Celebrity fixation comes with pitfalls

Photographs of a celebrity couple holding their 100-day-old daughter in their arms adorned the cover pages of newspapers' entertainment sections and flooded the homepages of many Chinese web portals recently.

The couple - actress Zhang Ziyi and her singer husband Wang Feng - threw a grand party for their daughter Xing Xing, which literally means "wake up".

Indeed, almost half of the country's entertainment circle "woke up" to the celebration. Dozens of A-list stars and top film directors showed up at what the media described as an "Academy Awards-style" celebration at a Beijing hotel on April 10. They showered the baby with gifts as traditionally one is expected to lavish a 100-day-old baby with the best goodies and wishes.

Not surprisingly, the dazzling celebration saw the media going into a frenzy. From the decoration of the party, the custom-made bassinet and expensive toys to the fancy clothes and jewelry Zhang Ziyi wore for the occasion, many newspapers and websites explored every tiny detail of the event. A rough estimate showed the couple splurged at least 800,000 yuan ($123,760) on the party.

A website even published a long list of luxurious birthday celebrations for celebrities' children. On the list is Cathy Chui, a Hong Kong-based actress who married a wealthy man, for reportedly spending about 8 million yuan on a two-day banquet for the 100-day-old party of her son.

Although there is no point in criticizing celebrities for spending staggering amounts on parties as long as they use their own money for the purpose, people could not help lamenting that some babies are born more equal than others.

The huge amounts celebrities expend on such parties may be pittance for them. But if used otherwise, it could help thousands of dropouts from poor families to return to school and, therefore, change their lives. Throwing a grand party for a baby that will not remember anything is more like flaunting one's wealth and connections.