Along with several other celebrities, Chinese actor Zhang Zhehan has been a hot topic in the media this year ever since photos of him taken at the controversial Yasukuni Shrine went viral online. Not only does Zhang not deserve his recent blacklisted status, Jessica J. argues in this op-ed contribution for What’s on Weibo, he is also a victim of online fake news propagation and cyberbullying.
Those following Chinese entertainment news may have read about the string of celebrity crackdowns and cancellations this year, including big names like pop star Kris Wu, actress Zheng Shuang, and actor Zhang Zhehan.
However, Zhang Zhehan’s inclusion among Chinese ‘blacklisted artists‘ is raising some eyebrows and has also drawn the attention of Li Xuezheng, the Vice Chairman of the China TV Artists Association and Director of the Golden Shield Television Center.
Among those ‘canceled’ artists, Kris Wu was arrested on suspicion of rape, Zheng Shuang was fined for tax evasion – but Zhang Zhehan did not violate any laws and, according to Li, “was not officially banned or deemed immoral by government bodies” (Drama Panda).
Instead, Zhang was swiftly canceled when old vacation photos of him near the Yasukuni Shrine surfaced in August 2021, despite apologizing quickly for not knowing the significance of the buildings in the area.
One of the photos featuring Zhang Zhehan, causing controversy in 2021.
After digging a little deeper, it becomes apparent that there is much more nuance to Zhang’s incident than can be captured in a single sentence such as “Zhang visited the controversial Yasukuni Shrine” or “Zhang posed for photos at the Yasukuni Shrine.”
Yasukuni Shrine is a Cherry Blossom Destination
The Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo is notorious for enshrining “1,068 convicted war criminals, 14 of whom are A-Class (convicted of having been involved in the planning, preparation, initiation, or waging of the war).” The shrine is of great significance when it comes to Sino-Japanese history, as many of Japan’s war dead enshrined at Yasukuni committed atrocities against the Chinese, including during the ‘Nanjing Massacre‘ which started in December 1937 and came to be known as the most notorious Japanese atrocity of the Second Sino-Japanese War.
However, what many people think of as the Yasukuni Shrine only concerns the shrine’s religious structures, including the prayer and worship halls. These are the places where Japanese prime ministers go to pay respects to this day, resulting in recurring controversies.
The Honden Main Shrine, where nearly 2,5 million Japanese war dead are enshrined as ‘divinities,’ is usually inaccessible to the general public. No photography is allowed at the courtyard of the Haiden Main Hall, which is where people pay their respects.
Yasukuni Shrine Main Prayer Hall.
Outside of these structures, the Yasukuni Shrine grounds include an open park area famous for its cherry blossoms. In fact, it houses a “benchmark” cherry tree, which Japan’s Meteorological Agency uses to officially announce the start of the cherry season (NBC News). It’s important to note that Zhang’s photos were taken in this prime cherry blossom viewing area, and not inside the shrine itself.
When searching for “Yasukuni Shrine Cherry Blossoms” on Google, one will find many travel guides and blogs showcasing the lively atmosphere and the sea of people that come to visit during the blossom season. As recently as March 2021 (Phoenix News), Chinese media have included the area around the Yasukuni Shrine as a popular cherry blossom viewing destination. See examples from China Daily, People’s Daily, and China News. Chinese state broadcaster CCTV even covered the benchmark tree in March 2018, the same year that Zhang’s photos were taken.
Many articles that came out around August this year claimed that Zhang “posed in front of the Yasukuni Shrine” (see examples from Radii, Business of Fashion). This is false because the building in Zhang’s photo is actually labeled “斎馆” (Saikan) and is an administrative or office building on the park grounds.
The building behind Zhang Zhehan is actually an administrative building.
The cherry blossoms are clearly the main focus in all of Zhang’s photos. In 2018, there were over 31.19 million international tourists to Japan, including over 8 million Chinese visitors. Each year Japan attracts almost 3 million visitors during cherry blossom season alone.
