China Arts & Entertainment
Weibo Is Watching the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony
The Olympic opening ceremony is the talk of the day.
It’s February 4th, the date that Beijing has been counting down for. At 20:00 o’clock China time, the much-anticipated Opening Ceremony will take place at the National Stadium in the Chinese capital.
The anticipation is noticeable in Chinese media and on Chinese social media, where Beijing 2022 mascots ‘Bing Dwen Dwen’ and ‘Shuey Rhon Rhon’ pop up everywhere. Various top hashtags on Weibo are related to the opening ceremony. So what can we expect today? Here’s what we know.
The Opening Ceremony is taking place at the National Stadium, better known as the ‘Bird’s Nest’ (鸟巢). The much-acclaimed Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yimou (张艺谋, 1951) is in charge as the very first director to helm the ceremonies for both a winter and a summer Olympics.
Zhang, known for famous movies such as Red Sorghum and Raise the Red Lantern, has been preparing for the opening and closing ceremony since 2019. Although the program for tonight has not been disclosed, we do know that it will certainly be very colorful, as all of Zhang’s works use vibrant colors to support the narrative and bring another layer of meaning to it.
The ceremony will be different from 2008 one in multiple ways. Zhang himself recently stated in an interview that the Beijing Summer Olympics Opening Ceremony marked the rise of China’s national status on the international stage. The impressive spectacle showcased Chinese ancient culture, tradition, and history.
Zhang Yimou in an interview with CCTV (screenshot by Whatsonweibo).
This time, there is a clear focus on the “we”; the official slogan for the Olympics is also “Together for a Shared Future.” It is highly likely that the ceremony will have a narrative throughout its performances emphasizing Chinese cultural confidence and its leadership role in the global community.
Another theme of tonight’s show will be spring and new beginnings as China is celebrating the Spring Festival.
A third theme will be Chinese digitalization and innovation. Over recent years, big events organized in China, such as the Spring Festival Gala, have consistently used the opportunity to showcase the country’s latest digital innovations. Tonight’s show will also use 5G-enabled AR and VR, cloud, robotics, and artificial intelligence.
Xi Jinping will attend the ceremony together with President Putin of Russia, Cambodia’s King Norosom Sihamoni, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan, Director-General of the World Health Organization Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, and many others.
Another way in which the opening ceremony is different from the one in 2008, is that it will be shorter (around 100 minutes instead of four hours) and that it will not involve as many performers. The 2008 ceremony cast consisted of some 15,000 performers, which now will be around 3000 performers. The shorter time and the smaller cast relate to covid19 prevention measures, but also have to do with the cold weather.
Noteworthy is the average age of the cast. Although there will be people performing from all age groups, the youngest performer being 5 years old and the oldest performers being in their seventies, approximately 95% of the performers are adolescents.
There is said to be a very special way of lighting the torch at the Beijing ceremony. The Olympic Torch, which was carried by martial artist Jackie Chan on February 3rd at the Great Wall of China, will end its journey at the Beijing National Stadium after moving through later moving through Beijing, Yanqing, and Zhangjiakou.
Various channels across the world, including BBC and NBC, are broadcasting the ceremony. Watch the ceremony live here on CCTV.
If anyone is wondering about the order in which the countries are appearing at the ceremony #Beijing2022WinterOlympics , it's based on the stroke order of the first character of the country.
— Manya Koetse (@manyapan) February 4, 2022
By Manya Koetse
PS If you need a VPN at this time, Express VPN is currently doing a Winter Olympics special, offering 3 extra months free with the purchase of a 12-month plan. Check here.
Spotted a mistake or want to add something? Please let us know in comments below or email us. First-time commenters, please be patient – we will have to manually approve your comment before it appears.
©2022 Whatsonweibo. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce our content without permission – you can contact us at info@whatsonweibo.com.
China Celebs
Hong Kong Police Find Head of Murdered Model Abby Choi in Soup Pot
“Reality is more gruesome than fiction,” some commenters wrote on Weibo, where the Abby Choi murder case has drawn wide attention.
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 Press reported 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.
By Manya Koetse
Get the story behind the hashtag. Subscribe to What’s on Weibo here to receive our newsletter and get access to our latest articles:
Spotted a mistake or want to add something? Please let us know in comments below or email us. First-time commenters, please be patient – we will have to manually approve your comment before it appears.
©2023 Whatsonweibo. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce our content without permission – you can contact us at info@whatsonweibo.com.
China Arts & Entertainment
South Korean Actor Yoo Ah-in Dropped as Brand Ambassador in China after Propofol Scandal
The current drug scandal involving Yoo Ah-in also has consequences for the South Korean actor’s activities in China.
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.
By Manya Koetse
Get the story behind the hashtag. Subscribe to What’s on Weibo here to receive our newsletter and get access to our latest articles:
Spotted a mistake or want to add something? Please let us know in comments below or email us. First-time commenters, please be patient – we will have to manually approve your comment before it appears.
©2023 Whatsonweibo. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce our content without permission – you can contact us at info@whatsonweibo.com.
What’s Cooking? This Is What Putin and Xi Had for Dinner in Moscow
Pregnancy Discrimination in the Workplace: Three Major Problems Faced by Chinese Female Workers
“New Chapter of Sino-Russian Friendship”: Putin Publishes Op-Ed in China’s People’s Daily, Xi in Rossiiskaya Gazeta
Lianghui on Weibo: 5 Themes That Stood Out on Chinese Social Media during the Two Sessions
Meet Ren Xiaorong, People’s Daily AI Virtual News Anchor
Sad Sunshine After the Rain: Zhang Zhehan’s New Record Becomes #1 on iTunes
Hot Air: Chinese Social Media Reactions to the Chinese Balloon Incident
Chinese Clinic Launches ‘Drive-Through IV Infusion’ as Covid Cases Surge
Map: Predicting China’s Covid Waves per Region
Chinese Blue Rabbit Zodiac Stamp Becomes Unexpected Viral Hit for Looking “Horrific”
-
China Arts & Entertainment3 months agoSad Sunshine After the Rain: Zhang Zhehan’s New Record Becomes #1 on iTunes
-
China Insight2 months ago
Hot Air: Chinese Social Media Reactions to the Chinese Balloon Incident
-
China and Covid193 months ago
Chinese Clinic Launches ‘Drive-Through IV Infusion’ as Covid Cases Surge
-
China and Covid193 months ago
Map: Predicting China’s Covid Waves per Region
Riley Wheeler
March 18, 2022 at 9:36 pm
I wanted to watch the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics on TV, but I couldn’t find any time. Where can I watch it on the Internet? I really like the winter Olympics basket random.