Chinese talented photographer and popular cosplayer Liu Youling, better known as Jovie, has drowned in a pool in Saipan during an underwater shoot. On Weibo, fans mourn her death.
The 25-year-old Liu Youying (刘宥灵), a photographer, model, and cosplayer from Xinjiang, has drowned during a work-related visit to Saipan Island.
Liu, who was better known by her nickname ‘Jovie’, had over 155.870 fans on her Weibo account, and was particularly popular in Hangzhou, where she worked as a freelancer.
Photo by Liu, as posted on her Weibo account.
Jovie was a relatively well-known ‘coser’ or ‘cosplayer’ (‘cos’ coming from ‘costume’), meaning she often wore costumes and fashion accessories – sometimes self-made – to represent a specific character or historical figure.
Cosplay has been steadily gaining popularity in China over the past couple of years.
Liu Youling ‘Jovie’
Liu, who was born in Shixenze in Xinjiang in 1992, was a graduate of the Sichuan Media College and lived in Hangzhou after her graduation.
Besides photographing, Jovie did a lot of cosplay modeling herself.
Sina News reports that Liu first became interested in dressing up and photographing at the age of 15. Since a few years ago, she shared her work on social media through Weibo and her own blog.
Liu reportedly drowned on September 25 while doing an underwater photography shoot in the pool of her Saipan hotel with two other women. Although the three women entered the shallow water at the Sea Fun Villa, they got into trouble when they drifted off to the deep side.
“They did not know how to swim in the deepwater area,” two of Liu’s friends told Sina News: “The other two women also went down, but they were found earlier and could be rescued.”
For Liu, rescue came too late. She was pulled up from the water by hotel staff after 3 minutes and initially was taken to the hospital in a state of coma. She passed away on September 27.
“Just 25 years, far too young,” many netizens wrote on Weibo, one person saying: “Since she loved ancient costumes, I hope that she can now choose the dynasty she wants to go to.”
“Every day I check your Weibo in the hopes to see an update on your blog,” another netizen wrote: “I hope it is all just one big joke.”
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.
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 Pressreported 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.
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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.
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Zarmac
October 5, 2017 at 4:33 am
Hoeveel modellen sterven tijdens een foto shoot?