Zhang was just one among thousands of Chinese tourists coming to view Japan’s famous cherry blossoms. If this is considered an act that hurts national sentiments, then what about the millions of other Chinese citizens that came for the same reason, not to mention the Chinese media that recommended this place as a tourist destination?
Signs of Coordinated Smear Campaign
The three-year-old photos of Zhang surfaced on August 13, a sensitive date leading up to the August 15th Victory over Japan Day, the day on which Imperial Japan surrendered in World War II.* In addition to the timing, other accusations against Zhang, including those around a wedding he attended in Japan, rest on blatant misinformation and falsified Baidu entries. (*The Chinese Victory over Japan is commemorated on September 3rd when the signing of the surrender document occurred. )
To a lesser extent than the cherry blossom photos, Zhang was also condemned for attending a friend’s wedding at the Nogi Shrine in 2019 and taking a photo with controversial figure Dewi Sukarno, one of the wives of the former Indonesian President Sukarno.
Netizens soon noticed that the Baidu entry for Nogi Shrine was created the night before on August 12. Similarly, Baidu entries for Mrs. Dewi and Nogi Maresuke, the general whom Nogi Shrine is named after, were both edited on early August 13.
Photos of Zhang at his friend’s wedding at the Nogi Shrine.
Chinese state media outlet Global Timeswrote that “there were also photos of Zhang attending a wedding ceremony at Nogi Shrine, another infamous shrine that honors imperial Japanese military officers who invaded China during World War II.”
While it is true the Nogi Shrine honors Japanese general Nogi Maresuke, he died in 1912, well before the events of WWII. So where did this blatantly false information come from?
It is also worth noting that the popular Japanese idol group Nogizaka46, who held a coming-of-age ceremony at the Nogi Shrine, performed several concerts in China without issue.
Numerous other rumors, though not published by reputable media, circulated broadly on social media sites including international platforms such as Youtube and Twitter.
Almost all of them have been debunked as misinformation or complete fabrications. For example, Zhang starred in a short film titled Brother, where his character’s mentally challenged older brother raises his hand when he gets a nosebleed. Zhang took a series of photos interacting with his co-star, but the photo of this gesture was taken out of context to accuse Zhang of making Nazi gestures.
The middle image in the top row was used to accuse Zhang of making Nazi gestures. His comment is a quote from the show, and his co-star responded similarly.
The nosebleed gesture from Brother.
Netizens have also noticed that over 800 marketing accounts posted at almost the same time asking for Zhang’s works to be taken offline (Weibo search), and that so-called water armies (paid commenters) heavily manipulated the direction of social commentary and sentiments (a netizen’s data analysis).
Based on all of this information, it can be reasonably concluded that Zhang was the target of a coordinated smear campaign.
Consequences of Misinformation and Cyber Violence
Within a time span of less than a week, Zhang lost all sponsorship deals and his career suffered a massive blow.
Shows featuring Zhang, including Word of Honor and Demon Girl, were taken offline from Chinese platforms Youku and Le.com. His scenes were erased from the critically acclaimed Nirvana in Fire. His songs “Gu Meng” and “Tian Ya Ke” from Word of Honor could no longer be streamed on various platforms and variety shows featuring him either removed the episodes including Zhang, or he was simply blurred out.
In addition, Zhang faced mass silencing, erasure, and defamation on all Chinese social media platforms:
Zhang’s accounts on all social media platforms were closed.
His face still cannot be shown on Bilibili, Douban, and other platforms (videos featuring Zhang will be deleted).
All positive content on Zhang has been deleted or has been made unsearchable on video site Bilibili. Searching for Zhang’s name on this platform will only show videos condemning him.
Many netizens still refer to Zhang as a “traitor” or a “spy.”
Before Li Xuezheng spoke up for Zhang, anyone attempting to clarify Zhang’s situation often found their posts deleted or their accounts closed.
