China Arts & Entertainment
Top 10 Chinese Celebrities with the Most Followers on Weibo in 2021
The top celebrities with the most followers on social media – who are they, why are they famous, and what do they do?
This is the “WE…WEI…WHAT?” column by Manya Koetse, original publication in German by Goethe Institut China, see Goethe.de: WE…WEI…WHAT? Manya Koetse erklärt das chinesische Internet.
While celebrities such as Justin Bieber, Barack Obama, and Katy Perry are the leaders of Twitter in terms of followers, there are Chinese celebrities with an equally large fanbase on the country’s biggest social media platform Weibo, yet these are names that are generally less well-known outside of China.
Although China’s social media landscape has seen the rising popularity of new social apps and sites, Weibo is still the number one platform for the entertainment industry. This is a list of Weibo celebrities with the most followers as of early 2021.
There are some things worth noting about this list. First, it does not contain any ‘internet celebrities’ (网红 wanghong), meaning people who have become self-made online influencers through the internet. The biggest Weibo stars are still the ‘traditional celebrities’ in the sense that they have made their big breakthrough through TV drama, cinema, or the mainstream pop music scene.
Second, although the top list of Chinese celebrities with the most followers on Weibo has changed somewhat throughout the years, many of these celebrities have been at the top for a long time already. Some of them simply have become so big on Weibo because they were among the first celebrities to join the platform since its beginning in 2009. Celebrities such as Yao Chen or Chen Kun already had over 50 million followers on Weibo in 2013. This indicates that while China’s social media landscape is becoming more diverse, it is also more difficult for new social media superstars to emerge and become bigger than the long-time Weibo champions.
Third, the most-followed celebrities on Chinese social media are often true ‘superstars’ in the sense that they are all incredibly versatile. They often do acting, singing, presenting, but also have their own (restaurant) business or engage in other activities as ‘celebrity entrepreneurs.’ Virtually all celebrities in this list are also active contributors to charity or represent a good cause, as well as being brand ambassadors – they often have lucrative deals to do advertisements for world-renowned brands, from fashion brands to cosmetics or high-end spirits. This multidimensionality makes these celebrities all the more appealing to fans: they are talented, beautiful, wealthy, fashionable, virtuous and successful in business.
This article first introduces the ten Weibo accounts with the highest number of followers, and then also includes some newer accounts with the highest “influence rate” (博主影响力) according to Weibo Charts, meaning they have high network interaction and follower growth.
1. Xie Na 谢娜 – The Queen of Weibo
Fans on Weibo: 129.4 million followers, @谢娜
Main occupation: TV host
Date of birth: 6 May 1981
Birthplace: Deyang, Sichuan
Xie Na (1981), also nicknamed ‘Nana,’ is an extremely popular Chinese presenter, singer, actress and designer who is also known as ‘the Queen of Weibo.’
One of the reasons she has become so famous in mainland China is that she is the co-host of Hunan Satellite TV’s Happy Camp (快乐大本管), one of China’s most popular variety shows that has been running since 1997. She presents the show together with, amongst others, colleague He Jiong, who also appears in this list.
But ‘Nana’ is also very popular because she is such a versatile celebrity. Besides hosting various variety TV shows and starring in many popular Chinese films and television series, she has also released several albums, founded a personal clothing line, and published two books. Xie Na made headlines in March 2017 when she announced she would go to Italy as an overseas student to study design.
The TV host also stars in various commercials. She is, for example, the Chinese brand ambassador for American skin care brand Olay.
Xie Na holds the official Guinness World Record as the First Person to Accumulate 100 Million Followers on Weibo and for having the Most followers on Weibo.
In January of 2021, the 39-year-old Xie Na announced her second pregnancy together with her husband Zhang Jie, with whom she has been together for ten years. If you’re not on Weibo, you can also find Xie Na on Instagram here, where she has 485.000 followers.
