Taiwanese internet celebrity “Guan Zhang” Chen Zhihan recently went to mainland China for live streaming activities for the second time, however, his pro-CCP stance did not bring the expected commercial benefits. He disclosed that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) authorities see him as a “special individual” and have prohibited him from opening social media accounts and establishing a company in China, resulting in losses of millions of New Taiwan Dollars (NTD) during his two visits. His comments from 5 years ago where he criticized CCP leader Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan during a live stream have also resurfaced.
Guan Zhang recently visited Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Macau, praising Chinese companies’ technological innovation and infrastructure development in his live streams while occasionally expressing negative views about Taiwan.
However, during a live stream in Macau on August 19th, Guan Zhang publicly expressed dissatisfaction with the mainland Chinese authorities, revealing that he was unable to open personal accounts on Douyin and Bilibili, and also unable to establish a company and do business in China.
Guan Zhang further revealed that he had consulted with local authorities, but was informed that he is a “special individual” and would need someone to “vouch” for him in order to make progress, but no one was willing to provide the guarantee.
This situation has led to Guan Zhang’s commercial intentions failing. He openly admitted during the live stream that his visits to Shenzhen and Shanghai last month had resulted in a cumulative loss of 4 million NTD, emphasizing that he “did not earn a penny.”
Guan Zhang lamented, saying, “To say that I am not upset is fake, to say that I don’t want to make money is also fake, but the reality is there is no way.” He also mentioned that Chinese friends mistakenly thought he was making significant profits due to his huge following, but the reality was quite the opposite.
He mentioned that he may no longer travel to China for live broadcasts in the future.
Guan Zhang’s revelations have sparked widespread attention. In Taiwan, many netizens expressed dissatisfaction with his pro-CCP stance, feeling that he had betrayed his previous political position.
According to the Liberty Times, finance influencer Hu Caipin humorously commented on the situation on the evening of August 20th, suggesting that the reason Guan Zhang couldn’t open accounts on Douyin and Bilibili was because he lacked a “Chinese Resident Identity Card,” causing amusement among many netizens.
In mainland China, reactions from netizens have been more complex, with some believing that he should be given a chance to reform, while others question his true motives for switching positions.
Despite Guan Zhang’s frequent high praise for China’s political and economic developments in recent years, publicly endorsing the CCP has led to accusations of being a “CCP supporter” or being “indoctrinated.” However, the CCP and platforms have taken a cautious attitude towards him. He also revealed that he had hoped to participate in the Beijing “September 3rd Military Parade,” but was not permitted due to his sensitive background.
Guan Zhang’s past remarks have become a key clue for outsiders to interpret his current limitations. According to the Formosa TV news website, netizens recently dug up a live stream clip from five years ago by Guan Zhang. It is widely believed that his statements in this clip are a significant reason for his current struggles in developing in China.
In that clip, Guan Zhang used vulgar language to insult Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan, using expressions like “X Jinping’s wife.” The video was edited into an advertisement by then Taoyuan City councilor Wang Haoyu and uploaded to YouTube, sparking controversy.
Currently, Guan Zhang stated that he may not travel to China for live streaming in the short term due to the significant economic losses incurred during his two trips. He also mentioned that being smeared by the Taiwanese media led to setbacks in his business and made it difficult to enter the Chinese market.