Li posted on December 5th that Zhang doesn’t even have the right to his own name: “There are only two people in the world who can’t buy things on the internet. One is notorious fascist Hitler, the other is our Zhang Zhehan.”
Since Zhang was included on the performers’ blacklist issued by the Chinese Association of Performing Arts (CAPA), Li Xuezheng has been investigating potential corruption within the industry-led organization. In doing so, Li Xuezheng is also providing a platform for Zhang and his family to speak out for the first time since they’ve been silenced.
Li recently posted a letter from Zhang’s mother, garnering over one million likes within a day. In the letter, Zhang’s mother described the harrowing experience her son and her family have gone through over the past few months.
She wrote:
“Not only have the dreams and achievements he [Zhang] has worked for for more than ten years been crushed, but the entire internet is also filled with one-sided rumors and slander. His positive actions, his love for the Party and the country are erased, and his works have all been de-platformed. My son told me that he did not enter the Yasukuni Shrine, he did not visit it, let alone pay any respects. The information spread on the internet is false… We never got a chance to clarify. We feel completely powerless and hopeless.”
This part, in particular, was difficult to read:
“The little nephew he loves is only four years old and dares not look at him, saying that his uncle is a bad person. When my son heard this, he went to his room and cried… He is really a strong person ordinarily, but at this moment he was broken.”
Zhang Zhehan was canceled in August over misinformation that cannot stand up to scrutiny, yet numerous reputable media entities continue to spread misinformation without further investigation.
As a consequence, Zhang’s works were de-platformed, his presence erased, his voice silenced, and even the right to use his own name is lost, all without any legal backing. In a country governed in accordance with law, a person should be considered innocent until proven guilty. But it’s been over four months now, and despite having committed no crime at all, Zhang is still being punished every day without rescission.
By Jessica J.
Jessica J. (alias) is the initiator of the Teddyfoxfluff blog which collects and translates Weibo posts relating to the Zhang Zhehan controversy. To read more, visit her blog here.
For more about Zhang Zhehan on What’s on Weibo, see our overview here.
Jessica Jones (alias) is a Chinese-American software engineer and Computer Science MA graduate with a love for Chinese dramas. In light of the 2021 news developments involving Chinese actor Zhang Zhehan, she started the Teddyfoxfluff blog.
Thank you for this well-researched look at this case, including the information about the level of cyber-bullying and misinformation involved! The extent to which a person’s life and reputation can be attacked by malicious actors is really upsetting. The extent to which a lot of reporting about Zhang Zhehan claims that he did go to the shrine or that he was “banned by the government” is also unfortunate, and I’m glad that the author took the time to actually do research and provide accurate information.
Thank you for the update,I just recently came across this actor and felt very sorry to what has happen to him. Love his work and his personality,it really hurt reading how he broke down and cry.
It is very unfair to be judge before being able to defend oneself.And hence why the need to have a balance of power politically(well my view).
I really hope things will turn around quickly for him.A miracle is needed. Someone needs to be held accountable sharing all those fake news about him. By then his name will clear and he will be off the hook. And I hope really soon.
Appreciate basing the article on sources and realize this is a opinion piece, can’t help but feel there is an overly biased tone though? (especially the cherry blossoms part which conveniently glosses over that the shrine is a site commemorating war crimes in favour of statistics which show that “Other Chinese people go there too!”) Imo the article will be much better without attempting to downplay the implications a public figure can cause when one poses in front of such a monument.
Thank you for the article!! It’s Christmas. If Santa is real, I wish for Zhang Zhehan’s well-being and a comeback. we need a miracle for this to happen soon. We can only wish I guess. I cannot imagine how helpless they must be feeling right now.
