China Memes & Viral
Trump and Takaichi: The Unexpected Love Affair
The meeting between US President Donald Trump and new Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi became a popular topic on China social media, thanks to a stream of meme-worthy moments.
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.
🔴 Trump: Reaffirming US Dominance, Insensitive to Japan’s Wartime Past
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#).
🔴 Takaichi: Smiles & Body Language Seen as Deferential to US
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.
🔴 Trump & Takaichi: A US-Japan Love Affair
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
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China Celebs
China Trend Watch: Quiet Nationalism, Loud Statements, and Nanjing Memorial Day
From war memory to viral eggs, salty cakes, an unfortunate dinner party and farewell to an iconic actress.
🔥 China Trend Watch — Week 50 (2025)
Part of Eye on Digital China. This edition was sent to paid subscribers — subscribe to receive the next issue in your inbox.
I’ve rounded up my latest China trip that brought me from Chongqing to Nanjing, Wuhan, Zaozhuang and Beijing, for some of my research on Chinese remembrances of war. Along the way, I have met many friendly people and had interesting converations, from hanging out with a group of Wuhan teenagers to lively conversations with retired seniors in Shandong.
A small and short personal observation, if I may, regarding the current tensions between China and Japan.
I vividly remember the atmosphere on the streets during earlier moments when tensions ran sky-high—most notably in 2012, after a major diplomatic crisis erupted over Japan’s nationalization of several disputed Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands. That episode triggered large-scale anti-Japanese protests across China and spilled unmistakably into everyday life. In Beijing’s Sanlitun area, for instance, there was a street food vendor who put up a large sign proclaiming, “The Diaoyu Islands belong to China.” In the hutong neighborhoods, it seemed as though virtually every household had hung a Chinese flag by its door. Books about Japan that I purchased locally later turned out to have entire pages ripped out. My favorite sushi restaurant suddenly displayed a sign explaining that its brand was, in fact, very Chinese and had nothing to do with Japan. Nearby, in the clothing markets around the Beijing Zoo, T-shirts bearing nationalistic slogans related to the islands dispute were on sale at multiple stalls.
By contrast, during my most recent stay in Nanjing and beyond—despite the increasingly militant tone of state media and social media campaigns surrounding Japan, and despite the undeniable persistence of anti-Japanese sentiment—I noticed far fewer visible expressions of it in daily life. There were no slogan T-shirts, no banners, no overt street-level signaling. While news came out that a string of Japanese performances in China were canceled, I noticed hotel waitress fully dressed in a Japanese kimono at an in-house Japanese restaurant. Local bookstores are filled with works by Japanese authors, and Japanese popular culture appear to be thriving and coexisting comfortably with China’s own flourishing ACG (anime, comics, and games) industry.
Is there simply less anti-Japanese sentiment than over a decade ago? Or is it, perhaps, that in today’s highly digitalized Xi Jinping era, nationalist narratives are more tightly managed and increasingly channeled online—making people more cautious, more restrained, or simply less inclined to express political sentiments openly in public space?
A cab driver in Chongqing told me he believed there was “something wrong” with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and the influence she has had on bilateral relations since her rise to power. While supporting his government’s tough stance and expressing sadness over the scars left by war, he also mentioned that he had enjoyed a pleasant conversation earlier that same morning with a young Japanese man he had driven to the train station.
“We didn’t talk about the latest clash,” he said. “If find that too sensitive to mention. He spoke Chinese, he studied Chinese, like you. I don’t hate today’s Japanese people at all. In the end, we’re all just people. What’s happening now is something between the leadership.”
He spoke at length while driving me to the station, signaling that the topic clearly weighed on him. It left me with the sense that the absence of banners or T-shirts does not mean the issue has faded from everyday life, only that it is not expressed as a mass spectacle like it was in earlier years. It has become quieter, more online, and more filtered through official narratives, but it is still very much alive.
There is a lot more to say, but it is Sunday after all, and there is plenty more to read here, so let’s dive in.
- 🍓 Chinese consumers were pretty salty this week when discovering their pricey strawberry cake from Alibaba supermarket chain Hema (盒马) tasted all wrong. Hema acknowledged a production issue (they didn’t say it outright, but salt was allegedly used instead of sugar) and the incident triggered discussions about food safety & quality control in automated food production, especially when such a major mistake happens at high-profile companies.
