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Chinese Netizens on Lady Gaga: “You Can’t Blame the Ignorant”

The recent meeting between popular singer Lady Gaga and the Dalai Lama led to much international media coverage on the negative reactions from Chinese fans. Although some netizens express their anger with Gaga, there are many who say Chinese people can’t blame her “ignorance”.

Manya Koetse

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The recent meeting between popular singer Lady Gaga and the Dalai Lama led to much international media coverage on the negative reactions from Chinese fans. Although some netizens express their anger with Gaga, there are many who say Chinese people can’t blame her “ignorance”.

Although most news about the Dalai Lama is usually censored on Chinese (social) media, the recent meeting between the Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama (达赖喇嘛) and American pop star Lady Gaga (嘎嘎小姐/女神卡卡) has become a much-talked about topic on Sina Weibo.

According to the official website of the Dalai Lama, his meeting with Lady Gaga took place during a US Conference of Mayors in Indianapolis, Indiana, on June 26. Lady Gaga reportedly interviewed the Dalai Lama for her Facebook live broadcast.

After meeting with the Dalai Lama, Lady Gaga posted on social media: “Thank you for this special day. Science tells us kindness improves health, let’s take care of the body of our nation.”

gaga

The Dalai Lama is a sensitive issue on China’s social media. After the spiritual leader fled Tibet into exile in India in 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule, Beijing regards him as a separatist. Last year, a senior Communist Party official warned Tibetan cadres to “remain vigilant” of “separatist motives” of the Dalai Lama, SCMP reported.

Creative ways to refer to the Dalai Lama used by Chinese netizens to circumvent censorship include those that only use part of his name or who simply name him ‘DA’,’DL’, or ‘DA Lai Lama’ (Da赖喇嘛).

Although some English media sources claimed any mention of ‘Lady Gaga’ was now blocked from social media in China, the popular singer was still a topic of discussion on China’s Sina Weibo throughout June 28 and 29 – with some messages disappearing not long after they were posted.

Many netizens say that “Lady Gaga has officially left the Chinese market,” waving her goodbye with laughing emoticons: “She is no longer our idol – if she wants to know why, we can explain.”

dl

“If you do stupid things, you’ll have to pay the price,” media site Purple Web writes on its Weibo account.

Many international media reported that Lady Gaga has been officially “banned” from China, based on reports by The Guardian and Hong Kong newspaper Apple Daily. Chinese state media did not report an official ban of Lady Gaga.

One Weibo netizen named Tomie wrote about the meeting:

“Before when I traveled to the United States, I visited an elementary school and saw a poster of the Dalai Lama there, together with those of other great persons such as Gandhi, Marie Curie, and even Confucius. They were up there together, and above it said “Love and Peace”. In front of the Philadelphia Independence Hall, there are many photos of celebrities who took a photo there, including the Dalai Lama.

I was flabbergastered to see this, and then slowly started to understand that the Dalai Lama is a celebrity in the eyes of foreigners; he is the embodiment of love and peace to them. He’s also the chicken soup leader (鸡汤教主) on Facebook and Twitter. Furthermore, the vast majority of foreigners have a very muddled understanding of China’s modern history besides what they know of Chairman Mao, the Taiwan issue, or the Tibetan and East Turkistan separatist problems. They do not understand the significance of this history to us, just as we don’t understand what their history means to them. Also, this is linked to the fact that the majority of foreigners have freedom of speech and do not accept any control over what they say or do.

So when celebrities shake hands with the Dalai Lama and pose for a picture with them, they will be framed in the same “love and peace” cadre as him. And our voices opposing this will only make him look more like an “innocent” old man that is verbally attacked by us in their eyes – they will even defend him.

We often say that you can’t blame people for being ignorant, and this is the case here.

I studied in Australia before, but I always loved my country. I refused to make friends with Taiwanese students in favor of Taiwanese independence. On Facebook, I condemn Taiwanese Independence, and I’ve also condemned the British Virgin Atlantic Airways event [link]. I think it is worth it, and it is what I should do. But in this case, I think I have the right to say no: I will not keep changing my favorite singers all my life when they meet with the Dalai Lama just because they don’t know any better.

