China: Xu Lai (1909 - 4 April 1973), Shanghai-based Chinese film star, 1930s. Xu Lai was a popular movie star of the Chinese cinema in the 1930s, and is best remembered for being the first Chinese actress to appear in a bath scene. She also served as a secret agent during World War II, for the Republic of China against the Japanese-controlled Nanking puppet regime. She defected to the People's Republic of China after the Communist victory in the Chinese Civil War, but was heavily persecuted during the Cultural Revolution and died in prison after years of torture and maltreatment.

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