UNESCO Names Chinese Actress "Artiste of Peace"

UNESCO Names Gong Li "Artiste of Peace"

UNESCO late Tuesday named Chinese actress Gong Li an "artiste of peace" at a ceremony held at the organization's headquarters in Paris, today's China Daily reports.

The 34-year-old actress, who chaired the jury at the recent 50th Berlin Film Festival, was honoured "for her contribution to cultural diversity and to harmony among peoples".

In a speech, UNESCO director-general Koichiro Matsuura praised Gong Li for helping to "build a bridge between cultures, languages and generations" and expressed pleasure that the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization could "call on her service".

In Berlin, Gong Li presented her latest film, Sun Zhou's "Piao Liang ma ma" (Breaking the Silence) in which she plays a "mother courage" confronted with her child's deafness.

Elected one of the world's most beautiful women by the US magazine People, Gong Li is cosmetic company Oreal's star model.