🔥 China Trend Watch — Week 48–49 (2025)
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Welcome to another edition of the China Trend Watch Eye on Digital China newsletter. I have been typing this newsletter from my phone and a tiny tablet on the trains from Chongqing to Wuhan and Wuhan to Nanjing, unfortunately tucked in the middle seat (that place where elbows suddenly become such inconvenient body parts), so please bear with me if spotting any inconsistensies or if the images don’t line up.

Chongqing has been a unique experience — a city in China that has been on my to-visit list for years. Its “cyberpunk” reputation doesn’t really do it justice. There’s this beautiful tension between its old history (century-old stairs, wartime tunnels) and the full speed of the future (neon lights, incredible skyscrapers), with the streets actually smelling like hotpot – such a special mix (or is that, perhaps, just what cyberpunk actually is?!).

Photos by me: View over Chongqing’s Shibati area, and toymachines in a wartime bomb shelter near Libazi.

This time, it was the city’s WWII history that finally pushed me to visit, as I’m on a research trip through several major cities that played important roles in China during the Second Sino-Japanese War — a topic that has become increasingly relevant over the past few months. I’ve already visited some fascinating places, from the former residence of General Stilwell to Chiang Kai-shek’s air-raid shelters and wartime military headquarters. Today I’ll be heading to some war-related museums in Nanjing. More on that later.

I will get back into my normal routine next week when I return from travels.

Let’s dive in.

• 🇨🇳 The 2025 Mnet Asian Music Awards (MAMA), one of the biggest K-pop award shows, sparked online backlash this week after netizens discovered that the event’s voting interface listed Hong Kong and Taiwan as separate countries in its selection menu. Seen as violating the ‘One China’ principle, netizens criticized MAMA for being disrespectful to China (meanwhile, the event was actually held in Hong Kong).
• 💰 As part of a national childcare subsidy plan announced earlier this year (initiated to boost China’s dropping birth rates and support low-income families), parents across the country are now receiving their initial 3,600 yuan ($508) payouts (per child aged 0–3 per year), creating an online buzz and reminding other parents to apply if they haven’t yet.
• 👀 Move over 5G…the 6G era is nearing! China has completed its first real-world testing trial of 6G applications. Being 100x faster than 5G, it’s the future mobile standard. Commercial use is planned for 2030.
• 🎬 Zootopia 2 is everywhere right now and has broken records in China with a US$267 million box office in 5 days. But despite its success there’s also been some backlash over the decision to cast celebrity actors for the main characters in the Chinese version instead of professional voice actors. Fans of the movie felt the performances were subpar, leading fans of the celebrities to defend them.
• 🚹 The 57-year-old Chinese actor and singer Sun Hao (孙浩) made headlines this week, and not for his latest work — but for getting caught urinating in public after a dinner with friends. The incident has triggered discussions about how (un)acceptable it is to pee on the street, and how celebrities should set the right example.
• 🛸 Blending classic Chinese humor with sci-fi elements, the new Chinese urban comedy Sarcastic Family (毒舌舌家) has become an online hit. The comedy is about a mother and daughter from another galaxy who become an unconventional family on planet Earth when the daughter marries a Chinese man, joined in a household by his father and her own outer-space mom.

1. The Hong Kong Wang Fuk Court Fire

The catastrophic residential fire at Hong Kong’s Wang Fuk Court in the city’s Tai Po district (香港大埔) has become the deadliest blaze in Hong Kong in 80 years.

The fire, which broke out on Wednesday at 14:51 local time, spread so quickly that it soon covered a total of seven residential towers. Initially, news came out that the fire had killed at least 13 and injured 28, but the figures soon kept rising. At the time of writing, the official death toll is 151, with 30 people still missing. A total of eleven people have now been arrested in relation to the fire, including two directors of the consultancy firm in charge of the renovation project that was taking place at Wang Fuk Court.

On Chinese social media, the fire has been top-trending news for days. One major point of discussion has been how the fire could have spread so rapidly; what started as a smaller blaze turned into an inferno within minutes. As part of exterior maintenance work, the buildings were covered in bamboo scaffolding and protective netting. Dry weather and strong winds contributed to the rapid spread. Residents said they had repeatedly seen construction workers smoking at the site.

Online conversations initially focused on the bamboo scaffolding, which is traditionally used in construction in Hong Kong for its flexibility and fire resistance. Soon, conversations shifted, blaming the flammable material used in the netting, as well as the styrofoam insulation used to seal windows. Although there are voices speaking out against misinformation regarding the flammability of bamboo, some commenters still point to the bamboo for intensifying the fire and making rescue operations more difficult.

Another issue is the fire system. A former security supervisor alleged the estate’s fire systems were frequently switched off. The claim, reported by local media, has intensified scrutiny and public concern over estate safety management.

2. Living Together Now Counts as “Family Members”

Image by state media outlet CNR: “Living together before marriage is also belongs to [the category of] family members.”

