In a tragic incident that occurred in Beijing, Chinese male celebrity Yu Menglong passed away in September after falling from a building. Official reports swiftly ruled it as an “accidental fall after drinking alcohol,” sparking skepticism among netizens. Despite efforts by censorship authorities to suppress information, rumors continued to circulate online. Addressing this issue, an article by the authoritative American media focused on international affairs, “Foreign Policy,” pointed out that while the Chinese Communist Party’s censorship machinery may ultimately prevail, the seeds of distrust sown in the minds of Chinese citizens will undermine the legitimacy of the CCP’s rule.
On September 30, an article by Kevin Fan Hsu, a lecturer at Stanford University in the United States, was published on the “Foreign Policy” website, highlighting that after Yu Menglong’s passing, excessive official censorship raised questions among netizens. Various speculations quickly spread on social media platforms, suggesting possible involvement of CCP elites and even speculating about the illegitimate child of Cai Qi, a member of the CCP Central Political Bureau.
The article mentioned that the Cyberspace Administration of China had conducted a “Special Action for Cleaning up the Internet Environment” at the beginning of the year, but the Yu Menglong incident highlighted significant challenges in cleaning up the online public opinion environment.
Hsu pointed out that young people in China, exhausted by long working hours, seek solace and emotional outlet in idolizing film and television stars. Any attempt by the authorities to gloss over accidents in a simplistic and crude manner will trigger backlash from netizens. While the efficient censorship mechanism can make many incidents disappear online, at times, censorship itself becomes part of the event, raising suspicions of why the truth is being suppressed, leading to various conspiracy theories. These new narratives further incite public anger, necessitating more censorship to control public opinion.
The article noted that fans are actively searching for new evidence, seemingly disbelieving the official explanation. Due to the lack of truly independent media, netizens fill in the gaps with their own scattered investigations.
Hsu believed that in the case of Yu Menglong, transparency from the outset would have been helpful, but it is contrary to the nature of the CCP’s control, especially when the truth of an incident can be disruptive, transparency becomes even more challenging.
The article highlighted that the case of Yu Menglong also reveals a sense of fear and distrust. It demonstrates that under CCP rule, there are situations where individuals can act with impunity. If a prominent figure like Yu Menglong can easily disappear, what about ordinary people? The absence of rule of law evokes a sense of helplessness among the common people, which was particularly felt during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Hsu expressed that in the case of Yu Menglong, the state’s censorship machinery may ultimately prevail, but each incident like this peels back some layers of the CCP’s authoritarian mask, sowing seeds of distrust in the minds of Chinese citizens, ultimately weakening the CCP’s legitimacy in governing.