2. He Jiong 何炅 – Key Figure in China’s Entertainment Industry
Fans on Weibo: 120.6 million followers, @何炅
Main occupation: TV host
Date of birth: 28 April 1974
Birthplace: Changsha, Hunan
He Jiong has been the host of China’s popular Happy Camp TV show for over two decades. He is also a singer, actor, writer, and used to be an Arabic teacher at Beijing’s Foreign Studies University, which is why he is often nicknamed ‘Professor He’ (何老师). Chinese media have called He Jiong “a key figure in China’s entertainment industry.”
Like Xie Na, He Jiong made it to the Guinness Book of Records for being the male celebrity with the most Weibo followers.
He Jiong recently was criticized for ‘exploiting his fame’ when it became known that he was accepting lavish gifts from fans, together with other hosts at Hunan Satellite TV. The broadcaster later stated that they would no longer allow any of their staff to receive gifts from fans, and He Jiong also wrote on Weibo that he would decline all presents in the future.
3. Yang Mi 杨幂 – One of the Most Bankable Female Stars
Fans on Weibo: 109.8 million fans on Weibo @杨幂
Main occupation: Actress
Date of birth: 12 September 1986
Birthplace: Beijing
The beautiful actress and singer Yang Mi (1986) gained fame and popularity through her various roles in Chinese hit TV dramas. Born in Beijing, Yang started her acting career at the age of 4. Yang starred in many successful films and tv dramas, including hit shows such as Eternal Love (三生三世十里桃花) and The Interpreters (亲爱的翻译官), which happen to be produced by Yang’s own media company Jay Walk Studio.
Yang is now seen as one of Chinas biggest actresses, and also as one with the most commercial value; she was listed in the Top 10 Forbes Chinese Celebrities of 2020. Yang was previously named as one of China’s “New Four Dan Actresses” (the ‘top 4’ actresses).
Besides her acting career, entrepreneurship, and charity efforts, Yang Mi is also active as a brand ambassador for various renowned fashion and skincare brands, including Estee Lauder, Michael Kors and Victoria’s Secret.
This year, the actress will star in the live action movie A Writer’s Odyssey by director Lu Yang.
Yang has a daughter and was previously married to Hong Kong actor and singer Hawick Lau How-wai, with whom she co-starred in various productions. They announced their divorce in 2018. Fun fact: Yang Mi’s dad is also active on Weibo (@休闲小林哥), where he rebutted ongoing rumors about Yang undergoing plastic surgery by sharing her childhood photos. Though not as impressive as his daughter’s, his fanbase of 364,000 followers is still relatively big. Yang Mi is also active on Instagram here.
4. Angelababy 杨颖 – A Household Name
Fans on Weibo: 103.3 million followers @angelababy
Main occupation: Actress
Date of birth: 28 February 1989
Birthplace: Shanghai
‘Angelababy’ (nickname for Yang Ying aka Angela Yeung Wing) has practically become a household name in China over the past years. The award-winning actress, model, and singer started her acting career in 2007 and has taken on many roles in different movies and TV dramas since.
The famous actress married actor Huang Xiaoming (黄晓明) in 2015, with whom she has a son. Their lavish $31 million wedding is the most-discussed Chinese weddings of the past decade, and their marriage and relationship status is a popular gossip topic on social media. There are ongoing rumors that the two might already have separated.
Angelababy is the brand ambassador for Dior. She recently opened her own hotpot restaurant named ‘Douliu Hotpot’ (斗鎏火锅) in Chengdu. She is also involved in charity and has previously donated to hospital relief efforts related to the COVID19 crisis in Hubei.
You can also find Angelababy on Instagram, where she has 8.1 million followers.
5. Chen Kun 陈坤 – With Love from Chongqing
Fans on Weibo: 93.3 million fans @陈坤
Main occupation: Actor and singer
Date of birth: 4 February 1976
Birthplace: Chongqing
Chinese top actor, singer and writer Chen Kun, sometimes also credited as Aloys Chen, is known for his roles in many television dramas and movies. The award-winning actor starred in popular TV dramas such as Love Story in Shanghai (像雾像雨又像风) and The Story of a Noble Family (金粉世家), as well as many movies including the 2016 comedy Chongqing Hotpot (火锅英雄) that is set in his hometown. Internationally, he mainly gained recognition for his role in Painted Skin (2008).