The move is meant to protect victims of domestic abuse and help prosecute abusers within the context of the Anti-Domestic Violence Law. Forms of abuse beyond physical injury (e.g. mental abuse) will also be recognized as domestic violence.

The announcement has sparked heated debates as people began worrying about their current relationships being legally defined as a de facto marriage, with various implications regarding spousal obligations, property rights, and financial issues — including concerns that partners might suddenly be treated as legally responsible for each other’s debts. In recent years, there have been increasing discussions about women marrying to shift their personal debts onto their husbands (there’s even a word for it).

But legal experts on social media say there’s no need to panic: people still need to be legally married to be designated as an official married couple, with all marital obligations and benefits. They emphasize that the current revision is mainly meant to standardize the handling of domestic violence cases nationwide — especially at a time when more young Chinese are delaying marriage and choosing to live together. In the past, there have been cases of men severely abusing their live-in girlfriends, but because they were not legally married, such incidents were treated merely as “ordinary disputes among citizens.”

3. Japanese Concerts in China Hit by Sino-Japanese Tensions

Over the past weekend, video footage showing how a concert by Japanese artist Maki Otsuki was suddenly and quite dramatically stopped while she was singing on stage — the lights were turned off, her mic was taken away, and she was escorted off — popped up all over WeChat and beyond (see video on X), followed by various write-ups on the incident, which were soon taken offline.

Ayumi Hamasaki, another famous Japanese artist, also saw her Shanghai concert — 14,000 tickets sold — canceled just a day before the show. Although there was not a single audience member, she performed anyway, leaving her performing alone in an empty venue. She posted about it herself (see photos), expressing sadness over the elaborate stage setup prepared by 200 staff members over several days that now had to be dismantled without the concert ever taking place.

The “lights out” moment for Otsuki, Hamasaki, and many other Japanese artists and musicians in China was attributed to “force majeure” (因不可抗力) in venue statements coming from Beijing, Hangzhou, Guangzhou, and beyond. It comes amid heightened tensions between Japan and China following Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s November 7 remarks suggesting that Chinese actions regarding Taiwan could prompt a military defense response from Tokyo, which infuriated China for “intervening in China’s sovereignty” and has been an ongoing major topic ever since.

On December 1, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian responded to questions about the cancellations during a regular press briefing by saying that reporters should inquire with the Chinese organizers of these events instead — providing no comments on the official reasons behind the wave of abrupt cancellations, which appear to have stemmed from a sweeping directive from Chinese authorities to halt Japanese cultural events.

It’s not only the music and event industry that’s been affected by recent escalations. Chinese airlines have sharply reduced flights to Japan in December, and Japanese movie releases in China have been postponed as well.

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It was a pleasant autumn day in Tokyo on October 28, when Trump first met Japan’s newly-elected Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi (高市早苗).

Takaichi welcomed Trump at the State Guest House as her first foreign guest since taking office as Japan’s first-ever female leader, offering what Yomiuri Shimbun described as “Takaichi-style hospitality.”

During the visit, Trump and Takaichi held a bilateral summit during which Takaichi expressed desire to build a new “golden age” for the US-Japan alliance. Afterwards, they signed agreements and exchanged gifts — a golf bag for Trump, signed by Japanese golf star Hideki Matsuyama (with whom Trump has previously played), and “Japan is Back” baseball caps for Takaichi.

Following a lunch that featured Japanese vegetables and American steak, the two visited the US Navy’s Yokosuka base, where Trump remarked that he and Takaichi had “become very close friends all of a sudden.”

On Chinese social media, the meeting drew considerable attention.

There has been heightened focus in China on Sanae Takaichi beyond anti-Japanese sentiment and her recent appointment as Japan’s first female Prime Minister — as she is widely regarded as a far-right politician who denies, downplays, or glorifies historical facts related to the Second Sino-Japanese War (1931-1945).

Japan’s official narrative of its wartime past has long been a major obstacle to deeper reconciliation between China and Japan, and it is highly unlikely that Takaichi’s views of the war are going to bring China and Japan any closer. Among others, she is known for visiting Yasukuni Shrine, the Tokyo shrine that honors Japan’s war dead (including those who committed war crimes in China). She also claimed that Japan’s aggression following the Manchurian Incident, which led to the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War, was an act of “self-defense.”

In light of these tensions in Sino-Japanese relations, and because of the changing dynamics in the current US-China relationship, many details surrounding the Trump–Takaichi meeting became popular talking points.

Many netizens focused on moments they interpreted as Trump asserting dominance or showing disregard for Japan.

👉 One awkward moment showed how, during the welcoming ceremony, Takaichi failed to properly escort the US president. He walked ahead of her twice, and, despite the cues to salute the Japanese flag, Trump simply walked past it instead, leaving Takaichi looking visibly surprised (video).

