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The growing importance of China’s Social Credit implementation is a hot topic in the media – both in- and outside of China.
Ever since the Chinese government announced its first plans in 2014 on the construction of a nationwide Social Credit System to be rolled out by 2020, media coverage on the issue has seemingly been growing month on month.
According to the official government website, the system (or policy) is meant to “assess individuals and government agencies on areas ranging from tax payment and local government bonds to judicial credibility,” and focuses on credit in the areas of (1) administrative affairs, (2) commercial activities, (3) social behavior, and (4) the judicial system.
Part of the Social Credit plan is the implementation of blacklist systems that punish the “untrustworthy” behavior of companies or individuals through various measures. Already in 2013, China’s Supreme Court launched its online publicly available ‘blacklist’ with the names of people that have an effective court order against them.
In 2017, there were more than a hundred regions in China where local governments worked with blacklists. Earlier this year, Chinese media published reports claiming that more than 9,5 million people were blacklisted nationwide in 2017. Those on these lists could face a hold on their loans or travel bans, and will have to deal with a range of other restrictions in their daily lives until they comply with court orders.
In foreign media, the system has been called “Black Mirror-like” or “Orwellian,” while Chinese state media generally emphasize “innovation” and “harmony” when discussing these new implementations.
The cartoons that are published together with news reports on social credit also clearly show the big differences in how the social credit implementation is perceived in foreign media versus in Chinese media.
Below, on the left, is Financial Times‘ Ingram Pinn’s illustration which was featured in a 2018 article discussing both private credit scores (e.g. Sesame Credit) and the national social credit implementation (for the difference between them, please see our “Open Sesame” article). On the right is a cartoon by state media outlet Xinhua – the same illustration is regularly posted across dozens of news sites when featuring social credit-related stories.
While the cartoon on the left illustrates people as carrying the heavy burden of their ‘credit score’ (note that only commercial programmes such as Sesame Credit actually have these scores), the cartoon on the right shows the social credit as flying over a group of cheering people.
1: “Xinyong” (trustworthiness) flies above the happy people.
In general, the illustrations on Social Credit in Chinese state media roughly present China’s nascent Social Credit implementation in two ways; (1) as punishing individuals for bad behavior and (2) as benefiting the collective, which builds on a more harmonious society together.
2: Building “trust” together.
This cartoon above was used in a local government post about social credit and shows people dressed as construction workers literally ‘building’ on the characters for ‘honest’ and ‘trustworthy’ (诚信).
3. Xinhua cartoon: constructing the social credit system.
The idea of literally ‘building’ on a Social Credit System together is also illustrated in other cartoons used by Chinese state media, such as the one above by Xinhua that shows a person waving a flag that says “construction,” standing in front of a number of blocks that form the term “personal integrity system” (个人诚信体系).
4. Integrity above the people.
The applauding and cheering keeps coming back in other cartoons, such as the one above that is published across multiple news platforms. The characters in the flying heart say “chéngxìn” (诚信) , meaning ‘integrity.’
5. Blacklisted people can’t go anywhere.
Besides the illustrations propagating the benefits of the Social Credit system for the collective, there are also many which emphasize the downsides for individuals who get blacklisted. This illustration, published on on the Economic Weekly zhonghongwang.com, shows a person on the left that has a heart on his chest saying ‘keeping trust’ (or: ‘trustworthy’), and the text above his head says “I can go anywhere” (路路通). The person on the left has a ‘lose trust’ black heart on his chest; this ‘blacklisted’ individual sees “limits” on all the signs around him and the cloud text above his head says: “I’m blocked everywhere” (处处受限).
6. Lose your trust in some place, and there’s no place to go.
This illustration published on Party newspaper People’s Daily shows an individual being punished through a pillory which has the term for “blacklisted person” on it. The man’s thinking cloud says: “Lose your trust in one place, and there’s no place to go” (“一处失信、处处受限”), which is a slogan that is recently applied a lot by Chinese media writing about the Social Credit system.
7. Social credit as ball and chain.
To be fair, the illustration above was not published by state media outlet but by various commercial sites, but I still wanted to include it here; these illustrations travel from news article to news article and it is not always easy to detect their origin. This cartoon shows a big ball and chain, the ball says “Social Credit System,” which is tied to the chain which holds a “Resident Identification Card” (official ID of the PRC) and is then tied to the individual.
8. Tax evaders get caught.
This Xinhua illustration, also published on the official government Credit site, shows a man caught in a “black list name” confinement for tax evasion, with the cloud saying: “I can’t move a single step!” (寸不难行). On the flying carpet that says “honor list for paying tax” is another man who holds a “legal tax paper” in his hand and who says: “I can go wherever.”
9. Trust ranks.
This widely circulating illustration shows four individuals from A to D, standing on a block that says “Trust credit levels.” The A man holds a sign that says “special treatment” (or: “favored”), whereas the number D man is put a dunce on his head that says “constrained,” while he falls into a black whole.
10. Big credit is gonna get you.
The cartoon above, by state media outlet Xinhua, shows a computer that has the term “government information sharing” on it, and says: “[We] unite in taking disciplinary measures!” He holds a big net that is titled “Social Credit Web,” and captures a man with a briefcase who is “blacklisted,” and also says, as we’ve seen in previous illustration, that there is “no way to go” for him.
All in all, the message these various illustrations propagate is straight-forward: those who stay off the black lists and behave like good citizens are free to go wherever they want, those who do not will be caught and lose their freedom of movement. They further emphasize that the Social Credit System is a combined effort, that will, allegedly, benefit the collective and make China a safer and more harmonious place.
Want to understand more? Also read our previous articles explaining social credit in China here and here.
By Manya Koetse
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A new vaccine scandal involving Changchun Changsheng, China’s second-largest producer of anti-rabies vaccines, has caused a tsunami of outrage and media coverage in China this week.
China’s State Food and Drug Administration found that the Jilin-based Changchun company did not only produce fake anti-rabies vaccines, but also substandard DPT vaccines, Caijing News reports on Weibo.
The news about Changchun’s violations already came out on July 15th, but especially led to a social media storm this weekend after reports leaked online exposing that the same company had already violated production laws as early as October of last year.
It is not the first time China faces serious problems in its vaccine programmes. In November of 2017, over 650,000 faulty – uneffective – vaccines were recalled in Shandong, Hebei and Chongqing.
In 2016, another scandal concerning the distribution of illegal and potentially deadly vaccines also became a major trending topic on Chinese social media.
It is mandatory for children to be vaccinated in line with the China National Immunization Programme.
At time of writing, the hashtag “Changchun Changsheng Counterfeit Vaccines” (#长春长生造假疫苗#) has already received over 49 million views on Weibo.
The current scandal adds to parents’ mistrust of vaccines in China, with thousands of people on Weibo demanding that those responsible for these violations should be given capital punishment.
On the various Weibo accounts of Chinese state media and local authorities, however, a post has been published that asks people to “not let anger and panic spread,” and to trust that “the relevant departments will deal with this issue in a timely manner.”
Various essays and comments threads about the faulty vaccines were no longer visible as of Sunday afternoon. While Beijing News reports that the Changchun vaccines were not used in Beijing, many questions still linger for worried parents in many other parts of the country.
By Manya Koetse
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On July 22, German football player Mesut Ozil issued a lengthy statement on his personal Twitter account, in which he announced his resignation from the national team.
According to his Twitter statement, which was retweeted more than 100,000 times within two days, his resignation comes after the massive renouncement of Ozil after he posted a photo of himself with Turkish President Erdogan, along with him receiving blame for Germany’s disappointing World Cup.