- 🌡️ China’s announced ban on mercury thermometers (as of Jan 1st 2026) has sparked a buying frenzy, as many consumers, reluctant to switch to electronic alternatives, still prefer mercury models for their perceived accuracy and convenience. Despite nearly half of annual mercury poisoning cases being linked to broken thermometers, prices have now surged from around 4 yuan ($0.6) to over 30 yuan ($4.25), and stores have reported complete sellouts.
- ❄️ Beijing welcomed its first snowfall of winter 2025 this week, leading to lovely social media pics and the Beijing Palace Museum tickets selling out instantly. Experiencing and capturing that first snowfall at the Forbidden City has become somewhat of a holy grail on social media.
- 🕵️♂️ A local construction site in Shanghai unexpectedly became the scene of a modern-day treasure hunt after dozens of residents armed with shovels and metal detectors rushed to the area following online rumors that silver coins (including valuable older ones) had been found. Authorities had to intervene and, while not confirming the rumors, emphasized that any buried cultural relics belong to the state.
- 🇷🇺 Since this month, Chinese citizens can enter Russia visa-free for up to 30 days, a policy that led Chinese state media to claim that “Russia is replacing Japan as a new favorite among Chinese tourists.” On social media, however, the vibe is different, with travelers complaining about high prices, poor internet, lack of online payments, unreliable ATMs, and the need for thorough trip preparation — all reasons why Russia is unlikely to become the go-to destination for the Chinese New Year.
- 🫏 An investigation by Beijing Evening News revealed that many of the capital’s popular donkey meat sandwich shops are actually serving horse meat without informing customers. China’s donkey shortage — driven by declining domestic supply, rising demand for the traditional Chinese medicine Ejiao (which uses donkey hides), and an African export ban — has been a hot topic this year. Now that it’s directly affecting a beloved delicacy, the issue is drawing even more public attention.
1. Why This Year’s Nanjing Memorial Day Felt Different
Posters published by various Chinese state media outlets to commemorate the Nanjing Massacre.
December 13 marked the 88th anniversary of the fall of Nanjing, and this year’s Nanjing Memorial Day (南京大屠杀难者国家公祭日), although described as a low-key commemoration by foreign media, was trending all over Chinese social media.
During the Second Sino-Japanese War, on December 12, 1937, the Japanese army attacked Nanjing from various directions, and defending Chinese forces suffered heavy casualties. A day later, the city was captured. It marked the beginning of a six-week-long massacre filled with looting, arson, and rape, during which, according to China’s official data, at least 300,000 residents, including children, elderly, and women, were brutally murdered.
This year, the Nanjing Massacre Memorial Day, which was first officially held as a state-level event in 2014, carried extra weight. This dark chapter of history has continuously been a sensitive topic in Sino-Japanese relations, but with recent diplomatic tensions between the two countries reaching new heights, the Memorial Day was especially tied to current-day relations between China and Japan and to Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who has been described by Chinese media as an “ultranationalist” with tendencies to downplay Japan’s wartime aggression. Takaichi’s November 2025 parliamentary statement that a Chinese military action against Taiwan could be considered a “survival-threatening situation” for Japan, allowing for the deployment of its Self-Defense Forces, continues to fuel Chinese anger.
The link between history and current-day bilateral relations was visible not only on social media, but also during the commemoration itself, where Shi Taifeng (石泰峰), head of the ruling Communist Party’s Organization Department, said that any attempt to revive militarism and challenge the postwar international order is “doomed to fail.”
Besides the many online posters disseminated by Chinese official accounts on social media focusing on mourning, quiet commemoration, and honoring the lives of the 300,000 Chinese compatriots killed in Nanjing, one official online visual stood out for displaying a louder and more aggressive message—namely that posted by the official Weibo account of the Eastern Theater Command of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (@东部战区).
The visual posted by the PLA Eastern Theater Command, titled: Rite of the Great Saber (大刀祭).