While some saw it as a case of poor etiquette instructions behind the scenes, most reactions framed it as a sign of power dynamics in the US–Japan relationship, with some commenting: “Why would the master bow to his son?” (Hashtags: “Trump Skips the Japanese Flag” #特朗普略过日本国旗# and “Trump Ignores Takaichi Twice in a Minute” #特朗普1分钟内两次无视高市早苗#)

👉 Another widely discussed moment came at the Yokosuka base, where Trump invited Takaichi on stage and mentioned how their bond was based on WWII (“Born out of the ashes of a terrible war”) — a comment that seemed to catch Takaichi off guard (video). He quickly followed up with, “our bond has grown into the beautiful friendship that we have,” but not before her expression visibly changed.

Under the hashtag “Trump’s Remark Gave Takaichi a Scare” (#专家：#特朗普一句话吓了高市早苗一大跳#), Chinese media outlet Beijing Time (@北京时间) commented: “She was afraid that Trump might go on to say something she couldn’t respond to easily.”

Image by online creator.

👉 Later, at a reception at the US Embassy in Tokyo, Trump referred to the Pacific War as a “little conflict.” While the euphemism may have been aimed at promoting reconciliation (“We once had a little conflict with Japan — you may have heard about that — but after such a terrible event, our two nations have become the closest of friends and partners…” video), many Chinese netizens and outlets, including The Observer (观察者网) interpreted the remark as dismissive. This fueled hashtags like “Trump Calls the Pacific War a Small Conflict” (#特朗普将太平洋战争称作小冲突#) and “Trump Refers to Hiroshima and Nagasaki Bombing as a Small Conflict” (#特朗普称轰炸广岛长崎只是小冲突#).

Alongside critiques of Trump’s behavior, much attention was also paid to Takaichi’s facial expressions and body language.

On Chinese social media, she was widely seen as overly eager to please — described as “fawning over Trump” (谄媚) in an “exaggerated” (夸张) way. Global Times highlighted how even Japanese netizens were criticizing her gestures as inappropriate for a prime minister (#日本网民怒批高市早苗谄媚#).

Some jokingly drew comparison to the famous movie about Hachiko, the loyal Japanese dog and his owner, played by American actor Richard Gere.

Some commenters described her behavior as that of an affectionate “pet” eager for approval.

Meme in which Takaichi was compared to Captain Jia (贾贵), known for his exaggerated flattery and traitorous behavior.

One meme compared Takaichi’s expressions toward Trump to those of Chinese actor Yan Guanying (颜冠英), who played the supporting role of Captain Jia (贾贵) in Underground Traffic Station (地下交通站), a satirical Chinese sitcom set during the Japanese occupation. The character was known for his exaggerated flattery and traitorous behavior.

But the most popular kind of meme surrounding the Takaichi-Trump meeting portrayed them as a newly smitten couple or even newlyweds. AI-generated images and playful commentary suggested a “love affair” dynamic. Watch an example of the videos here.

AI-generated images circulating on social media.

Some netizens linked this imagery to deeper historical dynamics — drawing distasteful parallels to American troops in postwar Japan and the women involved with them, including references to the reinstatement of the “sexual entertainment” industry once used to serve US forces.

For many, however, it was more about humor than history.

Some shared images showed just how much happier Trump seemed to be meeting with Sanae Takaichi than with her predecessor, Shigeru Ishiba, in 2024.

A considerably warmer meeting.

In the end, there are two sides to this peculiar “love affair” meme.

👉 On one hand, it plays on the affectionate behavior and newfound friendship between the two — Trump held Takaichi close to him multiple times, and she said she would nominate him for the Nobel Peace Prize. At the same time, the portrayal reduces Takaichi to a submissive romantic partner rather than a political equal, reinforcing gendered stereotypes — a dynamic that likely wouldn’t have emerged as strongly if she were a man.

This kind of “couple pairing” is quite ubiquitous in Chinese digital culture, especially involving people who are unlikely to have an actual relationship in real life. And although censorship would never allow this kind of pairing to thrive online if it involved Chinese politicians, the fact that it features Trump and Takaichi makes it less susceptible to online control.

A previous example of a noteworthy “love affair” meme was the one pairing US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi with Chinese political commentator Hu Xijin (see it here).

👉 Second, the Trump–Takaichi meeting is often placed in a Chinese context — showing the two getting married in a Chinese-style ceremony or inserting them into Chinese film scenes. While this may seem like light banter, it also reveals a deeper layer to the discussion: many believe that China plays a central role in the US–Japan relationship, interpreting the meeting through a Chinese lens in which US–China dynamics and the history of Sino-Japanese war are all interconnected.

Will they live happily ever after? Some may fantasize they will — but others think the weight of the past, both American and Chinese, will always cloud their sunny future. For now, most enjoy the banter and how “political news has turned into a romance variety show” (“政治新闻愣成了恋综了”).

By Manya Koetse

(follow on X, LinkedIn, or Instagram)

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