Person of the week — Richard Gere

Hollywood heart-throb Richard Gere refuses to go away from the news. He is now planning a Tibetan-style marriage to his girlfriend of nearly two years, actress Carey Lowell. The 48-year-old actor and Buddhist activist also wants exiled Tibetan Buddhist leader Dalai Lama to perform the ceremony, reports Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post. Gere, a vocal critic of China’s Tibet policy who last week addressed a rally protesting the state visit of Chinese President Jiang Zemin to the US, is considered a close friend of Dalai Lama. “Richard wants this to be a spiritual union and is willing to wait until the Dalai Lama is ready to participate,” the paper quoted a report in the Globe magazine. Lowell is also a devout Buddhist, a religion she embraced before she met Hollywood’s leading actor. Gere said of his bride, “she’s a wonderful person. The girl is really funny — a great kidder. Carey’s very committed to Buddhism, which makes life a lot easier.” Gere is divorced from supermodel Cindy Crawford. His latest film, Red Corner, set in China, opened in the weekend. It tells the story of an American businessman thrown into a Chinese jail for a murder he did not commit.