Zhang Yimou is again in the spotlight, but this time it is not for his movies. The director of Hero has been having a not-so-heroic time since it was revealed a few months ago that he had more than one child with the same woman, in violation of China's family planning policy.

Since then, the story has quickly developed into an avalanche that threatens to bury him. The media and netizens have questioned why Zhang hasn't been punished.

A newspaper in Nanjing even used a whole front page to show a teasing "missing person wanted" ad with his picture.

What is clear now is that Zhang has admitted he had three children with his young wife Chen Ting and he said he is willing to cooperate with government inspectors.

But the show hasn't finished just yet. It could get more entertaining before the finale.

This debacle seems to belong to the typical "bashing the elites" fad that is now quickly getting popular in China, where ordinary people are tired of seeing elite groups above the law and have been flexing their muscles to fight against them. In this sense, neither the "stranger than a movie" plot nor the apparent direction it is heading in is a total surprise.

But what was particularly interesting was the message Zhang's studio posted on its Weibo account on December 1, explaining why he gave up his American green card more than a decade ago: "He is a Chinese. He wants his children to be Chinese. And he has no regret about this."

The message, seemingly written in response to questions from netizens about why Zhang didn't have his children born in the US to bypass the restrictions in China, is clearly part of the crisis management strategy Zhang's team has put out for him. It might be the smartest step by far from his side. Any words can backfire in such a heated situation, but a patriotic image can help with the sympathy vote.

Movie stars like Gong Li and Jet Li, when obtaining their Singapore citizenship years ago, all received criticism, and were called "traitors" by some. Even mainland celebrities who obtained Hong Kong citizenship, such as Tang Wei and Zhao Wei, faced some difficult moments when the news broke.

Zhang Lan, the billionaire founder of the South Beauty restaurant group, was also put under an unwanted spotlight when she was found to have quietly changed her nationality.

Two years ago, movie star couple Sun Haiying and Lü Liping posted on their microblog that they wanted to apply to have their residence documents relocated to the Diaoyu Islands. The stunt triggered a lot of positive comments as it was interpreted as a patriotic statement on the territorial dispute between China and Japan.

Applauding patriotism is understandable. What perplexes me is why foreign green cards or citizenship has become a criterion for patriotism.

During times of war, obtaining or abandoning citizenship was sometimes adopted as a tool to express a person's political stance. In peaceful times, it is more of a practical choice. Convenience for traveling, family reunions, taxes or education can all be reasons for such decisions.

Zhang himself told the public years ago that he had applied for the green card to get a shortcut to send his elder daughter to an American high school. And when the mission was fulfilled, he quickly gave up the green card.

The stars who maintain their foreign citizenship or residence do not seem to have severed their ties with China. Jet Li, for one, has donated hundreds of millions dollars to natural disaster victims in China through his personal foundation over the years.

The same can be said for less famous people. People educated and then settled in foreign countries often bridge research programs in the host and home countries.

Adopted Chinese children in America often end up with a genuine love of both countries. Even those who were smuggled to foreign countries often return back to their home country whenever they can.

A person's roots cannot be severed by taking on a new place of residence or nationality.

It only takes confidence for any country to understand this. But in today's stronger China, it is hard to say whether the lack of understanding is an issue of confidence or a question of the mob mentality on the Internet.

The author is a New York-based journalist. rong_xiaoqing@hotmail.com