To Joe: Please note the article clearly states that the shrine commemorates war crimes. Specifically:
“The Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo is notorious for enshrining “1,068 convicted war criminals, 14 of whom are A-Class (convicted of having been involved in the planning, preparation, initiation, or waging of the war).” The shrine is of great significance when it comes to Sino-Japanese history, as many of Japan’s war dead enshrined at Yasukuni committed atrocities against the Chinese, including during the ‘Nanjing Massacre‘ which started in December 1937 and came to be known as the most notorious Japanese atrocity of the Second Sino-Japanese War.
This is a sensitive topic and it is best to read the article before making baseless allegations.
1. Mr. Li Xuezheng interviewed ZZH in Jan 2022, in which he stated that he is willing to be investigated on whether he visited that controversial shrine. He was following a tour to view cherry blossom.
It is worth noting that many folks have raised their voice now that though all were taught about the controversial shrine, but most citizens don’t know the exact location. And that was probably the point where the cyber violence took advantage of.
There were clarifications showing that the building seen behind ZZH in the picture is the (cherry blossom) park management building, not the shrine.
At this point, it seems the justice is in the hands of the police now. It is rather strange that without thorough investigation, CAPA issued the boycott on ZZH within hours of the spreading of the accused fake news on Aug 13, 2021.
It is more questionable that they did jt again in in Nov 2021, after many clarifications came out about how the building behind ZZH was not the shrine. We would think a full investigation should have performed by then, before such a severe punishment is done on a citizen.
And then within 10 days, ZZH himself appeal to CAPA as they indicated, but all he received was a piece of paper with a phone number that would go straight to voice mail.
This ordeal with CAPA is very fishy, and the timing of ZZH old picture being made a hot topic is too much of a coincident. Probably this is the unruly entertainment industry behavior that the government is trying to fix.
2. Later on, Mr. Li was asked by his upper manager to delete all his posts questioning CAPA. He asked if that directive was from the party. But it was from some leader in the organization.
Several days later, rumors were spread on the net that Mr. Li himself has visited the controversial shrine.
I think at this point it is very clear that there was a force behind the scene running those rumors and misinformation.
3. Using trolls and disinformation to defame someone is not new. There’s a TedEd video about it, which you will find having similar tactics as what were done to ZZH, and probably Mr.Li now too.
4. In the interview with Mr. Li Xuezheng, Zhehan mentioned that he himself has tried to report his case to the police, of misinformation and defamation, but many police departments didn’t accept his case, due to strong public opinion. Around late December, Beijing police department accepted his report.
A few days later, there was a directive that ensure all police departments must accept any case reports from citizen.
I think that was a good news, that the government noticed. Any citizen should have their civilian right, and should be considered innocent until proven guilty.
Hope ZZH get back to his normal life and the Govt of China to start looking into this seriously. I learn a lot abt the Chinese history while watching ZZH drama. You can see his loyalty to China and this is how they pay him.
God bless you Zhang Zhehan. Cannot wait for your name to be cleared and the real perpetrators punished‼️ Cyber bulling and cancel culture at its worse. Remember: clean hands needs no washing – the truth will eventually come out…So hang in there and stay strong 💖💞❤️💗💕
Recently, his mother has posted another letter to her tea shop WeChat account about how she dare not grow old, as she needs to be strong for her son. Her son has been unemployed since Aug 2021, they dared not go out at first, even contemplated suicide to prove their innocent, but then decided that staying alive is only chance they have to clear their names. She has been providing for them both, on top of paying the debt caused by the cancelation of those endorsements.
Quite obvious that this is a coordinated effort by regime change agents to manipulate discord among Chinese netizens by manufacturing the traitor card against a patriotic actor and his family to create civil unrest via the c-entertainment realm. Those responsible are following the playbook as outlined in the documentary ‘The Social Dilemma’ https://consortiumnews.com/2021/01/14/netflixs-the-social-dilemma-tells-only-half-the-story/
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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Cat Lost
December 16, 2021 at 10:16 pm
Tears streaming down my face while reading your article. Thank you! Thank you!! Finally some unbiased news report on Zhang Zhehan.
