UNHCR National Goodwill Ambassador

Ms. Yao Chen, UNHCR National Goodwill Ambassador

For a micro-blogger, Yao Chen has macro reach and impact. Through social media, the award-winning Chinese actress has raised public awareness and mobilized support for refugees among millions of people. In June 2013 she was named a UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador – the first in China.

Yao Chen has worked with UNHCR since 2010, meeting refugees from Myanmar, Somalia and Sudan, among others. Humbled by their suffering and strength, she has shared these experiences through the media and Weibo, the Chinese equivalent of Twitter. With a following of more than 78 million, the “Queen of Weibo” has brought a new understanding of refugee issues to the Chinese-speaking world.

Yao Chen Biography

One of China’s most popular actresses and one of the world’s top micro-bloggers.

Yao Chen is one of China’s most popular actresses and one of the world’s top micro-bloggers. With more than 78 million followers on Weibo, the Chinese equivalent of Twitter, she has been called “the Queen of Weibo” in recognition of her wide reach and powerful influence through social media.

Yao Chen was born in Fujian province in south-eastern China. She studied folk dance at the Beijing Dance Academy and acting at the Beijing Film Academy.

In 2002 she made her acting debut in the TV drama, “City Man and Woman” and became a household name with 2006’s “My Own Swordsman.” In 2008, she played an iconic guerilla leader in the popular series, “Undercover.” Her stage debut came the following year, when she played a white-collar heroine in “A Story of Lala’s Promotion.”

In 2009, Yao Chen starred in the movie “Sophie’s Revenge” alongside fellow Chinese actresses Zhang Ziyi and Fan Bingbing. Since then, she has averaged three movies a year and worked with internationally-acclaimed directors such as Chen Kaige and Feng Xiaogang. Her hit movies include “Colour Me Love,” “If You Are the One 2,” “Caught in the Web” and “Firestorm.”

She has received acting accolades from China’s Golden Eagles Awards, Golden Phoenix Awards, Chinese Film Media Awards and Hua Ding Awards, among others.

Since starting her work with UNHCR in 2010, Yao Chen has met with refugees in Hong Kong, the Philippines, Thailand and Ethiopia. Using her social media platform, she has helped to dramatically increase public awareness of refugee issues in the Chinese-speaking world. In June 2013 she was named UNHCR’s Goodwill Ambassador in China.

Within China, the actress has been actively involved in many humanitarian activities to help the disadvantaged. She has advocated for the rights of migrant children, for animal rights and environmental issues. She has held charity auctions and Weibo fund-raising campaigns for beneficiaries such as the poor, disadvantaged children, rural villagers with eye diseases, and people affected by drought. For her humanitarian work, she has received awards from leading local magazines. In 2013, she was among four prominent personalities from China to be nominated to Time magazine’s list of “100 Most Influential People in the World.”

Yao Chen is married and has a son.

Yao Chen and UNHCR

Award-winning actress Yao Chen has shared refugee stories with millions of netizens in the Chinese-speaking world, raising public awareness and support for victims of forced displacement. She was named UNHCR’s Goodwill Ambassador in China in June 2013.

Yao Chen started working as UNHCR’s Honorary Patron in China in June 2010, when she visited urban refugees in and around the Philippines capital, Manila. She was deeply affected by the experiences of the Somali, Sudanese and Palestinian refugees she met – ordinary people forced to flee their homes by extraordinary circumstances.

In April 2011, the actress travelled to Mae La camp in western Thailand, her first visit to a refugee camp. She met refugees from Myanmar, including recent arrivals who spoke about the atrocities they faced back home. Touched by their dignity and hospitality, Yao Chen promised to dedicate more time to refugees.

Her concern for people affected by drought and famine in the Horn of Africa prompted Yao Chen to donate to UNHCR’s relief efforts and visit Ethiopia the following year. In April 2012, she traveled to Buramino, Aw Barre and Sheder camps where she spoke to Somali refugees about their struggle to survive through multiple displacements, and their belief in education as the key to their future. In May 2014, she visited Syrian Refugees in Lebanon which is her first visit since becoming a mother.

Throughout her field trips with UNHCR, Yao Chen has actively used social media to share her experiences, observations and feelings. Known in China as the Queen of Weibo – the Chinese equivalent of Twitter – she reaches an audience of over 78 million followers with messages about refugees and UNHCR, and generates countless retweets and feedback.

Yao Chen has also spoken about refugees at public events such as the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai, and supported World Refugee Day activities in Hong Kong. Working closely with the media, she has generated unprecedented coverage of refugees’ humanitarian needs among audiences in mainland China, Hong Kong, Macao and many other parts of the Chinese-speaking world.

