Illustration: Luo Xuan/GT

Wendi Deng was recently seen in Paris with her new boyfriend, Charlie Siem, after the end of a 14-year relationship with Rupert Murdoch. Since Siem is 17 years younger than Deng, this talented violinist and model was described as Deng's "little fresh meat" in the Chinese media.

Deng's unusual life path always sparks controversial debates. While some picture Deng as a charming, smart woman, many Chinese compatriots, more women perhaps, regard her as a cunning, greedy gold digger. 

Surely, we can attribute it to cultural difference. Every Chinese writer who attacks Deng and vividly analyzes her as a "manipulating love hound" sounds much more intelligent than any man Deng has ever dated. However, all the information they get is from gossip magazines.

Here is a question: If Wendi Deng were a man, would it make a difference how they see her?

First, with her new love, it would totally ease the minds of many Chinese, as in the Chinese society, it is more acceptable for a man to date a younger woman or date a woman in a junior position. Deng would be described as a "charming man" going out with a "good-looking" musician in his golden years.

Regardless of whether her affair with Tony Blair is true, as a "xiaosan" (mistress), Mr Blair is younger and better looking. Since many rich and powerful men in China have a "xiaosi" (the second mistress), the society would have more tolerance for Deng if she were a man. The Chinese audience might even give Deng sympathy regarding her last marriage.

They would also pay more attention to her education and achievements than her love life. The Chinese audience would notice that Deng was born to and grew up in an ordinary family during China's Cultural Revolution (1966-76). She mastered her English and became one of the top students at California State University [in the US], and later received an MBA from the Yale School of Management.

Deng surely used her network to reach Bruce Churchill, the former chief financial officer of Fox TV, and got her own foot into the door. If Deng were a man, the story would be "brilliant man seizes his opportunity" rather than the gossip piece which suggested that "she bought a first-class plane ticket and sat next to Churchill" - which sounds very skeptical.

If Deng were a man, her courage and confidence in her career would be highlighted and admired more. Deng got her start as an intern in Star TV's Hong Kong office and worked her way up from an intern to a full-time executive position. She has asserted her influence over News Corp's operations and investments in Asia in a short time. Even if Deng was not successful in managing MySpace, or producing her own film, she tried, and gained valuable experience.

Deng did not earn her love by her pretty face. She obviously has better qualities to make a powerful man such as Murdoch want her by his side. She is something.

Unfortunately, Deng is a woman. She is judged and envied by many Chinese with double standards. But she does not seem to care; otherwise, she would not be Wendi Deng.

This article was published on the Global Times Metropolitan section Two Cents page, a space for reader submissions, including opinion, humor and satire. The ideas expressed are those of the author alone, and do not represent the position of the Global Times.