Chen belongs to the same generation of Beijing Film Academy graduates as his former classmate Vicki Zhao, who also appears in this list, and Huang Xiaoming, Angelababy’s husband.
Chen Kun is not only popular because of his acting work, but also for his looks – he is known to have a large gay fanbase. He is not shy about his looks, and likes to post a lot of photos of himself on his Weibo page.
Chen is a brand ambassador for Braun, Italian fashion house Prada, and was recently also featured in the campaign for French Cognac brand Martell Noblige. He is also active in charity and is a global ambassador for WildAid. He also founded ‘Power to Go,’ an initiative that aims to encourage people to improve their health and spirit by leading a more energetic lifestyle.
6. Zhao Liying 赵丽颖 – An Audience Favorite
Fans on Weibo: 88.4 million followers on Weibo @赵丽颖
Main occupation: Actress
Date of birth: 16 October 1987
Birthplace: Langfang, Hebei
The award-winning actress and singer Zhao Liying, also known as Zanilia Zhao, is an audience favorite in China. Her acting career started some fifteen years ago but Zhao mainly gained recognition when she starred in 2010 Chinese television series The Dream of Red Mansions (红楼梦) and then played the main role in the 2013 popular series Legend of Lu Zhen (陆贞传奇). In 2017, she starred in the film Duckweed (乘风破浪), directed by Han Han.
Zhao is a tourism ambassador for her home province of Hebei, and she is the brand ambassador for fashion house Dior. Like others in this list, the actress was included in the top 10 of Forbes China Top Celebrity List for 2020.
7. Jackson Yee 易烊千玺 – Teen Idol with Power Star Status
Fans on Weibo: 86.9 million followers on Weibo @TFBOYS-易烊千玺
Main occupation: Singer/dancer with boyband TF Boys
Date of birth: 28 November 2000
Birthplace: Huaihua, Hunan
Although he is a ‘newcomer’ compared to other celebrities in this list, Jackson Yee (Yi Yangqianxi) is one of the most popular Chinese celebrities of the moment. Debuting as a child star, he is a member of China’s hugely popular band TFBoys and was recently included in the Forbes list of “Asia’s 100 Digital Stars” and ranked first in the 2020 Forbes Chinese Celebrity list. The 19-year-old singer-actor also is the number one blogger with the most influence on Weibo at the time of writing, according to Chinese social media data platform Xiguaji.
Besides a band member and solo singer, he is also an actor ad starred in the movie Better Days (2019), for which he won the Hong Kong Film Award for Best New Performer. He also stars in the box office hit A Little Red Flower (2020).
Yee is the global brand ambassador for Armani, and also works for brands such as Bulgari, Tiffany & Co, and Adidas.
8. Vicki Zhao 赵薇 – China’s Billionaire Actress
Fans on Weibo: 85.8 million followers on Weibo @赵薇
Main occupation: Actress
Date of birth: 12 March 1976
Birthplace: Wuhui, Anhui
Vicki Zhao is a Chinese film star, singer, entrepreneur, and director. She is also known for her work as the face for various brands (Samsung, Burberry, Fendi), which has added to her wealth: she was previously named as China’s richest actress and even as one of the world’s wealthiest working actresses.
But above all, Zhao is one of China’s most famous actresses. She starred in the highly successful Chinese costume television show My Fair Princess (還珠格格) which first aired in 1998, after which she went on to star in many TV series and big films, including Painted Skin (2008) and Lost in Hong Kong (2015). Together with actresses Zhang Ziyi, Zhou Xun and Xu Jinglei, Zhao was named as one of China’s ‘Four Dan Actresses’ (四大花旦, the four greatest actresses of mainland China) in the early 2000s.
Zhao is known for her work in charity and her efforts for good causes. She is a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations. Zhao is married to Chinese businessman Huang You Long (黄有龙) with whom she has a daughter.
9. Yao Chen 姚晨 – “China’s Answer to Angelina Jolie”
Fans on Weibo: 84.6 million followers @姚晨
Main occupation: Actress
Date of birth: 5 October 1979
Birthplace: Quanzhou, Fujian
Fujian-born Yao Chen is a Chinese actress and Weibo celebrity, who was previously mentioned as one of the 100 most powerful women in the world by Forbes magazine. Speaking out about social issues and being the first-ever Chinese UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador, she has also been called ‘China’s answer to Angelina Jolie.’
