'Obama Girl,' Wrong Seat at the Wrong Time
Bombarded by media and public, the Chinese university student begs for privacy.
BEIJING, Nov. 27, 2009 — -- A good-looking Chinese university student in Shanghai pleaded for privacy after becoming the focus of Internet buzz in the past week.
She was one of the 500 students who attended President Obama's town hall-style meeting last week, one who had no opportunity to ask the president a question.
But she happened to sit right behind Obama, catching the attention of camera crews covering the event. There was an eye-catching, photo sequence posted online showing her slowly removing her red coat. Curious netizens took notice and mounted a Web search to track her down.
It wasn't long before they came up with her identity: Wang Zifei, an MBA student at Shanghai's Jiaotong University.
The search results included several photos of her posing like a model in front of scenic spots in the city. Someone even found a video of her song-and-dance number when she joined a local TV singing contest.
The official China Daily reported that Google searches for the "Obama girl in red coat" turned up nearly 7 million results. Her instant fame elicited a variety of comments, mostly praising her attractive looks and composure.
But others were less flattering, with some questioning her motives and accusing her of engaging in self-promotion.
Wang responded with a blog entitled, "What has President Obama brought to me?"
Complaining about the growing harassment and a recent surge in phone calls, she wrote: "I don't want to be popular in this way. I even told my friends not to tell anyone else my personal information."
She said the unwanted attention "totally disturbed my studies and my life," and urged the public to stop delving into her personal affairs.
She said she wants to pursue a career in business management and has no interest in joining the entertainment world. "I hope that after all this I can continue to be my simple self," she wrote.
But the public interest in Wang is unrelenting, her recent blog already registering more than 1.4 million hits.
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