China’s Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council set up a spokesperson account on Facebook on October 21st, which immediately drew attention from Taiwanese netizens. They flooded the comment section with questions regarding the mysterious death of Yu Menglong and inquired whether there has been any progress in the investigation. They also questioned why the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials have the ability to bypass internet restrictions while preventing ordinary citizens from doing the same.
The spokesperson for the CCP Taiwan Affairs Office, Zhu Fenglian, announced during a regular press conference on the morning of the 22nd that the office had opened the Facebook account to enhance communication about Taiwan-related news, with the account posting its first content on the 21st.
Within just one day, a large number of Taiwanese netizens stormed the comment section, inundating it with questions about the truth behind Yu Menglong’s death. Some comments raised concerns about the Tiananmen Square incident in 1989 and forced organ harvesting. One post gathered nearly 20,000 comments, all essentially demanding the truth behind Yu Menglong’s death.
“Before discussing peace, can we talk about whether there has been any progress in investigating Yu Menglong’s death? What happened to the missing individuals?”
“Can the death of the celebrity Yu Menglong be investigated to uncover the truth?”
“If you want to engage in a proper dialogue with us, start by initiating an investigation into the wrongful death of Yu Menglong! Deleting comments only shows you are not interested in a genuine conversation with us.”
“When will the case of Yu Menglong be opened? What are you afraid of? Can a country not handle a case involving an artist properly?”
“Has the case of Yu Menglong been filed yet? The whole world knows about his case, so pretending it didn’t happen is futile… evil deeds will eventually be punished.”
“Who killed Yu Menglong?”
“Talking about the Qihao Art Museum and Xiangya Hospital gets the comments deleted. I will keep speaking up!”
Some questioned: “Why are you able to circumvent internet restrictions?”
“Are you here to enjoy freedom of speech?”
“It’s sad that government officials use the international internet that ordinary citizens cannot access without using VPNs.”
“What happened on June 4th, 1989?”
“A country of murderers.”
“Are you trying to incite rebellion by using traditional Chinese characters from Taiwan?”
“The state-owned mobile organ bank is speaking.”
Yu Menglong, a 37-year-old Chinese actor, tragically “fell from a building” on September 11th, despite law enforcement quickly ruling out any criminal suspicion and cracking down on dissenting voices, as well as blocking all related discussions. Nevertheless, doubts continue to linger in the public sphere. Rumors suggest that Yu Menglong may have been targeted before his death due to resistance against unwritten rules within the entertainment industry. There are even claims that the perpetrator involved is a high-ranking CCP official’s illegitimate child, leading to the severe crackdown on discussions regarding Yu Menglong’s death.
On September 20th, some netizens initiated a global petition through the non-governmental organization “AVAAZ” under the pursuit of “Justice for Yu Menglong,” alleging that the circumstances surrounding his death may have involved brutal torture. They called for a comprehensive, independent, and transparent investigation. As of around 9 a.m. Beijing time on October 24th, over 560,000 signatures have been collected in support of these efforts.
The incident involving Yu Menglong has also garnered widespread attention in Taiwanese society, especially as his mentor, Sun Derong, resides in Taiwan and continues to advocate for justice while encouraging Taiwanese media to provide further coverage. Recently, Taiwanese media extensively reported on the impact of the Yu Menglong incident, sparking a wave of Chinese citizens renouncing their affiliations with the CCP. They referenced statistics from the Epoch Times’ “Quit the Party” website revealing that 450 million Chinese people have expressed the desire to disassociate from CCP-related organizations.
Chairman Wang Zhiyuan of the Global Service Center for Quitting the Party told the Epoch Times that Taiwanese society has gained insight into the nature of the CCP through the Yu Menglong incident, indicating a failure of the party’s longstanding united front strategy.