Topline
As Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai remains missing after making explosive sexual assault allegations against a powerful Chinese politician, the Communist Party’s previous handling of celebrities and high-profile figures has come under renewed scrutiny.
Peng Shuai
Getty Images
Key Facts
Fan BingBing, one of China’s most famous actresses, suddenly dropped from public view for four months in 2018, sparking fears over her safety; when she reappeared, she told the New York Times her time out of public view made her “calm down and think seriously about what I want to do in my future life.”
After her re-appearance it was revealed Fan had been held at home by the Chinese government during an investigation into tax evasion, which served as a warning sign from the government to the entertainment industry as a whole, according to the New York Times.
In the business world, Jack Ma, the billionaire founder of Alibaba Group, went missing for three months after his criticism of the country’s banks for operating with a “pawnshop mentality” last year drew the ire of Chinese authorities, according to Reuters.
In January, Ma reappeared in public in a video for his education charity’s annual event, and appeared to have kept a low profile, according to the BBC.
Popular Chinese Canadian singer-actor Kris Wu, a former member of the hit K-pop boy band EXO, was detained in July over alleged date-rape, and his Chinese social media accounts as well as those of his companies were taken down, along with his songs from music platforms; in the offline world, a wax figure of the 30-year-old star in Madame Tussauds Shanghai was removed.
Most recently, mentions of actress Zhao Wei — one of China’s most prominent movie stars who had 86 million followers on Chinese social media—were wiped out from China’s internet for unknown reasons, resulting in her works being pulled from streaming sites and online searches for her name returning a blank page, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Variety reported the 45-year-old star was missing, though unverified photos of her in her hometown surfaced in mid-September.
Surprising Fact
Following singer-actor Wu’s arrest, Global Times, China’s state-run newspaper, quoted the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, a powerful investigation arm of the Community Party, as saying: “We must work together to establish rules for celebrities’ words and deeds… curb the barbaric growth of pan-entertainment”
Tangent
Sophie Huang, #MeToo activist and feminist journalist, has been arrested for what the Chines authorities called “inciting subversion of state power” for her role in helping women in China report sexual harassment, according to Amnesty International.
Key Background
Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai has been missing since November 2 when she posted to her verified Chinese socia media account sexual assault accusations against Zhang Gaoli, former vice premier. A growing number of tennis stars are speaking out about Peng’s disappearance. Tennis star Naomi Osaka tweeted Tuesday she was in “shock” after learning that Peng was missing, adding “censorship is never ok at any cost.” Her whereabouts has garnered even more attention after state media CGTN shared an email purportedly written by Peng on Twitter Wednesday, and sent to Steve Simon, the CEO of the Women’s Tennis Association. Simon said in a statement he had a “hard time believing” Peng wrote the purported email, and said he tried to get in touch with her multiple times. He repeated his previous calls for “independent and verifiable proof” of her safety.
What To Watch For
How the Communist Party responds to more pressure from tennis stars questioning Peng’s disappearance, and growing calls for an investigation into the sexual assault allegations. In the case of singer-actor Wu, who allegedly raped at least one woman, the police arrested him and the People’s Daily, a mouthpiece newspaper of the ruling Communist Party, wrote, “Remember: The higher the popularity, the more you must be self-disciplined, the more popular you are, the more you must abide by the law,” according to the Times.
Further Reading
How billionaire Jack Ma fell to earth and took Ant’s mega IPO with him (Reuters)
China’s Biggest Movie Star Was Erased From the Internet, and the Mystery Is Why (Wall Street Journal)
Fan Bingbing, China’s Top Actress, Talks of Comeback After Scandal (New York Times)
With #MeToo Case, China Takes a Swipe at Celebrity Obsession (New York Times)
Why did Alibaba’s Jack Ma disappear for three months? (BBC)
Celebrities Disappear From Internet as China Moves Against Fan Culture (Variety)
WTA Chief Doubts Authenticity Of Email It Received Purported To Be From Missing Tennis Star Peng Shuai (Forbes)
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