Yao Chen is not necessarily China’s number one actress, but she was one of the first celebrities to share her personal life on Weibo since 2009, and interact with her fans. On Weibo, she talks about her everyday life, family, news-related issues, work, and fashion. She posts personal pictures every day. Yao Chen’s popularity as an actress and philanthropist combined with her frequent Weibo updates and closeness to her fans have made her a huge Weibo celebrity.
Yao has acted as an ambassador for various brands, including Miu Miu, Fendi, and Lululemon.
10. Deng Chao 邓超 – Box Office Hit
Fans on Weibo: 81,6 million followers on Weibo @邓超
Main occupation: Actor
Date of birth: 8 February 1979
Birthplace: Nanchang, Jiangxi
Deng Chao is an award-winning Chinese actor, director, and singer. He is, amongst others, known for his role in the popular variety program Keep Running (奔跑吧). Many films in which Deng played, such as The Breakup Guru (2014), The Mermaid (2016), Duckweed (2017), and The Sacrifice (2020) have been box-office hits. Deng is one of China’s most favorite actors.
Deng is married to Chinese actress Sun Li (孙俪), also known as Susan Sun, with whom he has two children. Like many other celebrities, the two donated money to contribute to China’s fight against COVID19 in 2020, but received some online criticism when some thought their donation was ‘stingy’ compared to those of others.
Top Influencer: Wang Yibo 王一博
37.3 million followers @UNIQ-王一博
Wang Yibo (1997) is a Chinese actor, singer, dancer, and rapper who debuted as a member of the South Korean-Chinese boyband UNIQ in 2014 and starred in the 2019 Chinese TV series The Untamed (陈情令). On Sina Weibo, the celebrity was the champion of Weibo’s ‘Most Influential Celebrity’ charts in December of 2020 – he has a huge fanbase. Like many other Chinese celebrities, Wang often features in various commercials and represents various brands, including Audi and Swarovski. He also has an Instagram account with 1.9 million followers.
Top Influencer: Wang Junkai 王俊凯
79.4 million followers @TFBOYS-王俊凯
Wang Junkai (1999), also called Karry Wang, is a singer and actor who debuted as the lead member of the super popular group TFBoys in 2013. The boy band consists of three members; besides Wang, there’s Jackson Yee, who is also in this list, and Wang Yuan (王源also known as Roy Wang). The band recently won a Guinness World Record for most-viewed paid concert, which was their live NetEase cloud music concert for which 786,000 fans bought a virtual ticket. Wang Junkai, who also has a thriving career as a solo singer and represent brands like Swatch and Dior, is one of China’s wealthiest people born after 1990.
Top Influencer: Xiao Zhan 肖战
28.2 million followers @X玖少年团肖战DAYTOY
Xiao Zhan (1991), also known as Sean Xiao, is one of the hottest Weibo bloggers at this time who consistently ranks first lately in daily ranking concerning most influential and most interaction. Xiao is an actor and singer who co-stars in The Untamed (陈情令) together with Wang Yibo. Xiao Zhan and Wang Yibo are super popular within fan fiction communities, where boys’ love fans imagine a romantic relationship between the two – which is not always appreciated by fans of Xiao Zhan.
By Manya Koetse
Follow @whatsonweibo
This text was written for Goethe-Institut China under a CC-BY-NC-ND-4.0-DE license (Creative Commons) as part of a monthly column in collaboration with What’s On Weibo.
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Chapter Dive
The Power of Ugly: Why Niu Lai Became China’s Unlikeliest Box-Office Hit
How the two-person animated film Niu Lai turned its “ugly” visuals, dreamcore nostalgia, and remarkable cinema journey into a nationwide participatory meme.
🗞️ QUICK SCROLLS
📈 Is China’s AI price war over? After a period of offering as much as possible to users at relatively low prices, Chinese AI (LLM) companies are now raising their prices. Last week, DeepSeek – known as the cheapest LLM model around – announced a raise in its API prices, showing that LLM models in China, like food delivery platforms, follow a clear strategy of first attracting users and subsidizing growth, then monetizing once users are locked in.