The visual showed a strong hand holding a giant blood-stained blade that is beheading a skeleton wearing a helmet marked “militarism,” with images related to the Nanjing Massacre visible on the blade and, behind it, a map of East Asia. The number “300000” appears in red, dripping like blood. At the top, the characters read “Rite of the Great Saber” or “The Great Saber Sacrifice” (大刀祭).
The official account explained the visual, writing: “(…) 88 years have passed and the blood of the heroic dead has not yet dried, [yet] the ghost of militarism is making a comeback. Each year, on National Memorial Day, a deafening alarm is sounded, reminding us that we must—at all times hold high the great saber offered in blood sacrifice, resolutely cut off filthy heads, never allow militarism to return, and never allow historical tragedy to be repeated.”
The text’s “cut off filthy heads” phrasing is similar to part of a now-deleted tweet sent out last month by the Chinese Consul General in Osaka, Xue Jian (薛剑), who responded to Takaichi’s controversial Taiwan remarks by writing (in Japanese): “If you come charging in on your own like that, there’s nothing to do but cut that filthy neck down without a moment’s hesitation. Are you prepared?” (“勝手に突っ込んできたその汚い首は一瞬の躊躇もなく斬ってやるしかない。覚悟が出来ているのか。”)
The recent visuals, social media approach, and shifts in texts reflect a clear change in tone in Chinese official discourse regarding Japan and the memory of war, moving the narrative from victimhood toward a more confrontational and militant tone.
2. He Qing, China’s “No. 1 Classical Beauty”, Passes Away at 61
He Qing. Images on the sides: the four famous roles in China’s most iconic tv dramas.
China’s “No. 1 Classical Beauty” (古典第一美女), He Qing (何晴), who starred in all four of China’s most beloved and canonical television dramas, passed away on Saturday at the age of 61. On December 14, news of the famous actress’s passing was trending across virtually all Chinese social media apps.
Born in 1964 into an artistic family in Jiangshan, Zhejiang Province, He Qing received traditional Chinese opera (Kunqu) training at the Zhejiang Kunqu Opera Troupe. Her debut in the entertainment industry may have come by chance, as she reportedly once met Chinese director Yang Jie (杨洁) on a train, which led to her joining the production of Journey to the West (西游记), where she played Lingji Bodhisattva (灵吉菩萨).
In China, He Qing is remembered as a veteran actress in much the same way that some famous Hong Kong actresses became renowned for their beauty, iconic roles, and for essentially becoming household names. More than just glitter and glamour, He Qing was especially a symbol of classical Chinese beauty and literary culture. She was the only actress to star in screen adaptations of all four of China’s “Four Great Classical Novels” (演遍四大名著): besides Journey to the West (西游记, 1986), she also appeared in Dream of the Red Chamber (红楼梦, 1987), Romance of the Three Kingdoms (三国演义, 1994), and Water Margin (水浒传, 1998).
She was married to fellow actor Xu Yajun (许亚军), with whom she had a son, Xu He (许何). Although the two later divorced, she remained close to her ex-husband and even befriended his new (and fourth) wife, Zhang Shu (张澍).
In 2015, He Qing was diagnosed with a brain tumor. After her diagnosis, she withdrew from the entertainment industry to focus on her recovery and lived a low-key life in her later years.
Her passing has prompted an outpouring of tributes from Chinese netizens and colleagues in the entertainment industry. Mourning her loss comes with a sense of nostalgia for the past, and many have praised He Qing for her timeless beauty and authenticity, which will be remembered long after her passing.
3. And Then There Were None: Dinner Party of Ten Leaves One Man with the Bill
Ten dine together, nine slip away..one left for the bill, who he refused to pay…
Do you know that nursery rhyme where ten little soldiers disappear one by one until none remain at the end? That is more or less what happened earlier this month in Chongqing, when ten people dined together at a restaurant, but—once it came time to pay—nine people left one by one.
One had to answer a phone call, another had to use the restroom, and in the end, just before midnight, only Mr. Zhang was left, facing a bill of 1,262 yuan ($180), which he refused to pay. He argued that he could not afford it and that the dinner party hadn’t been initiated by him at all; as merely a participant, the bill shouldn’t have been his responsibility.