Ozil accused the German football federation, fans, and media, of racism and double standards in the treatment of him as a German soccer player with Turkish roots, writing he would “no longer be playing for Germany at international level whilst I have this feeling of racism and disrespect.”
Ozil, who is of Turkish descent, said he will never wear the German team’s jersey again.
The controversial photo of Erdogan and Mesut was taken at a London event in May earlier this year. Ozil stated that he had met Erdogan previously in 2010, and that the picture was taken with “no political intentions.”
The football player said that he has “two hearts,” “one German and one Turkish,” and that taking a photo with Erdogan was about “respecting the highest office of my family’s country.”
The German football association (DFB) has since responded to Ozil’s allegations of racism, saying they “emphatically reject the DFB being linked to racism.”
“Taking a picture with Erdogan will always have political implications.”
Besides Ozil’s 23+ million followers on Twitter, the popular footballer also has more than 850,000 fans on his official Weibo account, where he also published his recent statement. After a day, it received some thousands of likes, responses and shares, and also became a much-discussed topic on various news accounts on Weibo.
Weibo responses to Ozil’s statement have been mixed: while many Weibo users side with the football player and blamed the Germans for being “racist,” others call Ozil a player who is “not loyal” to Germany and the national team.
“I will always be with you and support you. I hope you can be happy and free from worry,” some Ozil fans commented.
“Stand with Özil❤️❤️❤️Say no to racism,” others wrote.
However, not all Weibo users support Ozil’s position: “This is purely an act of stupidity. Turkey was interfering with the German elections. Taking a picture with Erdogan will always have political implications. Ozil refused to sing the German anthem in the games. He is stepping on two boats. He deserves to be kicked out of the team. That has nothing to do with winning or losing,” a Weibo user named @PlanetDaily wrote, along with other netizens who called out Ozil’s lack of loyalty to the team and country he played for.
“Let’s think about it in the Chinese context: suppose Ozil is a football player from Xinjiang and plays for the Chinese national team. And then all of a sudden he meets Erdogan and takes a picture. He now says that he is proud to be a Turkish rather than a Chinese. What would you think?”, a Weibo user nicknamed “Mao Zedong excerpt always in my hand” wrote.
“Erdogan is the enemy of Europe. He is a dictator purging oppositions in the name of religion. Ozil is wrong in meeting him already. As there are many Turks in Germany there is a deeper political implication for Erdogan to meet with Ozil. As a German national team player, Ozil should recognize this,” a popular comment said.
“He was a hero in 2014, he’s the bad guy in 2018,” another top commenter wrote, referencing to Mesut Ozil’s great success during the 2014 World Cup.
But besides those who support and attack Ozil, there are also many Chinese commenters who feel that there eventually is only one person who profits from Ozil’s football exit, and that it is President Erdogan. Many say that he used the star footballer for his own political strategies.
“Of course it has great impact when a celebrity footballer poses with Erdogan. Football is football, and politics are politics, but this all creates much confusion when a footballer like Ozil poses with a dictatorial ruler,” Weibo user @Kined wrote.
For hundreds of Chinese Ozil fans, however, their love for him has nothing to do with politics: “I will support you no matter what. I will support your decision. Wherever you are, I hope you will be happy.”
By Chauncey Jung and Manya Koetse
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A mother who was afraid that her mentally disabled son would run away has tattooed her contact information on his arm. Upon changing her number, the new phone number was added to his arm, while the old one was crossed out.
This story triggered the attention of netizens on Weibo today, when Chinese media reported that Wenzhou police found the boy walking besides a Zhejiang highway on July 22nd.
Since the boy was unable to clearly communicate, the police then contacted his parents by calling the number tattooed on his arm.
The mother reportedly stated that her son, who is 17 years old this year, had wandered off many times before. She, therefore, decided to tattoo their number on his arm. When she changed number, she added it to his arm and crossed through the old one.
“It would be better if she tried not to change her phone number too often,” one Weibo commenter writes, with others saying: “At least it’s better than putting their entire address on there.”
“Why didn’t she give him a wristband?”, others wonder.
There are also many who feel sad for the mother: “Poor mum. Life’s not easy.”
Although the Chinese government has been making greater efforts in improving the country’s mental healthcare, there are many people dealing with mental disabilities or problems who cannot get the care they need.
Sina News reports that the mother and son have now been reunited.
By Miranda Barnes and Manya Koetse
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From the social credit system to the MeToo movement in China, human flesh search engine and the spinster stereotypes, there are many topics we’ve covered on What’s on Weibo over the past four years.
This week, as the editor-in-chief of What’s on Weibo, I was invited by Chinese state media outlet China.org.cn to talk to Bryan Michael Galvan about the development of What’s on Weibo and the biggest issues going around Chinese social media over the past few years.
The one-hour interview is available for viewing on YouTube below.
By Manya Koetse
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Directly support Manya Koetse. By supporting this author you make future articles possible and help the maintenance and independence of this site. Donate directly through Paypal here. Also check out the What’s on Weibo donations page for donations through creditcard & WeChat and for more information.
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On Thursday afternoon shortly after 13.30 (local time), news of an explosion near the US embassy in Beijing made its rounds on Chinese social media.
“It was an explosion- the sound was really loud,” some people on Weibo write: “This is big.”
“My work unit is about a kilometer from the US embassy, and we could hear it very loud,” one person says.
Various sources on Weibo say the sound of the explosion was very loud.
Chinese journalist Michael Anti wrote on Twitter: “Many sources have confirmed explosion just happened in American Beijing Embassy. Road blocked.”
The entire area around the embassy is currently cordoned off, with police and security present at the scene.
A video making its rounds on Weibo showed people running and big clouds of smoke, with the person filming it saying: “There’s been an explosion at the US embassy” (see below).
After 14:00 local time, various Chinese news sources, such as Phoenix News, but also TV news channels such as United Express (美联社), confirmed the explosion.
While it is still unclear what has caused the explosion and the smoke, some people on Weibo joke that it was just people having an outside BBQ.
At 15:00 local time, local police confirmed on Weibo that one man caused the explosion at one o’clock at the corner of Anjialou and Tianze Road (which is where the entrance of the US embassy is located). A suspected “firecracker installation” caused the explosion.
The man, a 26 year old male from Inner Mongolia, has injuries on his hand, but reportedly has suffered no serious injuries. He has first been taken to the hospital.
Police report on Weibo: one man caused the explosion.
Police also report that no other people were harmed in the explosion and that the situation is now under control. They do not make any statements about alleged motivations behind the explosion and whether or not it was intentional.
“He surely didn’t think it was Spring Festival,” some commenters say – Spring Festival is the usual time for setting off firecrackers.
“Firecrackers are supposed to be a happy sound,” others say.
At time of writing, various threads on Weibo relating to the US embassy explosion have been screened off, but sharing of photos and commenting still continues across Weibo, Wechat, and other platforms.
The BBC states that there were earlier reports today that police had taken away a woman who had tried to set herself on fire near the US embassy just two hours before the blast, although it has not been confirmed if the two incidents are linked in any way.
Update: Chinese authorities have come forward stating the explosion is an “isolated public security incident.”
By Manya Koetse, with contributions from Miranda Barnes
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The actress Vivian Sung, who stars in China’s hit movie Hello Mr. Billionaire (西虹市首富), has caused quite the social media storm this week for saying Taiwan is her “favorite country” in a short interview clip that resurfaced on Chinese social media.