🐸 “Antibiotic bullfrogs” are a new cause for concern. Bullfrogs sold through e-commerce channels, popularly used in various dishes (like bullfrog hotpot), have been found to contain excessive antibiotic residues after being tested by an independent Shanghai investigation team. Antibiotics are widely used in bullfrog farming.
🌾 A 67-year-old farmer from Anhui ruined 25 acres of crops after following a chatbot’s advice on which pesticides to use. The AI tool recommended a strategy including fomesafen, which killed the farmer’s entire sesame plant crop. Chinese state media highlighted the story as a warning to the growing number of senior citizens who are relying on AI a bit too much.
👁️ A Chinese ad campaign for contact lenses has been taken offline because it starred an AI actress who doesn’t actually have eyes. Last week, I reported on the success of this AI actress, Fang Taozi (方桃子), in the AI micro drama “Laid-Off Girl” (被裁掉的女孩). After a Chinese cosmetic contact-lens brand paid a large sum to feature the actress in its commercial, regulators flagged it because the virtual actress claimed the contact lenses were “comfortable.” Because she doesn’t physically have eyes, this suggests false advertising, and the company could face an additional fine.
🎭 The famous Chinese actor Qin Yan (秦焰) has passed away at the age of 72. The veteran actor was a familiar face on Chinese TV since 1991 and was known for his many roles in TV series like Ruyi’s Royal Love in the Palace, The Knockout, and Joy of Life 2. While fans and colleagues are posting tributes online, the actor’s Baidu (Baike) page has turned black-and-white to mourn his death. The actor suffered from an illness that hasn’t been specified.
Images via Weibo, showing Qin Yan’s press photo on the left and on the right him portraying the role of Eunuch Dai, the corrupt director of the vegetable and food supply department in the popular historical drama series Joy of Life Season 2 (2024).
🏆 China’s animated film Ne Zha 2 was the biggest winner at the 38th Hundred Flower Awards, China’s most prestigious film awards. The movie grossed 15.9 billion yuan ($2.35 billion) and currently ranks as the world’s fifth highest-grossing film, right in between Titanic and Star Wars. Notably, director Jiaozi (real name Yang Yu 杨宇, b. 1980) was absent from the ceremony, as he always is. The director has a strong dislike for pointless socializing. 😂
🕯️ Remembered as a “Communist Warrior” (共产主义战士), the passing of former Chinese Premier and electrical engineer Zhu Rongji (朱镕基) became a top trending topic on Wednesday after an official obituary announced his death. Zhu is mostly remembered for his efforts to help transition from a planned economy to a socialist market economy, including his tax reform implementations, restructuring of state-owned enterprises, and creation of the mass home-ownership market. Zhu died of an illness in Beijing. He was 98 years old.
👁️ ZOOMING IN
1. Typhoon Baihaitun Brings Record Rainfall to Shanghai
Image via Weibo user @粗茶大白饭
Typhoon Baihaitun (白海豚 “White Dolphin”) has been one of the biggest keywords dominating Chinese social media this week as severe weather affected eastern China.
In Shanghai and surrounding areas, the typhoon caused major disruptions on August 9–10 due to strong winds and extreme rainfall. In Xujiahui, nearly 316 mm of rain fell within 24 hours, the highest amount recorded in Shanghai since observations began over 150 years ago. (The highest total was recorded at Lantian Station in Linhai, Taizhou, where rainfall surpassed a staggering 630 mm; that’s like buckets of water simply being poured down from the sky.)
Many roads, homes, and entire parking lots were completely flooded (video on X / Bluesky). Thousands of people were evacuated, flights were canceled, and metro lines were suspended. In some neighborhoods, residents reported that the water had reached all the way up the stairs.
The typhoon coincided with the Monday morning rush. Despite official guidance encouraging working from home, online complaints made it clear that many companies still expected their employees to show up at the office.
