Featured

Defying Spinster Stereotypes: Why Chinese Unmarried Women are Rooting for Actress Faye Yu

Chinese actress Faye Yu has become a social media hit because of her views on love and marriage.

Published

8 years ago

June 24, 2018

The unconventional attitudes on love & marriage of the unmarried 47-year-old actress Faye Yu have taken Chinese social media by storm. In a society where women are facing real pressures to get married, many welcome Yu’s refreshing perspectives.

With contributions from Miranda Barnes.

Chinese actress Yu Feihong (俞飞鸿, born 1971), also known as Faye Yu, has recently become a big topic of discussion on Chinese social media for her refreshing perspective on…

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Manya Koetse

Manya Koetse is a sinologist, writer, and public speaker specializing in China’s social trends, digital culture, and online media ecosystems. She founded What’s on Weibo in 2013 and now runs the Eye on Digital China newsletter. Learn more at manyakoetse.com or follow her on X, Instagram, or LinkedIn.

2 Comments

LGBTspreadAIDS

June 24, 2018 at 7:38 am

she is probably LGBT and drinks from the furry cup.

Reply
Xavier

August 4, 2018 at 2:40 am

@LGBTspreadAIDS

How in the world does not wanting to get married have anything to do with LGBT? I frankly don’t care about getting married and I’m totally straight. So what’s your point?

Reply

Chapter Dive

From “Pure Love Warrior” to Political Victim: Jensen Huang’s Fall on Chinese Social Media

On Chinese social media, the Jensen Huang scandal shifted from how he wronged his family to how he came to be seen as a victim of Washington power struggles and anti-Asian sentiment.

Published

9 hours ago

November 14, 2026

Manya Koetse

Originally published in the Eye on Digital China newsletter on Saturday, November 14, 2026.
Subscribe now and get the next one in your inbox (Prefer Substack? Find me there.).

In one week, at least 242 hashtags about the Jensen Huang scandal trended across China’s social media platforms. The conversation began with a cheating scandal. After Huang stepped down as Nvidia CEO, it turned into a debate over US–China tech rivalry and what it means to be a Chinese face in American tech.

What a week it has been. Earlier this year, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang went completely viral in China for his surprise appearance at the Xi–Trump summit in Beijing and for casually enjoying noodles in the hutongs. That almost feels like a lifetime ago now that Huang is at the center of this unprecedented backlash.

As I started writing about Chinese responses to Jensen Huang’s explosive mea culpa letter following reports of a relationship with former Megaspeed tech executive Alice Huang,^[1] new reports of a second and third affair with Nvidia employees quickly followed. Then Huang resigned as CEO of Nvidia, the world’s leading AI chipmaker. This newsletter therefore comes later than I planned—but that may actually be a good thing, as it’s allowed me to track how the conversation evolved during the week.

While the main storyline in the West was all about a Chinese female spy infiltrating the most powerful US chip company and a tech billionaire whose affair raised national security concerns, the main narratives in China largely dismissed the spy angle as an anti-China smear and focused on completely different aspects of the scandal.

From November 8–14, at least 242 different hashtags about the Jensen Huang/Nvidia scandal trended across China’s most popular social media platforms, with at least ten reaching No. 1 on the trending charts.

While the initial focus was on Huang’s infidelity to his family, there was a clear shift in social sentiment on Chinese social media after he announced his resignation as Nvidia CEO on November 12.

Meanwhile, there has also been some online censorship of the story.

China Trend Watch

China Trend Watch: Digital Dementia and Why Everyone Says ‘Li Na’

In this edition: Why Chinese netizens are talking about “digital dementia,” a viral Shenyang cleaner, the tragic Yading hike, and the reality TV meme taking over everyone’s feed.

Published

6 days ago

November 8, 2026

Manya Koetse

Originally published in the Eye on Digital China newsletter on Sunday, November 8, 2026.

Welcome back to China Trend Watch, my regular tour through the latest trends, memes, and debates driving conversation across Chinese social media. After a few deeper dives in the previous newsletters, I’d like to give you a quicker roundup of what’s been happening this time as we kick off the new week.

In this edition:

⚡ Lighter scrolls:A viral…