In the short clip, the young actress (b. 1992), is asked several short questions, one being: “What is your favorite country?” The actress then cheerfully answers: “My favorite country is Taiwan!”
According to Chinese publication The Observer (Guancha/观察者), the clip comes from 2015 and was made by Taiwanse entertainment channel MING WEEKLY, which often features quick fire question interview clips with celebrities – the interviewer asks short simple questions which the celebrities have to answer immediately.
Chinese media reporting on the issue said that by her answer, the actress was “casting doubts over a ‘Taiwanese independence'” (“台独”质疑); in other words, saying she was openly refuting the principle of “one country, two systems,” which, as Hong Kong, also defines Taiwan as part of China.
“What a low level mistake,” some commenters wrote: “How can you answer ‘Taiwan’ when you’re being asked about your favorite ‘country’?” Some crude comments called Sung a ‘sl*t’ who needs to “go back to where she came from.”
Despite much backlash, there were also many people on social media who said: “I bet if you ask most people from Taiwan what country they like most, they’ll answer Taiwan. In case they strongly identify with China, they’ll just say “the Republic of China.” (Taiwan is officially also called the Republic of China (ROC), whereas mainland China is the People’s Republic of China (PRC).)
“How can you blame her for loving the place where she comes from?”, others said.
Vivian Sung became popular after starring in Taiwanese movies such as Our Times (我的少女时代, 2015) and Café·Waiting·Love (等一个人咖啡, 2014). The recent Hello Mr. Billionaire, which has been dominating the Chinese box offices, was produced in mainland China.
“I love my native place, I love my motherland – the Cross-Straits will be one family forever.”
On August 2nd, the actress responded to the controversy on her Weibo account with self-critique and an emphasis on Taiwan and China being one country. She wrote:
“Recently I’ve received a lot of attention and it has really shaken me up. I am Chinese, a post-90s Chinese girl. I come from Taiwan, and China is my home country. I am deeply sorry for [what I said during] that fast question interview before. Over recent years, it is because of your support that I’ve been able to work in mainland China. The variety of cultures and customs in different cities and regions [in China] deeply interest me and I have come to realize my love and respect for this rich country. Taiwan is where I was born, and mainland China is where my dreams came true. It is because of the favor-granting policies issued by the country this year that I’ve been given more room for development and learning opportunities. I still have a lot to learn, and I am open-minded in doing so. I feel proud as a Chinese in receiving your criticism and guidance. I love my native place, I love my motherland – the Cross-Straits will be one family forever.”
Sung’s post, which was shared nearly 14,000 times in the hours following its publication, also became a topic of debate.
“I just hope you’re not saying this to earn [more] money,” a typical comment said.
“She’s always been taught about Taiwanese independence, so it’s not a problem when she says she loves Taiwan,” one popular comment said: “We’ve always been taught that Taiwan is an inseparable part of China, so it’s also okay [for us] to resist.”
Sung is not the first celebrity causing a social media storm over Cross-Straits relations. In 2016, popular Taiwanese model ‘Stella’ (史黛拉) stirred controversy for calling mainlanders ‘426’, a Taiwanese term for scolding people from the PRC. (The pronunciation of ‘426’ [死阿陆] sounds similar to ‘damned mainlanders‘ [死大陆人] in Taiwan’s Hokkien dialect.)
In that same year, two other celebrities from Taiwan also became the victim of ongoing political tensions between mainland China and Taiwan.
Pop star Chou Tzuyu (周子瑜) angered netizens from mainland China by waving a Taiwanese national flag on a Korean reality show, and actor Show Luo (罗志祥) angered netizens from Taiwan by saying that Taiwanese and mainland actors “are all Chinese.”
In this latest controversy, there are also many people who refuse to take a side.
“Just be yourself, then you’ll always be better,” one popular comment said. Other comment sections had been closed for viewing by Thursday night.
By Manya Koetse
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As of Friday, August 3rd, the Chinese news outlet Q Daily (好奇心日报) has been shut down. Since the afternoon (Beijing time), visits to www.qdaily.com were redirected to a statement, saying:
“Facing our problems and earnest rectifications –
Q Daily has violated the news information regulations and has damaged the order of online information dissemination. In doing so, we violated the China Internet Security Law, the Administrative Measures for Internet Information Service, the Provisions for the Administration of Internet News Information Services, and other related stipulations. We will strictly implement the requirements of the regulatory authorities. From 15:00 pm on August 3 to 15:00 pm on September 2, we will [therefore] suspend all updates of the Q Daily platform and carry out comprehensive and thorough rectification.”
Shortly after the sudden shutdown, Chinese state media outlet SHINE, previously Shanghai Daily, reported that Q Daily had been shutdown for “illegally reporting and forwarding news,” “without obtaining the required qualifications to run an Internet news service.”
Other Chinese state media outlets, including China.org, also confirmed that the reason for the site’s suspension related to “long-term unauthorized engagement in Internet news information services.”
Q Daily, literally “Curious Daily,” is a privately-held online media site that has been running since April of 2014.
According to the Q Daily profile, the “light and web-native” news site is managed by Executive Editor Xianfeng Yi (伊险峰), who also founded the popular Chinese business magazine CBNweekly magazine.
At time of writing, the Weibo account of Q Daily @好奇心日报 is still online. Its latest released news articles, as posted on its account, mostly relate to foreign business news topics, such as the recent Heineken deal in China or the Starbucks opening in Italy.
The site’s shutdown received quite some attention on Chinese social media today – some threads receiving hundreds of shares and comments. “Socialism with Chinese characteristics is just putting news in a cage,” some commented: “All the news sources I like are being shut down.”
Many wondered about the exact reasons behind the suspension, jokingly saying: “It makes me even more curious..[to know why Curious Daily was suspended].” Others said: “We’re just not supposed to be curious.”
By Manya Koetse, with contribution from Diandian Guo.
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What are the biggest social media topics in China’s capital this week? In a weekly wrap-up for the Beijinger, What’s on Weibo discusses the hottest topics of the city over the past week.
Is this going to be Beijing’s hottest summer in 68 years? What happened in Beijing’s Jishuitan hospital? And why is Chinese state media promoting a young girl’s story about leaving her village for Peking University? Check out our weekly wrap-up here.
By Manya Koetse
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Over the past few days, news of an incident involving a man scolding people while driving on a restricted traffic lane has spread across Chinese social media.
The incident occurred at Beijing’s Fengtai district outside of You’anmen (右安門) during the morning rush hour of August 2nd (Thursday), when a man driving a Mazda illegally entered the restricted traffic lane while honking and yelling at cyclists from his car.
When the man bumped into a person driving an e-bike, he came out of his car and scolded the male cyclist – a Beijinger speaking the local dialect – by allegedly saying things such as: “F*ck you Beijingers!” and “While us outsiders (外地人) are driving cars, you poor-ass Beijingers are still riding miserable e-bikes.”
When bystanders’ videos and photos of the incident quickly spread on social media (including photos of the man’s license plate), many Beijing residents apparently got so upset by the man’s behavior and insults that they initiated a man-hunt.
Some online sources claim that by Thursday night, there even were people waiting outside the man’s apartment to take revenge.
Chaos outside the police station
By August 3, the man, confirmed to be a 35-year-old from Liaoning (Northeast China aka ‘Dongbei’), then turned himself into the local police station, where he was detained – but the chaos did not stop there.
When news of the man’s detainment made its rounds through social media, a group of Beijingers came out to the police station in support of the biker, demanding apologies from the Liaoning driver. On one video that has spread online, the large group of people can be heard scanting “F*ck you!” and “Apologies! Apologies!” (“Daoqian! Daoqian!”).