I am writing this just because I wanted to tell you – do not go along with the same vision of hatred and hostility to the people. After all, all great developments start with tolerance.”

Many other netizens share the view of this Weibo blogger, saying: “She can meet whoever she wants – it is her freedom.”

One other Weibo user writes: “China has always shut her out anyway, so she actually has no obligations to take the feelings of her Chinese fans into account…” Lady Gaga songs were previously censored in China for being “vulgar”.

The same Weibo user named Tomie also confirms this: “Lady Gaga has stopped caring about China for a long time, because her concerts here were repeatedly refused, her songs are illegally downloaded, her interviews are prohibited to be broadcasted. She can do whatever she wants – it’s not our business what she does.”

Others also say that Lady Gaga cannot be blamed for being “ignorant”: “I am Chinese and to this day I still unsure what the deal is with the Dalai Lama, all I vaguely know about is from some junior high school textbook – so how can you expect foreigners to understand these political disputes? If you’re all so clever, then tell me, isn’t the Dalai Lama a Buddhist fellow? And for the rest..?”

Another Weibo user also said: “In fact, foreign media are mostly positive about the Dalai Lama, with many distinguished celebrities wanting to befriend him.” “If we would shut out Lady Gaga because of this,” another person adds: “then wouldn’t the people we shut out become a bit much?” Throughout the years, the Dalai Lama has met with many politicians and celebrities, from Bono and President Obama to British Prime minister Cameron, from Russel Brand and the Clintons to Chancellor Merkel.

“We need to divide politics from idols,” one netizen argues: “For example, I really like Japanese style, but I oppose their political stance.”

Other netizens just do not see what all the fuss is about. “If I had the opportunity, I’d also wanna meet him!”, one Weibo user says: “What’s the problem?!”

– By Manya Koetse

©2016 Whatsonweibo. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce our content without permission – you can contact us at info@whatsonweibo.com.

Manya Koetse is the founder and editor-in-chief of whatsonweibo.com. She is a writer, public speaker, and researcher (Sinologist, MPhil) on social trends, digital developments, and new media in an ever-changing China, with a focus on Chinese society, pop culture, and gender issues. She shares her love for hotpot on hotpotambassador.com. Contact at manya@whatsonweibo.com, or follow on Twitter.

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China Celebs

Hong Kong Police Find Head of Murdered Model Abby Choi in Soup Pot

“Reality is more gruesome than fiction,” some commenters wrote on Weibo, where the Abby Choi murder case has drawn wide attention.

Manya Koetse

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The gruesome murder of the 28-year-old Hong Kong socialite and model Cai Tianfeng (蔡天鳳), better known as Abby Choi, has been all the talk on Chinese social media this week.

The Hong Kong influencer went missing on Tuesday. Just a week ago, Choi was featured on the cover of the magazine L’Officiel Monaco.

On Saturday, South China Morning Post and Hong Kong Free Press reported that Choi’s partial remains, including her dismembered legs, were found cooked and stored inside the freezer at a village house and that four people had been arrested for murder.

The village house at Lung Mei Tsuen in Tai Po was allegedly set up as a “butchery site” equipped with a choppers, hammer, an electric saw and a meat grinder that had been used to mince human flesh.

Choi was entangled in a financial dispute with her ex-husband’s family over luxury property in Hong Kong’s Kadoori Hill. The persons arrested in relation to her murder are her ex-husband named Alex Kwong, his elder brother, his mother and his father, who reportedly is a retired police officer.

Abby Choi and Alex Kwong had two children together, a daughter and a son.

Cho was last seen in Fo Chun Road in Tai Po on Tuesday afternoon. CCTV footage captured her before she went missing. Choi was supposed to pick her daughter up on Tuesday together with Kwong’s elder brother, who drove her. She was reported missing after she did not show up to collect her daughter.