Sônia Maria Frazão Ramires
December 17, 2021 at 1:52 am
👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Bing
December 17, 2021 at 5:31 pm
Thank you very much for writing this, I really appreciate this well-sourced, and well-written article.. thank you..
Max
December 17, 2021 at 6:37 pm
Thank you for writing this article from a well-balanced view and using actual sources. It’s much appreciated!
JaneDrew
December 17, 2021 at 7:39 pm
Thank you for this well-researched look at this case, including the information about the level of cyber-bullying and misinformation involved! The extent to which a person’s life and reputation can be attacked by malicious actors is really upsetting. The extent to which a lot of reporting about Zhang Zhehan claims that he did go to the shrine or that he was “banned by the government” is also unfortunate, and I’m glad that the author took the time to actually do research and provide accurate information.
Nao
December 18, 2021 at 5:10 am
Great article! Thank you
LT
December 20, 2021 at 1:16 pm
Thank you for the update,I just recently came across this actor and felt very sorry to what has happen to him. Love his work and his personality,it really hurt reading how he broke down and cry.
It is very unfair to be judge before being able to defend oneself.And hence why the need to have a balance of power politically(well my view).
I really hope things will turn around quickly for him.A miracle is needed. Someone needs to be held accountable sharing all those fake news about him. By then his name will clear and he will be off the hook. And I hope really soon.
Joe
December 20, 2021 at 6:48 pm
Appreciate basing the article on sources and realize this is a opinion piece, can’t help but feel there is an overly biased tone though? (especially the cherry blossoms part which conveniently glosses over that the shrine is a site commemorating war crimes in favour of statistics which show that “Other Chinese people go there too!”) Imo the article will be much better without attempting to downplay the implications a public figure can cause when one poses in front of such a monument.
San
December 21, 2021 at 10:30 pm
Thank you for the article!! It’s Christmas. If Santa is real, I wish for Zhang Zhehan’s well-being and a comeback. we need a miracle for this to happen soon. We can only wish I guess. I cannot imagine how helpless they must be feeling right now.
Sarah
December 26, 2021 at 3:04 am
To Joe: Please note the article clearly states that the shrine commemorates war crimes. Specifically:
“The Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo is notorious for enshrining “1,068 convicted war criminals, 14 of whom are A-Class (convicted of having been involved in the planning, preparation, initiation, or waging of the war).” The shrine is of great significance when it comes to Sino-Japanese history, as many of Japan’s war dead enshrined at Yasukuni committed atrocities against the Chinese, including during the ‘Nanjing Massacre‘ which started in December 1937 and came to be known as the most notorious Japanese atrocity of the Second Sino-Japanese War.
This is a sensitive topic and it is best to read the article before making baseless allegations.
meeeena
December 30, 2021 at 8:11 am
Thank you so much for all your hard work!
I really hope Zhang Zhehan is doing well and can make an awesome comeback SOON!
Youn ji young
January 20, 2022 at 6:38 am
당신이 바로 제시카 이군요! 고맙고 반가워요. 계속해서 Zzh 을 위해 애써주시기 바랍니다
법적인 절차가 진행 된다는 좋은소식을 기다립니다! 24일이면 신고한지 한달이지나는건데, 아직 소식이없어서 초조합니다
💚🇰🇷
María
January 20, 2022 at 8:09 pm
#GoLiXuezheng #IsupportZZH #bestrongZZH
Ti
February 12, 2022 at 11:51 am
1. Mr. Li Xuezheng interviewed ZZH in Jan 2022, in which he stated that he is willing to be investigated on whether he visited that controversial shrine. He was following a tour to view cherry blossom.
The interview with English subtitle on youtube:
https://youtu.be/bUt1raMMJBY
It is worth noting that many folks have raised their voice now that though all were taught about the controversial shrine, but most citizens don’t know the exact location. And that was probably the point where the cyber violence took advantage of.
