An unsurprising update
As mentioned in this site previously, patience is a virtue on the internet, especially when it comes to topics that are controversial, sparks wide public interest and debate.
A Chinese-Canadian celebrity Kris Wu was accused of engaging in various sexual misconduct and criminal acts in China. Netizens were furious at the news, flooding his social network account with angry messages and calls to boycott him.
On 23rd July, an official statement provided more credible insights into the saga, which come at a surprise for both sides.
Official findings suggested the presence of a third party, which neither Kris Wu nor the victim is aware of.
The third party acted as a middle man, pretending to be on the victim’s side when in touch with Kris Wu’s team, and vice versa.
His goal: to con Kris Wu’s team for a large sum of hush fee.
However, the scheme did not materialise, as Kris Wu’s team directly wired the money to the victim’s bank account, without going through this third party.
The police statement concludes by mentioning that “further investigations are ongoing”, suggesting that troubles are just beginning for Kris Wu.
Fast forward to 30th July. Chaoyang district police force published another official statement, this time much shorter than the previous one.
The police confirmed that Kris Wu has been arrested on rape suspicion and he is now under custody.
The actual term used is “刑事拘留” (XingShiJuLiu) “under criminal custody”, suggesting that the police have substantial evidence to support the corpora delicti of the case.
Also, Kris Wu is Canadian, thus he has a high chance of absconding given the severity of the case.
Under Chinese law, if convicted of rape, Kris Wu could face a sentence between 3 to 10 years.
Implications
Previously when accusations about the sex scandals just broke, Kris Wu already lost all his endorsements in mainland China, where his main market is. The brands involved include some of the big names such as LV, Tencent, among others.
After the confirmation of his arrest, one of China’s largest SNS, Weibo, took down Kris Wu’s super-thread channel (微博超话）, effectively signalling the end for Kris Wu’s entertainment career.
Apart from Weibo, Kris Wu has been boycotted from the Chinese internet. In place of his name, a serial number 133700 is used. Netizens suspect that this is his identification number in custody.
Further implications
On the other hand, die hard fans of Kris Wu who refuse to accept his remand, called for drastic actions to secure his release.
In private chat groups and chat rooms, suggestions such as storming the remand centre to break him out of custody are zealously suggested and promoted.
This led to top-level criticism from the national state council on the audacity of fans, which suggest a cracking down of such zealot-like mindset surrounding celebrities is in the process.
What could happen next?
Legal process will take a long time, but given the public attention on the case, and Kris Wu’s status as a Canadian citizen, there would be official updates on every stage.
Official media such as Xinhua news agency, People’s Daily have voiced out their opinion on the issue. People’s Daily published a strong-worded status on Weibo, stating that nationality shouldn’t be one’s “Get out of jail” card, clearly addressing Kris Wu’s citizenship issue on his legal case.
Nevertheless this not only spells the end of Kris Wu’s entertainment career, but could also be the start of another round of crackdown on “celebrities with low moral standards” by the Chinese authority.
In addition, this incident once again revealed the enormous raw power possessed by the Chinese netizens. Their sentiments could effectively influence policies and determine the life and death of celebrities and businesses. Conversely, netizen’s opinions (within and without China) can be manipulated, influenced, and directed with the right strategy and tool.
Governments around the world are aware of this, and we can see efforts at limiting and even preventing tech giants from gaining too much sway over public opinions through various platforms and channels.
Of course this limits one’s liberty and freedom of expression. However, letting platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, Weibo, Tencent run their respective platforms without regulation does not lead to a brave new world too. A balance need to be struck between the two sides, so that individual members of the society can truly express themselves with the greatest freedom.
The Sinographer 