Shanghai Disneyland also remained open despite the severe weather. Videos show park visitors riding attractions in the pouring rain, and cast members in costumes needing help to navigate the rain and wind. The happiest place on earth has never looked so sad (see various videos in my thread here on X / Bluesky).
The impact of the typhoon is expected to last until at least Sunday.
2. Streisand Effect: Huawei Gets Bugged by Bamboo Cicada Toy
If the past week had one soundbite, it would be the rasping, buzzing cicada-like sound you get by spinning the traditional handmade “bamboo cicada” (竹知了 zhúzhīliǎo) wooden toy.
It became a viral sensation after netizens used its sounds to accompany videos of a Huawei event where Chairman Richard Yu (余承东) announced a new car. He described the AITO M9 as “the best SUV under 10 million yuan” (一千万以内最好，没有之一), prompting “wawaa” sounds and cheers from the audience. Soon, a meme was born in which social media users mixed the footage with the toy’s sound – not just because of the audience, but also because of Yu’s distinctive way of speaking.
That cicada toy meme would never have become as big if Huawei’s legal department hadn’t intervened. The company submitted complaints to social media platforms, and videos were removed. But this triggered a chain reaction – when people found the sound was being censored, it blew up in popularity. By now, not only is the sound used everywhere, but the toy itself has become a summer must-have (even though its origins are contested – some say it’s traditionally Japanese and not Chinese at all).
The American term “Streisand Effect” (in Chinese: 史翠珊效应 Shǐcuìshān xiàoyìng) has been used online to describe how Huawei’s reaction backfired.
The response by Huawei – or, more precisely, HIMA, the company’s smart-vehicle alliance brand – was criticized not only by netizens but also by official voices. The official account of Zhejiang Province was among many posting critiques, saying that “the stronger a company is, the greater its capacity to accept discussion” – in other words, calling Huawei weak for its reaction.
This makes it one of those rare moments when, especially when it’s about censorship, official and grassroots voices seem to agree, for once, on the limits of the kind of content that should and should not be controlled. In this way, the cicada sound has come to represent something much more than mocking Huawei, with netizens protecting their rights to criticize & ridicule China’s most powerful business players.
3. Japanese K-Pop Fan’s Death Shows Dark Side of Fan Culture
Miki Chan on the right, posing together with ENHYPEN group member NI-KI. Image via Weibo.
A tragic suicide livestreamed on TikTok became a trending topic across Chinese platforms over the past week, sparking discussions about toxic fan cultures and online bullying.
The 26-year-old Japanese K-pop influencer Mina Chan experienced an acute mental health crisis while livestreaming from her home in Seoul on August 5. This happened after she suffered weeks of severe online bullying stemming from an incident at the US concert of her favorite pop group, the boy band ENHYPEN.
During the concert, Mina tried to give sunflowers to her favorite singer, Nishimura Riki, better known as NI-KI, by throwing them onto the stage. When another group member picked them up instead, she appeared upset. When NI-KI later criticized fans for seeking personal attention rather than enjoying the concert, many fans felt he was referring to Mina.
In the following weeks, Mina received so much online harassment, doxxing, and hate that she first apologized on X and withdrew from the fan club before eventually broadcasting her final livestream, in which she died by hanging. Mean comments continued throughout the livestream.
Online discussions in China have largely framed the incident in terms of online aggression (网暴, wǎngbào) and problematic fan circles (饭圈, fànquān). Although Mina was a Japanese fan of a South Korean band, K-pop fandom is also enormous in China.
Both online aggression and toxic fan culture have been repeatedly targeted by Chinese cyberspace authorities in recent years, undoubtedly contributing to greater public awareness of these problems. Against this backdrop, Mina’s death has prompted widespread calls to end online bullying, while thousands of Chinese netizens have expressed their sorrow over the young woman’s death.
Notably, just one day before Mina’s livestream, American celebrity blogger Perez Hilton became a global trending topic after self-harming during a TikTok livestream that remained online for approximately fifteen minutes, allowing a large audience to watch the disturbing events unfold – similar to what happened with Mina’s livestream. In the United States, the incident sparked further discussion about platform moderation and TikTok’s failure to end livestreams quickly when signs of self-harm or an acute mental health crisis emerge.
