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Thread: Now That China Banned...

  1. #16
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    Vicky scrubbed

    China Removes Actress Zhao Wei From Streaming Sites and Social Media
    Abid Rahman 5 hrs ago

    © VCG/VCG via Getty Images Zhao Wei
    Leading actresses Zhao Wei and Zheng Shuang are the latest victims of the Chinese government’s ongoing crackdown on the entertainment industry and the excesses of celebrity fan culture.

    On Thursday, all entries related to Zhao on Chinese social media platforms such as Weibo were removed, her name was scrubbed from the credits of films and TV shows, and all content featuring her — including film, TV, chat show appearances and more — was removed from major streaming sites like Tencent Video and iQiyi.

    All discussion of Zhao on social media was also censored.

    Zhao, who is also known as Vicky or Vicki Zhao and notably starred in My Fair Princess, Shaolin Soccer and Lost in Hong Kong, is a popular star turned billionaire investor and is the face of Italian fashion house Fendi in China.

    Chinese state newspaper The Global Times reported that no official reason had been given for the moves to erase Zhao’s presence and work from the Internet, but it did resurface historical allegations of financial impropriety and a number of other scandals. Most notably, in 2018, the Shanghai Stock Exchange banned Zhao and her husband Huang Youlong from acting as listed company executives for five years due to issues and irregularities related to a failed takeover bid in 2016.

    A close friend of Alibaba founder Jack Ma, Zhao and her husband were early investors in Alibaba Pictures Group, buying a $400 million stake in 2015. Once China’s highest-profile billionaire, Ma’s star has dimmed after spectacularly falling out of favor with Beijing.

    The downfall of Zhao comes a few weeks after a professional and business acquaintance of hers, the actor Zhang Zhehan was similarly banned and scrubbed from the Internet after pictures surfaced of him at Japan’s controversial Yasukuni Shrine to war dead.

    On Friday, tax authorities in Shanghai fined actress Zheng Shuang $46.1 million for tax evasion.

    Zheng, the star of the hit series Meteor Shower and a popular celebrity, was fined for failing to report income between 2019 and 2020 while filming a TV series.

    The AFP reported that China’s state broadcasting regulator, the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, reiterated it had a “zero tolerance” policy on tax evasion. The regulator pulled the show in question from streaming sites and asked production companies to not work with Zheng in the future.
    I wonder if posting this here will get our forum blocking in PRC. That is, if we aren't already...

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    Gene Ching
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  2. #17
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    Purge

    There's a purge going on right now. More to come.


    Jackie Chan, Jet Li Blacklist Rumors Swirl Amid China Celebrity Crackdown

    BY JOHN FENG ON 9/1/21 AT 10:19 AM EDT

    A little-known Chinese director has gained something of a cult following on Douyin—China's version of TikTok—after claiming the country's entertainment industry crackdown could reach A-list stars like Jackie Chan and Jet Li.

    Zhou Guogang, 33, who has worked on three films in his career so far, has been commenting extensively on the recent goings-on in China, where the presence of Chinese actor Zhao Wei was wiped from the internet for as yet unknown reasons last week.

    Zhou's short videos seem to be speculation, but his own presence in the entertainment industry has lent the rumors some credibility among his followers on Douyin.

    After the works of 45-year-old Zhao were scrubbed from Chinese streaming platforms and social media services on August 26, Zhou noticed other celebrities had deleted posts and pictures featuring the apparently blacklisted actor, whose exact offenses are still unknown.

    In a video last Friday, Zhou suggested Chinese celebrities with foreign passports could be next on the list for "cancelation." This, according to the director, might include 58-year-old martial arts actor Li, who holds Singaporean citizenship.

    "You should run. The house may come down on you next month," said Zhou.

    In another post on Sunday, the director claimed 30-year-old Canadian actor Kris Wu—currently being held in Beijing on suspicion of rape—had handed Chinese authorities a list of 47 celebrities.

    The nature of the rumored list is unclear, but Zhou said it included Jackie Chan, Chinese filmmaker Feng Xiaogang and others. Chan, from Hong Kong, is a vocal advocate of the Chinese Communist Party and its policies.

    "A storm is brewing in the entertainment industry," Zhou said.

    The fate of the high-profile Zhao, who is also known as Vicky or Vicki, remains shrouded in mystery. Amid rumors she and her husband, 44-year-old Singaporean businessman Huang You Long, had fled to France over the weekend, Zhao posted a cryptic message to Instagram hinting that she was still in Beijing. The August 29 post was deleted an hour later.

    Observers have speculated that Zhao's online disappearance may be linked to her friendship with Alibaba founder Jack Ma, who himself appeared to fall foul of the Chinese leadership after criticizing the country's financial system last year.

    On August 27, China's internet watchdog, known as the Cyberspace Administration of China, issued a notice to social media companies to clamp down on harmful and cultish celebrity culture in order to create a "clean internet."

    On Wednesday, Douyin said an internal review resulted in the removal of 1,900 user groups from its platform. The fan groups had been set up to spread gossip and rumors, as well as to gamble and crowdfund, it said.


