chao, who works as an executive director at her father's listed property development and investment company Cheuk Nang Holdings, was quoted as saying in an interview with the Associated Press. "But as a social statement, it's still very much a sensitive issue."

Same-sex marriage or civil unions are not illegally recognised in Hong Kong although Hong Kong's first openly gay lawmaker Raymond Chan, who was elected this month, has pledged to campaign for it.


For an extended interview, click here.

Hong Kong

Reader's Comments

1. 2012-09-28 19:51  
This is a very loyal daughter to a very conservative father.
There are quiet a number of these agreements in royal european households......
Is it progressive? Not really.....but a way to handle things!
2. 2012-09-28 19:51  
This is a very loyal daughter to a very conservative father.
There are quiet a number of these agreements in royal european households......
Is it progressive? Not really.....but a way to handle things!
3. 2012-09-28 20:12  
I'll marry her. Although I wouldn't attempt to "turn her straight".

Gigi: if you're reading this, give me a message, and we'll meet for drinks at Starbucks at the Gateway!
4. 2012-09-28 20:24  
Why did the writer embellish her emotional reaction with quotation marks, vis-a-vis "moved"? Was the reporter doubtful of her feelings on the matter?
5. 2012-09-28 20:30  
I say fuck what society thinks. Just live your life.
6. 2012-09-28 21:01  
Mm, she handled the situation really well, without the expense of any of those involved. She did not put down or undermine her father's judgment, and instead directed the discourse towards constructive social commentary. Beautiful inside and out, kudos to her!
7. 2012-09-29 00:41    
penstate79, thanks for clarifying. The quotation marks (in the title and similarly in the body of the article) are used to indicate the actual words used by the speaker. It's not used to suggest doubt, sarcasm or irony.
Comment #8 was deleted by its author on 2012-10-04 20:37
Comment #9 was deleted by its author on 2012-09-29 05:01
10. 2012-09-29 08:21  
Fridae editor thanks for clarifying. My experience is that quotation marks do *suggest* (without declaring) doubt or sarcasm, especially in biased media outlets. However, I am glad you have affirmed that in this article they do not. Thanks for your reply.
11. 2012-09-29 20:38  
Marry Me! just contact me! im willing to marry you!
12. 2012-09-30 06:03  
a disgrace, i'd much rather hear about the straight HK communist who leaves his ph. no. every where and answer at all hours. Selfish and foolish and don't eve know they are born. Their lack of empathy for other humans is distinctly sinister. That is Daddy,daughter, gf et al- disgraceful.
13. 2012-09-30 14:10  
When I first heard about this I thought it was plain tabloid junk... But I changed my mind when the conservative (Singapore) Straits Times today carried a detailed story with the headline "JUST WHO IS THE PLAYBOY TYCOON WHO ASKED: Who will marry my gay daughter?" on the front page. I'm sure my parents (and hopefully the parents of other gay folks) are going to read it and be swayed to support same-sex marriage. The father's offer of a reward is just so plain ridiculous that there's little option but to empathise with the daughter and root for her happiness.
14. 2012-09-30 21:15  
Their dogs should get a Fridae or Pink Dot "Best Dressed" Award.
15. 2012-10-01 04:12  
16. 2012-10-01 04:17  
Interesting. There is love there some place as misguided as it maybe. Dad has the bucks. Put some of that money to good use. Do some thing to advance the cause in H/K and the world. A window of opportunity for social change and acceptance. Do some thing truly great dad. Spend and fight for gay acceptance in H/K. Hold a nice wedding.
17. 2012-10-01 04:18  
Oh forgot to ask. Does she have any brothers lol.
18. 2012-10-01 04:40  
Gigi I'll Marry you as well. And then you can get a green card out of it to boot! Bring along Sean Yeung, you two can have your own wing in the "villa" and be as lesbian as you want while Married to me :)
19. 2012-10-01 14:16  
Ugh, rich bastards think they can get anything they want (including turning a lesbian daughter straight) by throwing enough money at it.
20. 2012-10-18 16:22  
Marry me! (As long as I can have my own bf and you can keep your gf)... LOL

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