Reports on what exactly happened, however, are a bit conflicting. According to Radio Free Asia Chinese, there was also a large group of people from Northeast China who gathered outside the police station to show their support for the driver.
One video captured from a higher level building looking down on the police station shows hundreds of people gathering before the gates around police cars (see embedded media below).
Fury and Loathing in Fengtai: how one incident sparked chaos in Beijing neighborhood: https://t.co/XyaK3FYdYu pic.twitter.com/Ca39rQeHn7
— What's on Weibo (@WhatsOnWeibo) August 4, 2018
Videos of the chaos circulating on Wechat were censored by Friday night – a video of the incident sent by Miranda Barnes to Manya Koetse (authors) was automatically deleted on Wechat.
WECHAT. On the left: Miranda sends Manya video of the incident on Friday night. Right: screenshot of Manya, video automatically censored.
This video, at 1:50, shows how the situation turned violent, with angry people starting to attack the man as he exits the police station after processing the case.
Realising the situation could potentially be dangerous for the man, the police allegedly took him back in afterward to protect the man from the mob.
photo via dwnews.com.
On Weibo, the man’s detainment was officially confirmed through a public statement by the Fengtai police on Friday.
It is not the first time conflicts erupt within China based on tensions between locals and Chinese immigrants. Especially migrants from Northeast China or Dongbei (provinces of Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang) often suffer a bad reputation in other parts of China. (For more info on this, check out this insightful Quora thread).
Apologies over ‘Regional Discrimination’
There is widespread regional discrimination (地域歧視) across China, where people are often prejudiced based on the region they come from or their ethnicity. As the Fengtai incident shows, this discrimination can be directed both ways, from immigrants to locals and vice versa.
In response to the incident, anti-Dongbei sentiments also surfaced on Weibo, with thousands of people discussing the course of events. “I’m from Hebei, I’ll join my brothers from Beijing in the fight!”, some said.
But there were also those who said: “It doesn’t matter where the guy is from, he should be judged for his illegal actions, not his native place.”
Beijing blogger Jeremy Goldkorn (@goldkorn) noted that an apology statement from the man from Dongbei has been issued online on August 3rd (see thread including videos here).
In his apology letter, the man, who says his name is Cao Yuanhang (曹远航), writes that he deeply apologizes for his words and behavior and for igniting the anger of Beijingers. He also adds that he guilty of “regional discrimination,” and apologizes to his family and company because of the stress they suffered after the video clips of his behavior went viral.
Apology statement.
Some netizens, however, could not appreciate the apology, saying: “This kind of rotten person should get the f*ck out of Beijing.”
At time of writing, it is yet unclear if the man has been released and whether or not he has gone into hiding.
By Miranda Barnes and Manya Koetse
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With contributions from Luka de Boni
“Christopher Robin, denied Chinese release, is the latest victim in China’s war on Winnie the Pooh,” writes Vox. “China gives Winnie the Pooh the enemy-of-the-state treatment,” says a recent New York Post headline.
Over the past days, the fact that Disney’s new 2018 film Christopher Robin will not premiere in mainland China has made headlines in many English-language media, first reported by The Hollywood Reporter.
Most sources allege that the movie, inspired by A. A. Milne and E. H. Shepard’s book Winnie-the-Pooh, will not be released in the country’s theatres because “Chinese leader Xi Jinping is prickly about comparisons between him and the lovable cartoon character, who has become a symbol of the resistance there” (Vox).
Film poster for Christopher Robin (Disney 2018).
BBC linked the film’s absence from Chinese movie theatres to Winnie and the supposed “nationwide clampdown on references to the beloved children’s character.”
But to what extent are these allegations true? There seem to be some misconceptions in many media about the scope of censorship on Winnie, and the release of non-Chinese films in mainland China.
Over the past four years, Winnie the Pooh has, at times, been used as a political and satirical meme on Chinese social media, first becoming a target for China’s online censors when netizens compared Barack Obama and Xi Jinping, who met at the California Summit, with Pooh and Tigger in 2013.
In September of 2015, an image of Pooh became trending again on the day of the military parade. During the Beijing Parade that commemorated the 70th anniversary of WWII, President Xi Jinping drove around in a car (image), inspecting the troops.
When someone watching the parade then posted an image of Pooh bear in a toy car on Weibo, it was shared 62.000 times in little over an hour. Online responses included: “As I watched [the parade], I told my mother and father the similarities [between Pooh and the President] were uncanny.” The post was then soon deleted from Weibo.
This image of Pooh was censored in 2015.
The same happened in February of 2018, when images of Winnie the Pooh as a king emerged on Weibo after the end of China’s two-term limit on presidency was announced.
Could’ve expected this, but still pretty creative. First images of “king Winnie” surfacing on Weibo in response to Xi’s potential indefinite rule: https://t.co/u9kL5OYGwq #XiJinping #kingwinnie pic.twitter.com/Bb6Dmy46xH
— Manya Koetse (@manyapan) 25 februari 2018
Although the censorship of Pooh at these specific moments are reason enough to call the bear some sort of “symbol of defiance against censorship,” it is not reason enough to assume the bear is at the epicenter of “a nationwide clampdown,” as BBC suggested.
“Winnie the Pooh is not banned from China, neither online nor offline.”
Winnie the Pooh is not banned from China, neither online nor offline. The bear is quite popular, just as in many other countries, and people walk around wearing Pooh t-shirts and accessories in Chinese cities every day.
A current search on Chinese search engine Baidu for ‘Winnie the Pooh’ (“小熊维尼”) generates 8.5 million results. Taobao sells countless Winnie items on its e-commerce platform, and on social media site Weibo, thousands of Chinese netizens post photos of their Winnie-themed merchandise or favorite characters.
Random selection of Winnie-related posts on Weibo today (compilarion What’s on Weibo).
Disney’s Christopher Robin is also discussed online; not just by netizens but also by state media.
The moments that Pooh was censored on Chinese social media in the past, were times that China’s censorship machine was going at full-speed already. Any time that President Xi is taking part in an important meeting or event, whether it is a BRIC summit, military parade, or bilateral meeting, social media is more controlled than usual.
Because netizens were using the image of Pooh in a way that was meant to make fun of these high-profile political occasions and figures at particularly these times, they were censored. In other words: the Winnie images were censored along with many other things at particularly sensitive times for mocking a political event or figure.
Although it makes sense to say that Winnie the Pooh is perhaps more ‘sensitive’ than other cartoons (although Peppa Pig and Rage Comics had their share of censorship, too), it is questionable if this sensitivity is enough of a reason to ban Disney’s new blockbuster Christopher Robin.
But if not for the bear itself, what would be a reason not to release a promising Disney movie? China’s strict foreign film import quota may play an important role.
Since the 1990s, China has a ‘foreign film quota.’ In the early years, this meant that just a small quote of foreign films were allowed to be imported into China, and in 2012, this was increased to 34 foreign movies per year. The amount of revenue that foreign producers can take from these movies is restricted to 25% (Latham 2007, 185; Ma 2017, 193).
Although Hollywood lobbyists have been negotiating with Chinese film authorities to allow more foreign films to be imported under revenue-sharing terms, there’s been little progress for now – the ongoing looming trade-war has not benefited the situation.
Besides the longstanding cap on foreign films, China also has unofficial ‘Hollywood black-out periods’ in which Hollywood blockbusters are prevented to enter the market so as to boost sales of local productions, a phenomenon dubbed “Domestic Film Protection Month” (国产电影保护月).