December 2015 : Yao Chen visits Afghan refugee children in Pakistan

Girls in Kot Chandana refugee school together with National Goodwill Ambassador of UNHCR Chinese Actress Yao Chen. © UNHCR/Xu Chuang

UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador in China, Yao Chen expressed her concerns about the staggering number of out of school Afghan refugee as well as local children in Pakistan.

She stressed on the need to adopt a forward-looking approach to providing quality primary education to as many refugee children as possible. Emphasising refugee youth with education and necessary skills will contribute to the rebuilding of Afghanistan.

More info on her visit

May 2014 : Yao Chen visits Syrian Refugees in Lebanon

Chinese actress Yao Shen meets Syrian refugees at a collective shelter in Tyre, Lebanon, on Tuesday, May 20, 2014. © UNHCR / A. McConnell

Yao Chen, Good Will Ambassador of UNHCR, recently visited Syrian Refugees in Lebanon. She spent time at the UNHCR registration center in Beirut and with a few refugee families in Tyr, south of Lebanon, during her three-day trip. This is Yaochen’s fourth visit since partnering with UNHCR, but the first visit since becoming a mother. She says she felt more understanding of the plight of refugee mothers. “I want to let them know they are not alone, there are people who love them,” she said.

April 2012 : Field visit to the refugee camp in Ethiopia

Yao Chen will visit Dollo Ado and Jijiga of Ethiopia with the UNHCR staff in April 2012.

March 2011 : Field visit to the refugee camp in Mae Sot, Thailand

“I was deeply touched by how the refugees keep their dignity,” said Yao Chen, UNHCR’s honorary patron for China, after spending two days visiting refugees in Mae La camp, home to nearly 29,000 registered refugees and an estimated 16,000 unregistered refugees, all from Myanmar. “The refugees are beautiful inside. They have dignity and kindness, and poverty does not destroy their kindness.”

June 2010: Field visit to urban refugees in the Philippines

With the help of the UNHCR Manila Office, Yao Chen visited the Philippines and met refugees there on 5-8 June 2010.She traveled with mainland and Hong Kong reporters to have a close look at refugee situation and what UNHCR was doing.

Yao Chen was impressed by the refugee’ perseverance and determination to fulfill their dreams and pass on their hopes to the next generation. She met a refugee who said that he hoped his son would eventually become a congressman in the Philippines. “The sky is the limit to what can be achieved,” Yao Chen said.

She was fully committed and showed great compassion for refugees. She spoke to refugees with genuine interest and respect.

“To visit and see urban refugees in Manila helped me understand their problems,” said Yao, “I’d like to use my prominence as a public figure to raise awareness in China for these refugees.” Yao updated her twitter several times daily during the visit. UNHCR and refugees had been repeatedly mentioned on her twitter feed in the following months.

June 2010: Speaking for UNHCR at the Shanghai Expo

On 20 June, World Refugee Day, UNHCR was in spotlight at the Expo. The Refugee Agency invited Yao Chen, Honorary Patron for China, to attend a panel discussion at the UN Pavilion from 1030 to 1130 to discuss her recent mission to the Philippines. The discussion was facilitated by the famous TV Anchor Chen Chen from Dragon TV – the nationwide satellite TV station based in Shanghai.

The panel discussion with Yao Chen on the 20 June was a great success, with enormous media attention and public interest. Yao Chen talked to a live audience about her visit, her findings and feelings. At the end of the discussion, UNHCR organized a ceremony and she was presented with a plaque by the Regional Representative formally recognizing her year-long role.

2010: Media coverage and public awareness building

The media coverage around WRD was remarkable. The first coverage ran on 5 June when Yao Chen embarked on her trip to the Philippines. Throughout her mission she was sharing her thoughts and feelings and uploading photos. There was a lot of media attention – on-line, electronic and printed media. Several media partners went on the mission to the Philippines which helped drive coverage. UNHCR invited sohu.com, a major internet company, to join the field visit. Sohu.com put up a feature photo story on 7 June, triggering great public attention and numerous re-runs of the story on other online sites. UNHCR produced a 7-min video after the Philippines field visit and put it on sina.com and sohu.com. The media attention reached its peak on 20 June, with coverage of UNHCR, Yao Chen, World Refugee Day appearing across all major media channels. Yao Chen’s company also organized coverage in fashion magazines, TV entertainment channels, etc. As a result, public awareness in China about refugees and related issues was greatly raised.

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