Gigi Chao, the daughter of Hong Kong property tycoon Cecil Chao Sze-tsung, poses in the conference room of her office in Hong Kong on Sept. 27, 2012
Hong Kong real estate tycoon Cecil Chao Sze-tsung has offered a bounty of almost $65 million for any man who will woo and marry his 33-year-old daughter Gigi Chao. Since then, offers to take Gigi’s hand in marriage have been pouring forth from all over the globe. There’s just one slight problem: Gigi’s already taken.
According to reports, the announcement came on the heels of Gigi Chao’s nuptials to her longtime girlfriend, Sean Yeung, in April. The two reportedly were married in Paris and not in Hong Kong, where gay rights are limited.
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In a recent South China Morning Post article, the tycoon’s daughter criticized the territory’s conservative views toward homosexuality, saying that it lagged behind the U.S. and even mainland China. (Homosexuality was officially decriminalized in Hong Kong in 1991, but same-sex unions are still not recognized.)
In an interview with the Telegraph, Gigi said she understood the reasons behind her father’s actions. “It’s not that he can’t accept me,” she told the newspaper. “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. I do understand him. I understand why he’s doing this.”
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Her father, meanwhile, has not publicly acknowledged his daughter’s marriage. As he told the Post:
I do not mind whether [the man who marries Gigi] is rich or poor. The important thing is that he is generous and kindhearted. Gigi is a very good woman with both talents and looks. She is devoted to her parents, is generous and does volunteer work.
Gigi, who was initially amused by the monetary offer, told the Telegraph she appreciated the gesture. “At first I was entertained by it, and then that entertainment turned into the realization 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.”
She added, “But I don’t appreciate getting 1,500 e-mails.”