The term was allegedly coined in 2004, when Chinese media reported about an order restricting screening foreign films between June 10 and July 10 each year. Although the measure was never officially admitted by government officials, this unspoken policy has been executed for the past 14 years (read more here). As a consequence, it is common for big American productions to not be released in China during the summer months, the period where cinemas make the most revenues.
In 2011, for example, the Harry Potter blockbuster of the year was premiered in China five weeks later than it was in the rest of the world. Last summer, both Dunkirk and Spider-Man: Homecoming had their release dates delayed by several months, most probably to give the patriotic, local production Wolf-Warrior 2 a boost in sales.
These black-out periods can also serve another purpose. According to CNBC, they can also be used to give Chinese film authorities additional bargaining power in their negotiations with US lobbyists. With these negotiations increasing in importance lately, as a result of deteriorating US-China trade relations, it might make sense that Chinese authorities would want to put themselves in the most favorable bargaining position.
Each year, it is unclear when the ‘black-out period’ starts and ends. Generally, it can start as early as mid-June and finish as late as late-August.
With many netizens and various state media (including China Global Television Network) posting about the release of Christopher Robin on Weibo and beyond, it is unlikely that political sensitivity over Winnie is the (only) reason why the film will not be shown in Chinese cinemas this summer.
Whether or not the film will definitely not come out in China is also not clear. The process of translation and censorship checking for films can take a long time and will sometimes mean films come out much later in the PRC.
Even when not reaching the big screens, most Hollywood blockbusters will eventually be available for viewing on online channels such as Youku or iQiyi.
Goodbye Christopher Robin (2017), another movie focusing on the story of Winnie the Pooh, is available for viewing on iQiyi and other (paid) streaming sites in China.
Many netizens would welcome a delayed release of Christopher Robin in China. The movie’s hashtag (#克里斯托弗·罗宾#) has already been viewed nearly three million times on Weibo.
While for many, the bear has no political connotations, there are also those who are still trying to post pictures of President Xi Jinping as Pooh – those will soon be deleted.
“I just wanted to see if it would be deleted,” the Weibo user says: “But actually, I really do think he’s cute.”
For more on this, check out today’s feature on BBC World Update (video by What’s on Weibo).
By Manya Koetse, and Luka de Boni
Follow @whatsonweibo
References
Latham, Kevin. 2007. Pop Culture China! Media, Arts, and Lifestyle. Oxford: ABC Clio.
Ma, Winston. 2017. China’s Mobile Economy: Opportunities in the Largest and Fastest Information Consumption Boom. Cornwall: Wiley.
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The post Why Disney’s Christopher Robin Is Not Released in China (And It’s Not Just Because of Winnie) appeared first on What's on Weibo.
Disney’s latest film Christopher Robin will not be released in Chinese cinemas. Many English-language media claim it is for the fact that the movie’s main star, Winnie the Pooh, is regarded too politically sensitive in the country. But these reports are clouded by misconceptions: Winnie is not banned in China, and it is common for Western films not to be released in the PRC.
What’s on Weibo editor-in-chief Manya Koetse speaks to Paul Henley at BBC World Update (see video by What’s on Weibo here):
For more on this topic, read our latest feature here.
By Manya Koetse
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Recently, a Shanghai kid’s spa has been at the center of an online discussion on ‘Little Red Book’ (Xiaohongshu/小红书), a popular interactive e-commerce platform focused on fashion and beauty.
The establishment named “Twinkle” is a luxurious “parent-child restaurant” (亲子餐厅) that also includes a playground and the much-discussed children’s spa, that seems to be mainly focused on catering to little girls.
A post dedicated to the spa received nearly 4000 likes and 1500 comments on Xiaohongshu within a few days time this week.
Marketing and e-commerce specialist Miro Li discussed the topic on LinkedIn, writing:
“This well decorated “kids spa,” with everything in pink, is located in a shopping mall in Pudong. It’s very popular among millennial parents and [it’s] hard to book a seat. Service fee is RMB 218 (approximately USD 32) for each kid, including a pink bathrobe, a “facial” with cucumber mask, a “foot spa”, and a glass of grape juice within [a maximum time of] three hours. The spa also has a restaurant and a small indoor playground.”
Miro Li further explains:
“This post has got people in the comments [section] split into two groups. One side strongly disagrees with parents who take kids to the spa, saying kids are too spoiled. The other side thinks this is totally normal as long as parents can afford it.”
She adds:
“RMB 218 for an afternoon with kids is not too expensive in a first-tier city, but it’s also not cheap. Apart from the debate, we can see that many Chinese millennial parents are pursuing the best quality of life for themselves and their kids. They don’t care too much about the price like their parents do and they are more willing to spend on lifestyle.”
The newly opened Twinkle “premium kid’s cafe” and spa, located in Shanghai Pudong’s Century Link Tower, is the second shop that has been opened after the success of the first Xintian-based branch.
Chinese parents increasingly spend more money on luxury goods for their children, such as branded wardrobes. Already in 2015, about 60 percent of surveyed Chinese millennial parents spent more than 3,000 yuan ($471) per month on luxury goods for their children, Jing Daily reports.
However, some people think that Chinese parents spoil their (only) children too much, leading to “Princess sickness” (公主病) (also ‘Little Emperor Syndrome’ 小皇帝病 for boys), a term used in China to describe young women who with a self-centered and high maintenance personality.
The Xiaohongshu comment section has generated some heated debates about the Twinkle kid’s spa.
“It’s not right!”, one person says: “These girls are too young to experience this. (..) It’s better to let them study when they’re young, and let them read some books.” Many other commenters agree, writing: “Children shouldn’t do the same stuff as grown-ups do.”
“You don’t get Princess Syndrome because of a spa treatment.”
“It’s not because of the price, but I would never let my daughter do this,” another female commenter writes: “I hope my daughter can grow up naturally (..) I want her to learn to do good for society and others.”
Some even call the spa a “violation of socialist core values.”
But there are also many people arguing that commenters criticizing the spa are taking things too seriously.
“What a bunch of sour comments here,” one person says: “All that talk of Princess Syndrome – you don’t get Princess Syndrome because of a 218 yuan spa treatment, it is something that comes from how parents treat their children. By getting a spa treatment, these children learn the good habit of taking good care of their skin from an early age (..). At the same time, it also teaches them about the kind of life they’d want and that they have to do their best to reach it.”
“Everyone is entitled to their own opinions,” another Xiaohongshu user says: “But I’d say it’s much better to bring your kid out to play like this than to let them play on your phone.”
However, it seems that the more critical stance is dominating this debate. The top comment of the section, receiving more than 1000 likes, says: “I just think that it’s not right to inject these kind of ideas about what enjoyment is into the minds of kids this small.”
“Mums just want to give their kids the very best,” one reply reads: “If they can afford it, it’s absolutely normal for them to do so.”
By Manya Koetse
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On August 11, nine of China’s biggest entertainment and streaming sites, including iQiyi, Youku, and Tencent video, issued a joint statement on boycotting excessive high wages for actors and actresses.
The statement, titled “Resisting Unreasonable Pays & Rejecting Unhealthy Industry Trends” (‘抑制不合理片酬，抵制行业不正之风’) says that actors and actresses should not get paid more than one million yuan (±US$146,000) per episode and not more than 50 million (±7,3 million US) for an entire drama show or movie.
The relatively high pay of actors and actresses in China, especially in the TV drama industry, has been making headlines for years. Previously, Chinese authorities already sought to rein in high salaries for actors, which can take up a significant percentage of a production’s budget.