📱ON MY FEED
This post reads:
“China Southern, what on earth are you doing? I gulped it all down, only to realize it wasn’t grape juice, it was prune juice!!! This is the first time I’ve seen such a long, never-ending line of people waiting to use the restroom on a plane; the prize pool just kept growing.
Do you have any idea how much I suffered? #InFlightMeal #ChinaSouthern #PruneJuice”
After passengers on a China Southern Airlines flight from Wuhan to Urumqi were served prune juice with their meal, the queues for the plane’s only two toilets kept growing as dozens of passengers felt the high urge to go.
One other review said:
“What were you thinking, serving prune juice? China Southern, please answer me. You nearly made me shit myself.”
🔗 SEEN ELSEWHERE
🔹 “Grandma Economy” (“姥姥经济”) fills a void for urban Chinese Gen Z and millennial consumers who are increasingly projecting their nostalgia for the warmth of grandmothers onto the brands they buy, the content they consume, and the creators they follow. Read at Baiguan / by Amber Zhang.
🔹 Toddler twins are at the center of a very messy custody case involving a surrogate mother from Florida and a Chinese father who might never be allowed to enter the US. Born in November 2024, the twins are biologically not connected to the surrogate mother, but after the Chinese legal father never came to collect them, she and her husband want to adopt them. A new Florida law has now placed the case at the center of conservative outrage over Chinese parents allegedly exploiting the state’s lax surrogacy rules. Read at Wall Street Journal / by Katherine Long.
🔹 A Chinese state media correspondent has been accused of being a spy by the Czech Security Information Service, which identified Yang as an operative of China’s Ministry of State Security, alleging he used his cover as a journalist to collect compromising information on Czech politicians, particularly those supportive of closer ties with Taiwan. Read at Reporters Without Borders.
🔹 “What I feared to be my lifelong search has unexpectedly come to an end. Yesterday, I got a message from my family searcher in China on WeChat that I have a positive DNA match with my biological parents.” In late 2024, I wrote about how the Dutch adoptee Fengli Bottema had come to China in search of her biological family after she was left in front of an Anhui police station as a baby back in 2001. There’s now an update to her story, which echoes that of thousands of Chinese girls adopted abroad. Her search has finally come to an end. Read Fengli’s Instagram post here.
Thanks to Miranda Barnes for helping me curate topics for this edition.
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Blame Games & Bad Signs: Nepal–Tibet Floods, Huawei’s Toilet Trouble, “Screwed” Graduates
The Power of Ugly: Why Niu Lai Became China’s Unlikeliest Box-Office Hit
AI Actress Ad Pulled, Baihaitun Disrupts Shanghai and Cicada Meme Bugs Huawei
How Chinese AI Videos Turned Foreigners into Villains
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Almond
June 13, 2021 at 7:29 pm
Why don’t you mention his accomplishments, the brands that support him, his career successes, and a thousand other things Xiao Zhan has accomplished instead of his past controversies or his fan fictions? You have no excuse. Wang Yibo is also involved in these fan fictions but I don’t see any of that in his description. I’m not saying that you put it there as well, but explain to me why if you speak professionally about everyone, with Sean Xiao you are only looking to damage his reputation with those who do not know him. Are you trying to say that his popularity is only due to that? Or do you want to please the fans? Because I’m a fan of both him and the fan fictions, and I’m not satisfied at all. It’s not enough saying “his fans don’t like it” because you know what you’re writing, think about how he would feel reading this in a famous website. His career or his influence has nothing to do with what Boys Love fans do in FICTION. What a lack of professionalism and a final review of what you post. You could even add his achievements below that, but you left it like that just to get attention to your article, right? At his cost. Unbelivable.
Shaara
May 20, 2022 at 10:00 pm
“The Untamed” made his name reach people. However, it is not a lie that his controversy gave him a stardom. Before “The Untamed” he worked in average quality productions. After his controversy, he has not been getting good jobs. Wang Yibo on the other hand, is not a good actor, but he has had better opportunities than him. You are just like the fans who hurt Xiao Zhan, look at you, acting irrational, delusional and in a state of denial.