TOPIC

Chinese influencers

Chinese influencers
All about the names and faces in China that are influencing the trends of the times.
Hong Kong actor Andy Lau Tak-wah also apologised for the plagiarised content used on his video ad with carmaker Audi. Photo: Handout
Intellectual property in China

Chinese vlogger slams new Andy Lau video ad from Audi, M&C Saatchi for plagiarism

Audi blamed the copyright infringement on a ‘lack of supervision and lax review’ of the M&C Saatchi-led campaign.

Live streaming

Chinese authorities slap US$10 million fine on live-streamer for tax evasion

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Beijing Winter Olympics 2022

How Eileen Gu made over US$30 million in luxury endorsements

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China society

Lights, camera, traction: Chinese live-streamers show diplomats new channel

Foreign ambassadors to China are trying their hand at live-streaming, and finding it an effective way to export products and ideas.

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Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen
E-commerce

Who is Viya, China’s fallen live-streaming e-commerce star?

Online influencer Viya currently finds herself out of the live-streaming e-commerce market after being slapped with a record fine for tax evasion.

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E-commerce

Live-streaming e-commerce stars disappear from China’s internet after fines

Accounts for Zhu Chenhui and Lin Shanshan were wiped from platforms like Taobao and Douyin weeks after the live-streamers were fined for tax evasion.

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Live streaming

Taxman joins queue at Chinese live-streaming stars’ doors

Live-streaming e-commerce stars Zhu Chenhui and Lin Shanshan have become the unofficial poster girls of the government’s tax-focused crackdown.

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Chinese live-streaming e-commerce stars Zhu Chenhui, left, and Lin Shanshan have become the unofficial poster girls of the new tax-focused crackdown. Photos: Weibo
Technology

Bangkok Naughty Boo among Asia’s virtual influencers revealing metaverse

Non-binary, non-human, with dreams of being a pop star, they and others expected to yield increasing power as interest grows in online world.

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E-commerce

Beijing police crack down on live-streaming e-commerce data theft

Chinese data analysis firm Pangqiu was caught illegally using crawler software to siphon data from live-streaming apps.

Meituan

Chinese tycoon’s son opens fire on Meituan for user’s data breach

Wang’s complaint adds pressure to the 3.44 billion yuan fine that the Beijing-based company was slapped with last week for engaging in monopolistic behaviour in the meals delivery business that it dominates.

A booth for Chinese technology firm Meituan at the China International Fair for Trade in Services in Beijing on September 3. Photo: AP.
Regulation

Tax crackdown looms for China’s top celebrities and online influencers

High-income stars who confess to tax evasion could get lighter penalties, or face being ‘punished seriously’ in deepening regulation of entertainment sector.

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Chinese live-streaming star “Viya” Huang Wei has an estimated net worth of more than US$30 million. Photo: VCG via Getty Images
China society

Live-stream fans hit with US$155 shipping shock on ‘giveaway’ items

Influencer apologises for ‘misunderstanding’ as says high shipping fee was intended to limit fans to one giveaway item each.

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China society

Singer Kris Wu charged with rape in China

The Chinese-Canadian star was accused of date rape by the beauty influencer Du Meizhu earlier this year.

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Medicine

Woman dies after liposuction results in flesh-eating bacteria infection

A popular online beauty blogger died on Tuesday after a botched liposuction treatment resulted in a severe skin infection.

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An online celebrity died on Tuesday after suffering from a serious skin infection after a botched liposuction treatment. Photo: Handout
Social media

China’s latest internet star is an 85-year-old marine geologist

Wang Pinxian, a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, has become the latest science education influencer to hit it big on social media.

Marine geologist Wang Pinxian of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Photo: Handout
Fame and celebrity

If you make money from looking like a celebrity in China, watch out

A lookalike of Chinese actress Fan Bingbing is among many who have landed themselves in hot water after profiting from their celebrity resemblances.

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TikTok

This Mandarin-speaking British fitness guru is making it big in China

Tony Nicholson stands 1.9 metres tall, weighs 112kg and, thanks to his regular TV appearances promoting fitness, is a surprisingly familiar face in China.

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Fashion

Will virtual social media influencers replace human ones?

Virtual influencers are on the catwalk, on Instagram, collaborating with companies like Tesla and gracing the covers of fashion magazines – are they taking over from human ones?

Singapore-based virtual influencer Rae (left) in a photo from Jstyle magazine with China’s top female rapper, Vava. With virtual influencers becoming increasingly popular in Asia, are they set to take over from their human counterparts?
Social media

Who is notorious Chinese social media influencer Guo Meimei?

Her ostentatious social media posts showing off high jewellery and supercars were only ever half the story – now the infamous internet celebrity is back in the headlines

Social media

The social media stars in China fluent in Mandarin who aren’t Chinese

Increasing numbers of foreign KOLs are building their careers in China on platforms such as Weibo and Kuaishou, with cooking tips, life lessons and even chemistry videos. 

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Chinese culture

Chinese internet star sets Guinness World Record for YouTube subscribers

Chinese YouTube star Li’s videos show her living in rural Sichuan, growing and cooking food, and doing farm chores. Her channel has gained almost three million subscribers since July 2020, and she recently ignited the kimchi storm.

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Li Ziqi shot to fame with her rural lifestyle videos and now has 14.1 million subscribers. Photo: YouTube/LiZiqi
Internet

Internet celebrities offering rustic escapism get a government boost

Online personalities from rural China, like viral Tibetan star Dingzhen, are drawing huge followings as Chinese authorities seek to boost rural economies.

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Zhaxi Dingzhen, a 20-year-old Tibetan herdsman from Sichuan, is an internet sensation after a 10-second video showcasing what fans describe as his rugged appearance went viral. A local travel agency quickly hired him as an “image ambassador”. Photo: YouTube
Social media

How these five Chinese social media stars use their fame for good

From a woman who donated sanitary products to female health care workers during the pandemic to a streaming host working to alleviate poverty, here are five Chinese KOLs using their fame for good.

TV shows and streaming video

Chinese granny’s home was ‘suffocating’ – so she’s on a solo road trip

Her fans online are calling her live-streamed self-drive journey part of China’s growing feminist awakening. For Su Min, 56, her road trip is simply the first time she’s put her own needs before anyone else’s.

Fashion

Why Chinese models will find it harder to break into the West post-Covid-19

‘Over 50 per cent of models will be unemployed in the future’ predicts fashion producer and KOL Peter Xu, but it’s not all doom and gloom – e-commerce and the local fashion market still offer Chinese models homegrown opportunities for success

Modelling during Covid-19 in China. Photo: Jing Daily
Art

How rich millennials are shaking up China’s art market

Michael Xufu Huang, 26, is but one of the many young collectors opening their own museums and galleries, in what seems to be a fundamental shift in China’s cultural world.

Michael Xufu Huang at the X Museum in Beijing. Photo: Simon Song
Social media

Beyond e-commerce: 4 Chinese live-stream KOLs who are a force for good

For these internet celebrities, fame and sales translates to great influence and wealth – this is how they’re using it for good

Luxury in China

Why luxury brands are harnessing the power of Chinese KOLs

Influencers can make or break a product, with top-tier KOLs followed by millions on social media, but marketers must beware of backlash from poor reviews

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