In 2016, Beijing Review reported that Chinese stars’ salaries were under fire for being excessively high. At the time, a member of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, Sun Baoshu, stated that since casting takes up such a large part of production funds, producers have to cut budgets for things such as scriptwriting, stage setting, and sound recording. This leads to poorer productions, Sun said, harming the development of China’s entertainment market.
In September of 2017, the China Alliance of Radio, Film, and Television (CARFT), a non-profit organization that works under the government, ordered China’s production agencies to limit the expenses for cast salaries to no more than 40% of the total production costs for online/TV drama series. Within this percentage, the salary of the show’s leading actors reportedly could not exceed 70% of the total salary paid to all actors, arguing that top-earning stars’ high fees are harmful to a ‘healthy development’ of China’s entertainment industry. The same rule was reiterated by the Chinese tax authorities this week.
Today’s statement, for the first time, puts a cap on the fixed amount actors and actresses in the Chinese entertainment can receive per project – not based on percentages of the total budget.
Perhaps not coincidentally, the statement comes at a time when a tax evasion scandal involving China’s highest-paid actress Fan Bingbing is making headlines in China. The actress reportedly received a total payment of 60 million yuan ($9.3 million) for just four days work on the film Cell Phone 2, of which she allegedly only declared 10 million to authorities.
The scandal has attracted a lot of attention on Chinese social media recently, with many bewildered reactions over the exorbitant pays in the entertainment industry.
Posts publishing the boycott statement have gone viral on Weibo this weekend; some received over 58,000 likes per thread, and the hashtag “boycott high pays” (#抵制天价片酬#) was viewed more than 16 million times at time of writing.
The companies signing the statement are:
iQiyi (爱奇艺), also dubbed ‘the Netflix of China’, a leading online entertainment and streaming service.
Youku (优酷), one of the biggest online video companies in China, sometimes referred to as the Chinese YouTube.
Tencent Video (腾讯视频), the hugely popular Chinese video streaming website owned by Tencent.
Daylight Entertainment (正午阳光), one of China’s most respected production companies.
Huace Film & TV Co (华策影视), well-known TV program production and distribution company.
Linmon Pictures (柠萌影业), a Shanghai-based Chinese film & TV producer and distributor.
Ciwen Media Co (慈文传媒), a Beijing-based film and television company.
Youhug Media (耀客传媒),a media and entertainment management company headquartered in Shanghai.
New Classics Media (新丽传媒), a renowned TV content and film producer.
Among the thousands of people responding to the new boycott on Weibo, there are many who find that the maximum pay is still way too high: “A million yuan per episode?! My god!”, many write, with some wondering why actors are making so much more money than doctors and scientists.
Others comment that they think it is funny none of the big actors and actresses on Weibo allegedly have reposted the popular statement.
“I’m supportive of the boycott,” a typical comment read: “These high fees really were an unhealthy tendency.”
Others write: “It’s good! They should have done it years ago.”
By Manya Koetse,
with contributions by Miranda Barnes.
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Over the past two weeks, the hashtag “Still Go and Wear Your Miniskirt” (#小裙子 你尽管去穿#) has received almost 20 million views on Sina Weibo.
The phrase became popular on Chinese social media after a published statement from the Shenzhen Public Safety Office in early August on its public WeChat account, in which they made clear: “Go and wear your beautiful miniskirts! Perverts, we will catch you!” (“世上好看的小裙子，你尽管去穿！地铁上的色狼，我们来抓!”)
Since late June of this year, Shenzhen’s local public security office has initiated a crackdown on sexual harassment in public transport. In a period of 4-5 weeks, they have succeeded in arresting 29 suspects for indecent behavior, of which 20 were arrested on the spot by plainclothes officers surveilling the subway.
Sexual harassment on China’s subways is a long-standing problem, especially during the rush hours when people are squeezed together on the trains.
Men secretly filming under women’s skirts has also become a specific problem since the rising popularity of smartphones in China. Every year before summer, social media users warn each other to be extra vigilant when wearing skirts in public transport or on escalators, because offenders find creative ways to get some under-skirt footage.
These problems even led to the introduction of China’s first women-only subway cars in 2017. Many social media commenters at the time, however, did not see the segregation of male and female passengers as a solution to the problem.
An online poll at the time showed that 59.7% of respondents opposed the measure, saying it opposed gender equality and even calling it a form of sex-based discrimination.
The crackdown on sex offenders on China’s subways appears to receive more support on Chinese social media.
“[This is] a direct rebuttal of the traditional idea that the burden should be placed on women to protect themselves.”
Chinese state media outlet Xinhua called the Shenzhen police statement a “direct rebuttal of the traditional idea that the burden should be placed on women to protect themselves.”
Author Linzi Lu (林子璐) writes: “In the past, after sexual misconduct, indecent behavior or assault took place, some safe travel reminders to the public would warn women not to travel alone at night or not to wear revealing clothing,” describing how these reminders, although supposedly well-intended, place the responsibility on women to take care of their own security, instead of focusing on the offenders who put their safety at risk.
Lu further adds that the efforts of the Shenzhen public security team are a valuable learning example for others, breaking with old ideas about victim blaming (受害者有罪论).
In 2016, a brutal assault on a woman at a Beijing hotel sent shock waves through the country as the attack was captured on security cameras and showed that bystanders did not intervene to help the victim. In response, state media spread infosheets on Weibo telling women not to go out “alone in dark streets” and not to open the door for strangers.
In Europe, a similar response from authorities triggered controversy when the mayor of Cologne warned women to “keep men at arm’s length” to prevent sexual assault, after scores of women were sexually abused and mugged in the city during new year celebrations.
“Isn’t it the job of the police to make sure we [women] can safely go out?” one netizen responded at the time.
“I’m rooting for Shenzhen police, even if I don’t wear miniskirts myself!”
By now, the Shenzhen “miniskirt campaign” has received the praise of thousands of netizens on Weibo. One person (@潇洒帅气刘栋琛) wrote: “The distorted idea that women attract being assaulted because of what they wear should not become an established idea, nor should it be propagated. Let’s go by the law and catch the perverts, building on a safe and harmonious society.”
“I’m rooting for Shenzhen police, even if I don’t wear miniskirts myself!”, another commenter wrote.
“I am almost moved to tears by this [Shenzhen police] statement,” another female Weibo user said, receiving over 50,000 likes.
Other female social media users wrote: “Through this campaign, all women can feel safer. It’s not us who make the bad people bad, it’s in the nature of those people.”
A male commenter said: “Both men and women should be able to wear whatever style of clothes they want to wear. It’s a shameful rhetoric to say that someone, who is fully innocent, can ‘provoke’ those who are obscene.”
On Twitter, the well-known Shenzhen tech maker Naomi Wu (@realsexycyborg) showed some pride in the recent measures by local authorities, writing: “We’re a bit different than other cities 👮♀️💪” (see embedded tweet below).
Shenzhen police were pretty clear during a recent crackdown: “Wear your beautiful little mini-skirts- we’ll catch the perverts!” and were very specific that women should be able to wear what they liked👮♀️💪
But we’re a bit different than other cities.https://t.co/eEQUTuUYAM https://t.co/455gQVYm4k
— Naomi Wu 机械妖姬 (@RealSexyCyborg) 16 augustus 2018
This summer, Shenzhen is not the only city cracking down on sex offenders on public transport. Among other cities, Beijing also has an active team of plainclothes police officers who patrol the subway network each day to prevent the sexual assault or harassment of women.
