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What's boiling over on Chinese social media | 📬 Welcome to a new What's on Weibo newsletter! | | Hope you're having a good summer. It's been a while since I last sent out a newsletter. High time for a proper catch-up on the biggest topics that have sparked heated discussions on Chinese social media over the past few weeks. | | Although I haven't sent out the free edition in a while, I did send out weekly premium newsletter to our paying subscribers. If you are curious about the exclusive Weibo Watch newsletter — you can check them out and subscribe here. It's highly recommended if you want to get a good grasp of the major topics on Chinese social media, why they’re trending, and the deeper insights behind them. | | As a paying member, you'll also get access to all articles on the website, including premium articles, and access to an archive of 12+ years.
(Pssst, I’m planning a small price increase soon to help keep this work sustainable — so now’s a great time to subscribe at the current rate of only $5/month or $49/year). 👉 Click here to upgrade. | | Keep an eye out on the site in the time to come. This has been a hot summer, and I don't just mean the temperatures. There are a lot of very heated discussions happening right now, from Weibo to Douyin and Xiaohongshu, reflecting growing gender tensions and public frustration with local authorities in China. The 6 stories in this newsletter reflect those ongoing dynamics. | | Also, don't forget to check out the new What's on Weibo Events page, listing many upcoming interesting events that can also be attended virtually. | | PS: Follow me on X or Bluesky | Follow What's on Weibo on Instagram | | PS2: If you'd like to look into discounted group subscriptions, just contact me. Also, anything you'd like to share regarding trends that caught your eye — my inbox is open. | | | | | | "You think we’re scared of you? It’s not like we haven’t been to jail before." 🔍 This is the story you need to know about this week. It might still be unfolding, as tensions are still high. It started with an extreme bullying video of three underage girls targeting one of their female classmates. After the victim's parents and the local community felt authorities did not do enough to address the severity of the situation, the anger erupted into a major protest in Jiangyou, Sichuan. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Awareness of the case has been driven by online sleuths, concerned netizens, and female victims, their goal is to amplify their voices - but instead of being heard, they see their posts getting deleted. 🔍 In mid-July, Chinese social media users uncovered a large anonymous Chinese-language network for sexual exploitation and voyeuristic content on the encrypted messaging app Telegram.
News of the community — known as the Maskpark Treehole Forum — spread like wildfire across social media, sparking widespread outrage. It quickly became clear that the activities within this network were deeply disturbing and shockingly widespread. Using the hashtag “I’m the one being secretly filmed,” female netizens are condemning Maskpark and calling for legal action against the group’s key figures.
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | "To put it bluntly, temples have been places of deception, corruption, opportunism, and exploitation since ancient times." 🔍 News about a well-known Chinese monk going off the Buddhist path has triggered many discussions on Chinese social media.
The story revolves around Shi Yongxin (释永信), the head monk at China’s famous Shaolin Temple in Dengfeng, Henan. Shi is suspected of embezzlement of temple funds and illicit relationships, and is currently under investigation.
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | "Tap water safety is a barometer of a city’s level of civilization." 🔍 The incident that became known among netizens as the “Hangzhou Stinky Water Incident” (杭州臭水事件) triggered many discussions in July, after residents in Yuhang, a district of Hangzhou, found their tap water smelling like "dead rats" and turning a brownish color.
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | Behind the hashtag about Nanjing's cross-dressing ‘Sister Hong’: from legal implications to viral spectacle. 🔍 Have you heard about "Sister Hong"? This 38-year-old Mr. Jiao from Nanjing became a huge topic on Chinese social media after the story broke that this man, dressed as a woman, met up with hundreds of men for sex dates, recorded the encounters, and spread them online.
Social media discussions around the case now touch on a range of issues, from privacy violations to gender identity and public health concerns.
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | After six students drowned in a mine tank, social media users question safety precautions and media framing. 🔍 The students were standing on a metal grate above a deep industrial tank used for mineral processing. The grate then suddenly collapsed, and they fell into the flotation tank, which was filled with mineral slurry.
Three people responsible for safety measures at the site, including the deputy general manager, have now been placed under criminal detention. Besides the many questions surfacing online about how such a gruesome accident could have occurred, there is also criticism of how the media has reported on the incident.
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