The Chinese Communist Party’s internet information office has recently cracked down on the internet, with several well-known internet celebrities and social media accounts being consecutively banned, prompting concerns. An official media outlet in Shandong, the Communist Party’s People’s Daily, uncommonly questioned the lack of transparency in the handling procedures, sparking attention. Some analysts believe the incident may be related to infighting within the CCP.
The public account “Louyu Studio” under the Communist Party’s Shandong Provincial Committee’s official newspaper, the People’s Daily, published an article on October 1st, mentioning that several internet celebrities like Hu Chenfeng, Zhang Xuefeng, and Lan Zhanfei, with millions of followers, have recently had their accounts banned or been prohibited from being followed on platforms, touching on deep-seated legal issues regarding procedural justice and property rights in the governance of digital platforms.
The article stated that the reasons for the bans were “mostly mysterious,” with unclear explanations on why users were penalized, based on what standards, and what avenues for appeal are available, with platforms mostly vague, only citing “violating laws and regulations” as a general reasoning. Internet celebrity accounts may be core assets for companies, affecting the livelihoods of many employees, yet the platforms’ handling procedures lack transparency.
This article titled “Platforms may ban when necessary, but reasons should not be a ‘mystery'” quoted the common official statement that “the internet is not above the law,” “those who should be punished should be punished,” but platform management should also adhere to the rule of law spirit, stating that “clear rules are better than guessing games.”
In September, the CCP’s Central Cyberspace Affairs Office announced a two-month special campaign called “Clearing up and addressing issues of maliciously inciting negative emotions.” Popular Chinese internet celebrities like Hu Chenfeng, known for viral memes like “Android people” and “Apple people,” and “Postgraduate Exam Guru” Zhang Xuefeng, were silenced on multiple platforms.
After the above-mentioned article from the People’s Daily’s “Louyu Studio” was reposted by some internet celebrities on social media, it sparked discussions among Chinese netizens. Some wrote, “Bold move! Many of those banned are not the platform’s doing.”
As of October 7th, it was found that Sina Weibo had originally reposted this article but has since deleted it. The original text from the People’s Daily remains available.
In the authoritarian system of the CCP, official media has long maintained a uniform tone, making the dissenting voice from Shandong’s official media topic of discussion even on overseas platforms, with statements such as “Shandong is starting to resist, finally realizing being a lackey doesn’t end well?” and “Doesn’t seem like something Shandong’s official media would dare to say or have the capability to say.” Some commented, “What’s going on, are they staging a play?” and “Likely due to the local influencer economy, or else they wouldn’t speak up.”
Former Chinese media personnel and political observer Zeng Jieming told Epoch Times that this shows there are differences within the CCP’s internal factions regarding speech control. Some domestic internet celebrities with a lot of money, like pro-Western influencer Hu Chenfeng, may have connections to certain factions within the CCP, and their banning could easily trigger internal strife within the CCP.
Political commentator Li Linyi told Epoch Times that the stance of the Shandong official media is cautious, emphasizing that the “internet is not above the law” and speaking under the banner of the rule of law spirit. However, under CCP’s dictatorship, the rule of law is essentially non-existent. Nonetheless, the situation where a local official media outlet confronts the Cyberspace Affairs Office is rare. This incident occurring before the Fourth Plenum may indicate Xi Jinping and Cai Qi’s faction’s crackdown on the influencer economy, at least causing dissatisfaction and backlash from different factions within the party. However, it is currently difficult to discern the specific forces behind this.
Shandong’s current Provincial Party Secretary Lin Wu is from Minhou, Fujian.