Through the official Shenzhen police Weibo account (@深圳公安), the Shenzhen team stated that they were happy about the attention their crackdown campaign has received online: “We’ve hit the top-trending search lists,” they wrote: “It’s a bit overwhelming. But we will keep on doing what we do!”
By Manya Koetse
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This week, the skyrocketing rent prices in Beijing are a big topic of discussion in local (social) media. For the Beijinger, What’s on Weibo wraps up the top three trending topics of China’s capital.
Read our column, which also discusses disappearing bike shares and a crackdown on sexual assault in public transport, here.
Last week’s column on the (failed) P2P protests in Beijing, dogs being purposely poisoned in the city, and an online search for an Olympic migrant worker, can be viewed here.
By Manya Koetse
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Chinese logistics and delivery company “58 Transport” (58 Suyun/58速运) recently changed its name to “Fast Dog Drivers” or “Fast Dog Pickup [Service]” (loose translation of Kuài gǒu dǎchē 快狗打车), but workers are not happy about the name change.
A Chinese media news report (video) shows how workers in Zhengzhou have gathered at the office to express their anger about the name change. (Video also on Youtube here).
Many drivers feel the name has a double meaning, implying that either the drivers themselves are ‘dogs’ or that the people they serve are ‘dogs,’ or that they are actually picking up dogs.
‘Dog’ in Chinese (狗 gŏu) can be used as an insult, meaning ‘damned’ or ‘cursed.’ The words gǒudàn (狗蛋, lit. ‘dog egg’) or gǒuzǎizi (狗崽子, lit. ‘dog bastard’), for example, can be translated as ‘loser’ or ‘son of a b*tch.’
But ‘dog’ also pops up in many other vulgar or derogatory terms. Gǒupì (狗屁, lit. ‘dog fart’) meaning ‘bullsh*t’ and gǒurì (狗日) meaning ‘lousy.’
Many Chinese (negative) idioms also use the word ‘dog.’ Gǒu yǎn kàn rén dī (狗眼看人低, lit. ‘dog-eye-look-people-down’）means ‘to act like a snob.’ Or gòu gǎi bù liǎo chī shǐ (狗改不了吃屎), literally ‘a dog can’t stop himself from eating shit,’ meaning ‘bad habits are hard to change.’
Some employees at the “Fast Dog Drivers” are afraid their new name might get in trouble, and refuse to have the new name sign on their minivans, asking: “Why can’t the main company just change its name, and let us carry the old name on our vans?”
The new Fast Dog sign on a delivery van.
Some drivers have even put up signs on their van, saying: “We are respectful! We are no ‘dogs’!”
One employee speaking to reporters (video) said: “If I call up a customer, am I supposed to say, ‘Hello, this is ‘Fast Dog’ [‘fast bastard’] speaking? I can’t say that! I’d be scolding myself and the company!”
“Hello this is Fast Dog speaking, I can’t say that!”
The employee further tells reporters: “Our company told us that JD.com also has a dog in its logo, yeah, but their name is still JD.com!” He says: “Just look at Tmall [e-commerce site 天猫 lit. ‘day cat’], they have a ‘cat’ [in their name] and that’s not insulting. Nobody uses ‘cat’ as a bad word, now do they, telling someone they’re a ‘cat’ doesn’t do anything, now does it?”
E-commerce companies JD.com uses a dog in its logo, whereas Tmall uses a cat in both logo and Chinese name.
On Weibo, news about the name change is also causing some surprise: “Is this for real?”, some say: “This name is so undignified!”
The name change surely is for real; ’58 Transport’ has also changed its Weibo account to ‘Fast Dog Drivers’ (@快狗打车官方微博). But the name introduction on its Weibo page has also attracted some dozen reactions saying: “Are your drivers ‘dogs’ [‘damned’]?”
Some people, however, mention the fact that one of China’s biggest search engines also has a ‘dog’ in it: Sougou (搜狗) literally means ‘searching dog.’
’58 Transport’ or ‘Fast Dog Drivers’ is a company that operates in more than 25 major cities across China. It offers services in picking up goods, moving services, and other transport services, and especially stresses the speed of delivery and quality customer services as its main company strengths.
For now, according to reports, the workers in Zhengzhou do not need to put the new name on their minivans – if they do not have them yet – until the headquarters release instructions about the future marketing strategy of the ‘Fast Dog’ company.
By Manya Koetse
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Mimi Zhang (aka Mizi Jun 密子君) has over seven million fans on her Weibo page. She regularly hits the top trending lists on Chinese social media, and even has her own online fanclubs.
Unlike previous rising Chinese social media stars such as Papi Jiang, the 26-year-old Mimi from Chongqing did not become an online celebrity because of her comic skills or acting talent, nor for her singing voice or dance moves. Mimi Zhang became famous for eating 8 lb (4 kg) of rice in one sitting, during an eating challenge in 2016.
Mimi eating 8lb (4 kg) of rice in one sitting.
By now, Mimi is one of China’s most successful ‘Eating Broadcasting’ hosts. Also called ‘Big Stomach Star Eating Livestream’ (大胃王吃播) or ‘Livestream Eating Vlogging’ (吃播女博主) in China, it is an online video genre in which hosts will consume extremely large amounts of food.
BJ The Diva during one of her livestreams.
In South Korea, it is known as the ‘mukbang‘ phenomenon, and the craze started there some years earlier, peaking in 2016. ‘Eating Broadcasting’ stars such as Kinoshita Yuka (video) and BJ The Diva (video) already had their moments of fame on the internet in South Korea, Japan, and beyond, but the genre only recently has become a real hype on Chinese social media.
Looking at the number of views and subscribers from YouTube to Twitch, or on platforms such as Kuaishou or Douyin, the ‘Eating Broadcasting’ genre obviously has millions of fans worldwide.
This online movement is innocuous in many ways. According to experts, people enjoy watching others eat because they feel a social connection, or want to stimulate their own appetite – it is one of the reasons why the craze is also dubbed ‘social eating.’
For many, the genre is simply entertaining; hosts often eat unconventional dishes, they are descriptive with taste, play around with their expressions, take on challenges, talk, and make funny sounds while eating.
Chinese food vlogger Duoyi (大胃王朵一) eats some skewers…
But what if ‘social eating’ becomes ‘binge eating’? How harmless is the genre if it shows skinny women eating excessive amounts of food, inadvertently promoting unhealthy eating habits and unrealistic standards?
Extreme binging on camera: eating noodles- not from a bowl, but from the back of a delivery car.
Along with Mimi Zhang, ‘Big Stomach Mini'(@大胃mini) is one other among many Chinese livestreamers that has achieved online stardom by eating large amounts of food. The 24-year-old reportedly is 1,70 m. tall and only weights 47 kilograms (103lbs), yet recently managed to eat a staggering 17 kg (35 pounds) of meat (video).
‘Big Stomach Mimi’
More and more, netizens are starting to connect these live-streamers to a habit of purging. Ongoing rumors suggest a supposed connection between binge streaming and vomiting.
Recently, various accounts claimed that Mimi Zhang used to have an account (using the name ‘Little Mi 360’ 小密360) on an online forum where people, mainly women, encourage each other to binge and purge.
China’s so-called “Vomit Bars” (催吐吧), online forums focused on binging and purging, have formed a hidden community on Chinese internet for years.
The phenomenon already came to light in 2012, and started to receive news media attention within China in 2015 and 2016. Most of the bigger online forums got shut down in 2017, however, after rumors circulated that a member of a ‘Vomit Bar’ had reached such a low weight that her organs failed and she passed away.