There were clarifications showing that the building seen behind ZZH in the picture is the (cherry blossom) park management building, not the shrine.
At this point, it seems the justice is in the hands of the police now. It is rather strange that without thorough investigation, CAPA issued the boycott on ZZH within hours of the spreading of the accused fake news on Aug 13, 2021.
It is more questionable that they did jt again in in Nov 2021, after many clarifications came out about how the building behind ZZH was not the shrine. We would think a full investigation should have performed by then, before such a severe punishment is done on a citizen.
And then within 10 days, ZZH himself appeal to CAPA as they indicated, but all he received was a piece of paper with a phone number that would go straight to voice mail.
This ordeal with CAPA is very fishy, and the timing of ZZH old picture being made a hot topic is too much of a coincident. Probably this is the unruly entertainment industry behavior that the government is trying to fix.
2. Later on, Mr. Li was asked by his upper manager to delete all his posts questioning CAPA. He asked if that directive was from the party. But it was from some leader in the organization.
Several days later, rumors were spread on the net that Mr. Li himself has visited the controversial shrine.
I think at this point it is very clear that there was a force behind the scene running those rumors and misinformation.
A few days later, Mr. Li was muted too.
Details can be reviewed here:
https://youtu.be/bUt1raMMJBY
3. Using trolls and disinformation to defame someone is not new. There’s a TedEd video about it, which you will find having similar tactics as what were done to ZZH, and probably Mr.Li now too.
https://fb.watch/b7iuw4l6DI/
4. In the interview with Mr. Li Xuezheng, Zhehan mentioned that he himself has tried to report his case to the police, of misinformation and defamation, but many police departments didn’t accept his case, due to strong public opinion. Around late December, Beijing police department accepted his report.
A few days later, there was a directive that ensure all police departments must accept any case reports from citizen.
I think that was a good news, that the government noticed. Any citizen should have their civilian right, and should be considered innocent until proven guilty.
Khal
February 21, 2022 at 11:01 am
Hope ZZH get back to his normal life and the Govt of China to start looking into this seriously. I learn a lot abt the Chinese history while watching ZZH drama. You can see his loyalty to China and this is how they pay him.
Arini
February 25, 2022 at 7:47 am
Thank you for this clear information. I am his fan from Indonesia. The news makes me shock, but I’m glad that his movies are still on iQIYI.
You got my support Zang Zhe Han! (And maybe from all of your fans in Indonesia) Hope your star rising more after this!
Anthea Philander
March 10, 2022 at 10:09 am
God bless you Zhang Zhehan. Cannot wait for your name to be cleared and the real perpetrators punished‼️ Cyber bulling and cancel culture at its worse. Remember: clean hands needs no washing – the truth will eventually come out…So hang in there and stay strong 💖💞❤️💗💕
TI
March 12, 2022 at 11:04 am
Just like this article said, Zhang Zhehan is still paying an unimaginable price for a crime he didn’t commit.
Here is the first and only interview he had after the attacks in Aug 2021, with Mr. Li Xuezheng:
https://youtu.be/G_okUh4H9cI
Recently, his mother has posted another letter to her tea shop WeChat account about how she dare not grow old, as she needs to be strong for her son. Her son has been unemployed since Aug 2021, they dared not go out at first, even contemplated suicide to prove their innocent, but then decided that staying alive is only chance they have to clear their names. She has been providing for them both, on top of paying the debt caused by the cancelation of those endorsements.
https://youtu.be/-rNt6bBEsrU
okj
April 21, 2022 at 11:05 am
Quite obvious that this is a coordinated effort by regime change agents to manipulate discord among Chinese netizens by manufacturing the traitor card against a patriotic actor and his family to create civil unrest via the c-entertainment realm. Those responsible are following the playbook as outlined in the documentary ‘The Social Dilemma’ https://consortiumnews.com/2021/01/14/netflixs-the-social-dilemma-tells-only-half-the-story/