A TV documentary to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the end of Long March (1934-36) has recently sparked an uproar among the public as it stars a Chinese-American actress who shot to fame by playing roles that put China in a bad light.



The 8-episode documentary, Long March Shakes the World, produced by China Central Television and aired on October 17, features interviews with US actresses, German and Swiss historians and foreign journalists who have retraced the historic Long March route to experience the difficulties faced by the Red Army during the march.



In its sixth episode, the documentary records the experience of Bai Ling, a 55-year-old actress who retraced the 12,500-kilometer route in over a month.



Bai says in the episode that she "had to join this" in order to experience the "journey and spirit" of human beings.



Bai has also posted several pictures of her in Red Army uniform on her Sina Weibo.



However, the episode soon drew derision from Chinese netizens with many saying that featuring Bai in the documentary was not a commemoration but defamation of the Red Army march.



Du Jianguo, a Beijing-based independent scholar of politics and economics, told the Global Times on Monday that "you could not find someone more improper than Bai - an actress who is famous for smearing China and the Chinese revolution."



"Bai's appearance in the documentary will have an unintended effect on people's feelings toward the Long March," Du said.



Bai is famous for exaggerated speeches and images in addition to her scandalously sexy performance in x-rated movies.



She won the National Board of Review's Breakthrough Performance award in 1997 for playing the role of a lawyer named Shen Yuling in Red Corner.



The film was subject to boycott by China for distorting China's judicial system and slandering Chinese officials.



Bai was arrested on February 14, 2008 at the Los Angeles International Airport for shoplifting two magazines and a package of batteries, Reuters reported.



Many netizens asked CCTV to give an explanation for giving a role to Bai in the documentary.



"How come an anti-China actress is advertising the Long March? She has even claimed that she was sexually abused during her service (in an art troupe) with the Chinese army for several years," said a Sina Weibo user.



Bai said in 2011 in an interview with the Associated Press that she had been sexually abused by her superiors for three years when she was part of the art troupe of the People's Library Army in Tibet from the age of 14 to 17.



However, some netizens argued that Bai's appearance would not affect the influence and historical value of the documentary as a whole.



Some people even called for treating Bai based on her acting skills rather than the content of the movie.



