SubscribeLog in
Connect with us

China Arts & Entertainment

When Weibo Stopped Updating Its Trending Topics List…

..Chinese netizens made the super-popular reality show “Sisters Who Make Waves” go viral anyway.

Wendy Huang

Published

on

Sina Weibo stopped updating its trending topics list from June 10 to June 17 in compliance with an order from the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) for “disrupting online communication order” and “spreading illegal information.”

During the seven day suspension, Weibo users had no access to the list of the most popular search terms and topics, which, similar to Twitter, appears in the feed or sidebar of the user interface.

One new reality show, however, became all the rage among Chinese web users and inspired some trending hashtags.

The popular reality show, titled Sisters Who Make Waves (乘风波浪的姐姐) was produced by Mango TV. The show follows the idea of idol group reality shows such as Youth with You (青春有你) produced by iQIYI.

What makes the show different from other Chinese idol reality shows, is that all thirty contestants are familiar faces in the entertainment industry. These thirty ‘sisters’ are all singers, dancers, and actresses over the age of thirty, with some of them having made their debut a decade ago.

The first episode of the show premiered on June 12 11:50 AM, during Friday’s working hours. Though its launch date and time were not even pre-announced on the show’s official Weibo account, the premiere still raised heated discussions and soon became ‘trending’ – but with Weibo’s temporary ban on trending lists, the topics were not displayed in any lists on the site.

Netizens found original ways to still show their big interest in this show and make it go viral.

Some Weibo users, for example, made “handwritten lists of ‘Sisters Who Make Waves’ trends” (#乘风破浪的姐姐手写热搜#). That hashtag alone already received more than 3.2 million views.

All these user-generated handwritten topics are related to some details of the first episode of the show, including quotes by the ‘sisters’, or the behavior of the show’s presenter and judges.

Actor Huang Xiaoming, the official presenter of the final group, garnered more than 130 million views with a hashtag that had his name included. “Huang Xiaoming, the Master of Carrying Water”(#黄晓明端水大师#) went viral, hinting to Huang’s behavior during the show; he posted thirty messages to the thirty ‘sisters’ in alphabetical order on Weibo just before the premiere, and he comforted each one of them by telling them that the show is nothing but “a plus” for them (#黄晓明这是加分项#).

Actress Ning Jing (宁静), one of the thirty sisters who is known for her straightforwardness, responded to the director’s request to do an on-camera “self-introduction” by questioning out loud why she still needed to introduce herself at all. After all these of being active years in the industry, she wondered, had it all been for nothing? Her quick and witty response triggered another Weibo hashtag (#宁静 我几十年白干了#).

The hashtag “Sisters Who Make Waves Kick Off” (#乘风破浪的姐姐开播#) has attracted more than 430 million views on Weibo so far, with the hashtag of the show’s title (#乘风破浪的姐姐#) receiving more than 7.6 billion views.

One thing is clear –  Sisters Who Make Waves definitely knows how to make waves on Weibo. No matter if Sina Weibo has trending lists or not, Weibo users will make sure that the topics they love go viral anyway.

By Wendy Huang

Spotted a mistake or want to add something? Please let us know in comments below or email us. Please note that your comment below will need to be manually approved if you’re a first-time poster here.

©2019 Whatsonweibo. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce our content without permission – you can contact us at info@whatsonweibo.com

Wendy Huang is a China-based Beijing Language and Culture University graduate who currently works for a Public Relations & Media software company. She believes that, despite the many obstacles, Chinese social media sites such as Weibo can help Chinese internet users to become more informed and open-minded regarding various social issues in present-day China.

Continue Reading
1 Comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

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.

Manya Koetse

Published

on

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.

Continue Reading

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.

Manya Koetse

Published

on

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.

Continue Reading

Popular Reads