While earlier media articles reported that some of Choi’s remains had still not been found, news came out on Sunday that the decapitated head had been found in a soup pot. Seeing over 300 million views, the topic went trending on Weibo (#蔡天凤头颅在一大汤煲中找到#), where many people have closely been following the latest developments in the case. Later on Sunday night, the topic hashtag was taken offline.

Local police disclosed that the head remained “intact” although it is believed that someone tried to “smash” it. Some of Choi’s ribs were also found.

“Reality is more gruelsome than fiction,” some top comments said. “What a terrifying family,” others wrote, calling them “inhuman” and “devilish.”

Another topic related to the case also went trending on Sunday, namely that Choi’s ex-husband and his family allegedly had been planning the murder for a month (#蔡天凤前夫家1个月前开始布局#, 180 million views).

Some Weibo bloggers said the case reminded them of another well-known and gruesome Hong Kong murder case, namely the 2013 murder of Glory Chau and Moon Siu. At age 63, the couple was murdered by their own 28-year-old son Henry Chau Hoi-leung and his friend. After killing them, the two chopped up Chau’s and Siu’s bodies and cooked their remains and stored them inside the refrigerator. The 2022 crime film The Sparring Partner (正義迴廊) was based on this story.

About the Kwong family, some Weibo users write: “Too bad that Hong Kong law does not have the death penalty.” Capital punishment in Hong Kong was formally abolished in 1993.

By Manya Koetse 

 

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©2023 Whatsonweibo. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce our content without permission – you can contact us at info@whatsonweibo.com.

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China Arts & Entertainment

South Korean Actor Yoo Ah-in Dropped as Brand Ambassador in China after Propofol Scandal

The current drug scandal involving Yoo Ah-in also has consequences for the South Korean actor’s activities in China.

Manya Koetse

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The South Korean actor Yoo Ah-in (刘亚仁) has become a trending topic on Chinese social media for getting caught up in a drugs scandal in his home country.

Yoo Ah-in (1986) is an award-winning actor who is known for starring in various well-known dramas and renowned movies, such as Voice of Silence, Burning, and Hellbound.

Yoo is currently being investigated for alleged illegal, habitual use of the anesthetic drug propofol and has been banned from overseas travel.

On Thursday, the hashtag “Yoo Ah-in Admits to Using Drugs” (#刘亚仁确认吸毒#) received over 310 million views on Weibo, where several accounts reported that Yoo allegedly started using propofol in 2021.

Yoo issued a statement via his management, saying he is cooperating with the police in the investigation. He also apologized for causing concern among his fans and followers.

The drug scandal also has consequences for the actor’s activities in China. Liu was the brand ambassador for the Chinese men’s clothing brand Croquis (速写), but Croquis immediately removed him as their representative after the scandal.

Croquis issued a statement saying the company has been closely following the latest developments regarding the investigation into the actor’s alleged drugs use, and stated that they have “zero tolerance” when it comes to drug use and therefore would temporarily take all content offline in which Yoo represents their brand.

South Korean media reported on Feb. 9 that Yoo is among a group of 51 people that is part of an illegal drug use investigation initiated by the Food and Drug Administration, which found that Yoo went doctor hopping and “hospital shopping” to obtain multiple prescriptions.

Propofol is a sedative that is widely used by anesthetists for the induction and maintenance of general anesthesia and for long-term sedation. Over recent years, the abuse of propofol in South Korea has been getting more media attention.

Although propofol is classified as a controlled substance in South Korea since 2011, the recreational use of the drugs has been a problem and various celebrities have previously been charged for illegally using the drugs.

On Weibo, some people say that there indeed should be “zero tolerance” for drug abuse among celebrities and artists, but there are also those who think Yoo Ah-in’s drug abuse is a result of his alleged (mental) health problems, and that he needs help instead of punishment.

By Manya Koetse 

 

Get the story behind the hashtag. Subscribe to What’s on Weibo here to receive our newsletter and get access to our latest articles:

Spotted a mistake or want to add something? Please let us know in comments below or email us. First-time commenters, please be patient – we will have to manually approve your comment before it appears.

©2023 Whatsonweibo. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce our content without permission – you can contact us at info@whatsonweibo.com.

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