    File photo: Actor Jackie Chan at the 2019 British Academy Britannia Awards on October 25, 2019, in Beverly Hills, California.
    EMMA MCINTYRE/BAFTA LA/GETTY IMAGES FOR BAFTA LA
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
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  3. #18
    China's sealing their own fate by imprisoning their best and brightest and going back to a command economy. It's only a matter of time for the crash. It's going to be epic.

  4. #19
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    I guess it goes to show that no matter how much you advocate for (AKA, kiss up to) the CCP, like Jackie Chan does, it will eventually turn on you.

  5. #20
    Quote Originally Posted by Jimbo View Post
    I guess it goes to show that no matter how much you advocate for (AKA, kiss up to) the CCP, like Jackie Chan does, it will eventually turn on you.
    I was recently re-reading kung fu magazine's special year 2000 issue on Shaolin Temple and this reminds me of how good the Abbots of Shaolin have been at kowtowing to the authorities. The temple only seems to get burnt down every few centuries when there's a little too much mixing of politics and religion...

  6. #21
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    How do they judge?

    ‘Sissy Pants’ Celebrities Banned in China
    Beijing fears that feminine men would hurt the country’s ability to fight, experts say.
    By Viola Zhou
    September 2, 2021, 3:13am


    YOUNG, DELICATE-LOOKING MEN HAVE AMASSED LARGE FAN BASES IN CHINA. PHOTO: VISUAL CHINA GROUP VIA GETTY IMAGES
    The Chinese government has ordered a boycott of “sissy pants” celebrities as it escalates a fight against what it sees as a cultural import that threatens China’s national strength.

    In a directive issued on Thursday, China’s TV watchdog said entertainment programs should firmly reject the “deformed aesthetics” of niangpao, a derogatory term that refers to effeminate men.

    The order came as Beijing tightens control over the country’s entertainment industry, taking aim at an explosion of TV and streaming shows that hold increasing sway over pop culture and the youth.

    Young, delicate-looking men who display gentle personalities and act in boys’ love dramas have amassed large fan bases mostly comprising women. Many of them, like Xiao Zhan and Wang Yibo, are China’s top-earning celebrities.

    They came in sharp contrast with the older generation of male stars, who were expected to sing revolutionary songs and play intrepid, aggressive soldiers defending the country from foreign enemies.

    But the more gender-neutral aesthetics have come under criticism from conservative voices in society. Some officials and parents fear the less macho men on TV would cause young men to lose their masculinity and therefore threaten the country’s development.

    Earlier this year, the Ministry of Education pledged to promote sports education in Chinese schools in response to a politician’s proposal about “preventing men from becoming too feminine.”

    The latest boycott order is part of a broader response to what the government deems as “chaos” in Chinese entertainment. Days before the order was issued, a commentary published by a Communist Party mouthpiece called the popularity of “sissy pants” a social problem that would distort the taste of the Chinese youth.

    Cui Le, a researcher on queer issues in China with the University of Auckland, said the clampdown on “sissy pants” reflected authorities’ attempt to reinforce mainstream gender roles and resist what they regard as Western gender values.

    “Masculinity is being associated with nationalism,” Cui said. “It’s believed the effeminate male image could mislead young people, hinder the nation’s rejuvenation, and weaken the country’s ability in fighting with others.”

    The pushes for macho men have triggered backlash from an expanding feminist community. Many women feel offended by the term “sissy pants” and the sexist implication that traits associated with women are inferior.

    Some internet users expressed worry that the official rejection of “sissy men” will encourage the kind of toxic masculinity that leads to violence against women, sexual minorities as well as men who do not fit into the traditional macho image.

    “So men should be masculine, as in being dirty and having big bellies,” said one of the top-voted comments on the microblogging site Weibo.

    “‘Sissy’ is the highest compliment for a man,” another person wrote. “It means the person is probably very handsome. He would pay attention to personal hygiene, have good manners, and respect women.”

    Guo Ting, an expert on gender politics in China with the University of Toronto, said young Chinese people have embraced gender-neutral figures in entertainment as a way to challenge the patriarchal culture in real life.

    But the state regards traditional hetero-masculinity as part of its security-focused authoritarian rule, which promotes a need for a strong leader, militarism and aggressive diplomatic rhetoric, she said.

    It’s unclear how the government will define “sissy pants,” but the order is expected to prompt more stringent self-censorship by tech and entertainment companies that are already caught in a sweeping regulatory crackdown.

    Explicitly ****sexual characters are not allowed on Chinese TV, and no prominent mainland Chinese celebrity has come out as gay. Platforms have previously blurred male stars’ earrings and ponytails because of their ostensible association with rebellion and counterculture.

    The Thursday notice also banned idol survival contests and reality shows featuring celebrities’ children––some of the most popular and lucrative genres in the past. Authorities have accused the shows of causing food waste, irrational spending, and harming children’s growth.

    Follow Viola Zhou on Twitter.
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    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

  7. #22
    Quote Originally Posted by GeneChing View Post
    How do they judge?
    Blurring-out ponytails is going too far...

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