After the restaurant called the police, the organizer of the dinner was contacted. But he, too, said he couldn’t pay. Through police mediation, Mr. Zhang then wrote a written commitment promising to pay the bill the following day and left his ID as collateral, but he still failed to make the payment.
By now, the restaurant is planning to sue and has also contacted the Chinese media. According to Zhang, who apparently has been unable to contact his “friends” to collect the money: “I did make the promise, but if I pay the money, wouldn’t that make me a sucker?” (“我的确承诺了，但你说我把钱付了，我是不是冤大头啊”)
As the story went completely viral (by now, even Hu Xijin has weighed in) comment sections filled with broader social reflections on alcohol-fueled group gatherings and unclear payment rules, where one person sometimes ends up paying for everything despite feeling it wasn’t their role to do so. In this era of digital payments, many argue it should be easy enough to go Dutch and settle the bill immediately via a group payment app.
Although Zhang is seen by some as a victim, others argue that he is still a “sucker” for not paying after having promised to do so. As one commenter put it: “Out of the ten of them, not a single one is a good person.”
Real Person Vibes [活人感 (huóréngǎn)
Every December, the ten most popular buzzwords, key terms, or expressions of the year are listed by the Chinese linguistics magazine Yǎowén Jiáozì (咬文嚼字), selecting words that reflect present-day society and changing times. Each year, the list goes trending and is widely disseminated by Chinese media.
This week, the 2025 list was released, including terms such as Digital Nomads 数字游民 (shù zì yóu mín), Sū Chāo (苏超), referring to the hugely popular amateur Jiangsu Super League football competition, and “Pre-made ××” (预制, yù zhì), following a year filled with discussions about pre-fab and pre-made food (see article).
My favorite word on the list is “Real-Person Vibes” (活人感 huó rén gǎn). The term literally consists of three characters meaning “living – human – feeling,” and it describes people, stories, or things that feel unpolished, spontaneous, and unfiltered—something that has become increasingly relevant in a year dominated by AI-generated content and visuals.
Amid over-curated feeds and AI-produced text, we crave huóréngǎn: authenticity, small imperfections, and liveliness as an antidote to a digital, artificial world.
The 9:12 Boiled Egg That Took Over Douyin
How do you get a perfect boiled egg? A Douyin user known as “Loves Eating Eggs” (爱吃蛋) has become all the rage after leaving a precise comment on how to boil eggs. His advice: First boil the water, then add the eggs, boil for exactly 9 minutes and 12 seconds, remove, and immediately run under cold water.
That simple tip catapulted his follower count from around 200 to over 3.5 million in a single week (I just checked—he’s up to 4.2 million now).
The new viral hit is a 24-year-old self-proclaimed egg expert (of course, his English nickname should be the Eggxpert). He claims to have eaten 40 eggs a day for the past five years and knows exactly how every second of boiling, frying, or stirring affects an egg. He regularly posts videos showing eggs cooked for different lengths of time.
It has earned him the nicknames “Egg God” (蛋神) and “Boiled Egg Immortal” (煮蛋仙人), and has sent boiled eggs (9 minutes and 12 seconds exactly) all over social media feeds.
Thanks for reading this Eye on Digital China China Trend Watch. For slower-moving trends and deeper structural analysis, keep an eye on the upcoming newsletters.
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Many thanks to Miranda Barnes for helping curate some of the topics in this edition.
— Manya
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China Digital
China Trend Watch: Hong Kong Fire Updates, Nantong’s Viral Moment & Japanese Concert Cancellations
From Hong Kong’s Wang Fuk Court fire and China’s new “family member” rule to Japanese concerts halted, the Nantong viral remark, childcare subsidy payouts, 6G trials, and top social media debates.
🔥 China Trend Watch — Week 48–49 (2025)
Part of Eye on Digital China. This edition was sent to our subscribers — subscribe to receive the next issue in your inbox.
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.