Example post from a ‘vomit bar’: 158 cm tall and 37 kg weight, but still wanting to lose.
Nevertheless, the online community consists of thousands of people, mainly women aged 14-40. A previously well-known forum on Baidu (now shutdown) had around 50,000 members called ‘rabbits’ (兔子) and over 5,5 million posts.
A “Vomit Bar” forum.
Since then, there are still some scattered forums, and a special Android app called ‘Meet Like Rabbits’ (相识于吐), where users can share their experiences and tips on message boards. On WeChat’s group chats, members of the community have more freedom to talk in private with less risk of being shut down.
The app for online purging community.
Members of the online ‘purging community’ are called ‘rabbits’ since the Chinese word for rabbit, tuzi (兔子), sounds similar to the word for ‘purging’ (tu 吐), and also because they eat all day, just like rabbits.
The main goal of these online forums is to share tips and tricks on how to lose weight by purging, while still binging on food. People also post photos of their binges or body, and share their hopes and fears in losing weight. “The way it is now, I could maintain a weight of around 46 kilograms,” one ‘rabbit’ writes: “I think it’s fat. My heart is filled with panic. I can only vomit.”
Netizens taking part in the ‘vomit bar’ community sharing photos of their binge food.
Newcomers ask others about best ways to vomit, and some people who say they’ve been binging and purging for years share experiences about their painful stomach and tooth decay.
Doctor Ma Yongchun (马永春) from Zhejiang Tongde Hospital since long has been warning people that these kind of online forums are harmful. She told iFeng news that the so-called ‘rabbits’ get caught up in a vicious cycle of binging and purging, and in doing so are developing serious eating disorders that can become life-threatening.
The Chinese ‘rabbit’ community could perhaps be compared to the Western ‘pro-ana‘ phenomenon, an online movement where people promote the behavior related to the eating disorder anorexia nervosa.
But there is one major difference; the ‘pro-ana’ community is connected to the term ‘anorexia’, suggesting that users of such forums are somewhat aware their behaviors are a sign of an actual eating disorder.
In these Chinese online communities, however, there seems to be a lesser acknowledgment that the cycle of binging and purging is one that belongs in the realm of a psychological disorder. Although people do complain that they feel they can no longer stop their irregular eating pattern, they talk more about their stomach aches and ulcers than they actually talk about suffering from an eating disorder.
This perhaps relates to the fact that there is little general awareness about eating disorders (ED) in China. Although there are no official statistics on the occurrence of bulimia, anorexia, or other ED in China, previous studies have found levels similar to Western countries (Tong et al 2014).
What various studies over the past years have also established is that there are major differences between Western countries and China in how eating disorders manifest themselves, suggesting they are not culture-bound but culture-reactive (Getz 2014, 749; Pike & Dunne 2015).
Because EDs are (1) traditionally conceptualized as a “Western mental health issue,” because (2) there is a social stigma attached to mental health issues in general in Chinese society, because (3) there is little general awareness on EDs, because (4) there is a lack in Chinese healthcare facilities specialized in EDs, and because of (5) various cultural factors (e.g. a very strong food culture), Chinese patients are more prone to talk about their problems in the form of somatic symptoms such as an extreme (dis)taste for food or abdominal problems, than in the form of a psychological problem (Getz 2014, 746-750).
Recently, Chinese media slowly seem to be promoting more awareness on eating disorders. The American video “I became Anorexic for Instagram” has gone viral on Chinese social media over the past month, as it was posted by various state media channels on Weibo.
Among thousands of reactions, many said: “It seems that this kind of disease doesn’t occur much in China – we have too many tasty food!” Others said: “I want to lose weight too – I want an eating disorder like this!”
But there are also more and more people who are tying the rise of China’s online unhealthy eating trends to more serious issues. “These girls who eat so much [on camera] do not just have big stomachs, they actually puke in order to eat so much. I don’t find it entertaining to watch them anymore,” one netizen (@有兔劳劳) says.
“I now find it sad to watch these ‘big stomach stars’ (大胃王),” another person says: “They definitely vomit – it’s impossible for one person’s stomach to hold so much food.”
“What’s up with all these ‘big stomach stars’ recently? It’s not something they were born with, or something they were trained in doing; they are like those ‘rabbits’ and it is a disease, it’s bulimic. I don’t want to support them anymore by watching how they harm themselves,” another commenter writes.
Meanwhile, China’s binge-eating online stars seem to be unaffected by the online rumors that connect them to unhealthy trends and eating disorders.
This week, Mimi Zhang has posted her latest video in which she finishes a total of 15 desserts, while ‘Big Stomach Mini’ has posted a new video in which she eats, amongst others, 250 skewers of meat.
For some commenters, there is no issue at all: “She just has a great appetite.”
Are you suffering from an eating disorder and need help? For information on eating disorders and how to help if you are worried about someone, Beat (UK) or ANAD (US) has advice for sufferers, friends and family.
By Manya Koetse
Follow @whatsonweibo
References (online references linked to in text)
Getz, M.J. 2014. “The Myth of Chinese Barbies: Eating Disorders in China including Hong Kong.” Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing 21: 746-754.
Pike, Kathleen M., and Patricia E. Dunne. 2015. “The Rise of Eating Disorders in Asia: a Review.” Journal of Eating Disorders 3:33. Available online https://jeatdisord.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40337-015-0070-2 [17.1.18].
Tong, J., Miao, S., Wang, J. et al. 2014. “A Two-stage Epidemiologic Study on Prevalence of Eating Disorders in Female University Students in Wuhan, China.” Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology 49(3): 499-505.
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Some shocking footage is making its rounds on WeChat (video link, viewer discretion advised), after a car rampage and stabbing took place in the city of Liuzhou earlier today.
The incident occurred around 11 in the morning (local time) at the Wenchang Bridge (文昌大桥) in Liuzhou, Guangxi province, when a man driving a black Toyota crashed his car into more than ten electric bikes on the offside lane on the motorway, injuring many people [number still unknown].
According to eyewitness accounts, the driver got out of his car after crashing into the vehicles and started stabbing people.
The footage that is circulating on Weibo and Wechat shows the shocking situation at the scene of the incident shortly after it occurred. It shows how some people, some already beyond rescue, are lying on the street, part of vehicles and electric bikes scattered around the scene (warning for very graphic footage posted by Sina News).
Chinese media report that two people have died due to their injuries.
The suspect, a 54-year-old from Xiangzhou county in Laibin, has now been arrested. The case is still being investigated by police, but several reports suggest the suspect is “emotionally conflicted.”
Another video of the scene and the arrest was published on Weibo by Qihuan Video here (video by The Paper).
On Weibo, some people complain about the little information provided on the incident by police and media. “Lately, this kind of news reporting has no head and no tail,” one person says.
There are also rumors going around about the context of the incident: “I’ll give you more background info,” one person from Liuzhou writes: “This happened near to where I work. This man was caught up in family issues, and first stabbed four people in one place and then went on to drive to the bridge where he crashed into people with his car. He rampaged the entire bridge, then got out of his car and stabbed into people. I’m so shocked. I’m so happy I left there early. The bridge is now closed off. They already got him. It seems he didn’t want to live. He also did not resist.”
This netizen’s report has not been confirmed by authorites. Rumors suggesting that some of the victims are the suspect’s own family members have also not been confirmed at time of writing.
This story will be updated if more information comes out.
By Manya Koetse
Follow @whatsonweibo
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The post Shocking Liuzhou Car Rampage and Stabbing Leaves Two Dead appeared first on What's on Weibo.