What stands out in these discussions on the fire is that people are also tying it to deeper-rooted issues in Hong Kong. Since it’s Hong Kong, there’s arguably some more online room for discussion on such a topic. One Weibo blogger named ‘Jinshu Sister’ wrote: “The blaze exposed two very different worlds within ‘glamorous’ (光鲜) Hong Kong: one world is the fast-moving international metropolis, a playground for capital and elites. The other world consists of citizens living in decades-old buildings. Their hopes of improving their housing have been repeatedly delayed due to practical difficulties, such as costly maintenance fees and the complicated procedures of owners’ corporations. A truly great city is not defined by how many world-class skyscrapers it has, but by whether it can protect the life and safety of every ordinary person living in it.”
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.”
In light of the many trending stories over the past years concerning domestic violence, you might expect more support for this legal revision. However, people have doubts about how cohabitation will actually be defined in court. One commenter on Weibo wrote: “How should it be defined? If you have sex once a week, is that considered cohabitation? If you stay together for one week every month, is that considered cohabitation? If you have long-term sexual relations but leave after it’s over and don’t sleep together at night, is that cohabitation? There is only one answer: discretionary power (自由裁量权). If the judge says it is cohabitation, then it is cohabitation. Since cohabitation makes you ‘family members,’ can the other party then take half of the house?”
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.
There have been mixed reactions following the wave of cancellations. Despite anti-Japanese sentiments online, many people also feel this move unfairly impacts Chinese companies and consumers. Political commentator Hu Xijin addressed the issue, writing: “First, this demonstrates China’s resolve to strengthen sanctions against Japan by cancelling performances by Japanese artists coming to China, and that certainly generates a positive effect. But at the same time, Chinese performance companies will face costs from breaching contracts and from the upfront investments already made; the city of Shanghai and its transportation sector lose a piece of consumption; some audience members who had already traveled from other places to Shanghai are left with nothing; and many ticket holders, especially those who planned to travel from other cities, had their weekend plans disrupted. Taken together, all of these are losses on China’s side.”
Returning to China next week [下周回国] (xià zhōu huíguó)
“Returning to China next week” has been a popular phrase for years in relation to tech entrepreneur Jia Yueting (贾跃亭), who departed China during the 2017 collapse of his LeEco tech company, leaving behind billions in debt.
While going on to found and lead EV startup Faraday Future (FF) in California, Jia repeatedly told Chinese audiences that he would return “next week.” When next week became next month, next year, and eventually never, “returning to China next week” became a running joke on social media, representing big promises with zero follow-up.
Now, Jia has again made headlines after announcing ambitious new plans for the future of FF and autonomous driving. Not only does Jia intend to cooperate with Tesla, he also said that FF and FX (the company’s second brand targeted at the mass market) have a five-year sales target of 500,000 cars. FF’s technology partner AIXC is the newly listed AI x Crypto company that is supposed to shake up the market. Jia’s business strategy has apparently pivoted to trying to create a tech + AI + crypto ecosystem in which each business strengthens the other.
Jia’s latest plans add to the series of grandiose promises that have made him a recurring character in Chinese online discussions. Although often mocked, there is also fascination in how Jia continues to stay in the headlines and attract new investments, seemingly without end.
Of course, after all this, netizens still wonder: “But will he still return to China next week?”
A screenshot showing a cheeky comment from an unexpected account has gone mega viral this week. The comment was made on Douyin by an official local government account in relation to a new law on sealing minor-offence records.
The revised section of the Public Security Administration Law, taking effect on January 1, 2026, adds the possibility of sealing certain administrative violations. Online, people mostly connected this to drug-related offences, wondering whether it would allow people whose names are tied to drug-related penalties to now have their records sealed.
Under a social media post about this issue, the official account of Nantong’s Culture & Tourism Bureau replied: “Which young master was caught using [drugs]?”（“哪位少爷吸了”), jokingly suggesting that the law has been introduced to protect certain individuals from powerful families.
The edgy remark sent the Nantong Tourism Bureau account’s followers up by nearly 1.5 million overnight, eventually adding a total of around 4 million new fans. And although the comment was soon deleted, it has boosted the visibility of Nantong, with some supporters suggesting that if its cultural bureau dares to make such bold remarks, the city itself might be worth a visit.
The moment shows that it only takes a tiny comment to go viral, and that, perhaps, Nantong now has a job opening for a new social media manager to entertain their millions of new followers with content that’s a bit less edgy.😅
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