Recently, there has been a “seismic” shake-up in the mainland’s flaunting of wealth among internet celebrities, with several million-level influencers like Wang Hongquanxing, Baoyu’s sister, and Baigongzi being banned. Analysis suggests that China is currently facing economic downturn and rising unemployment rates, exacerbating the rich-poor divide through ostentatious displays of wealth. The Chinese government’s move to ban these influencers is seen as a measure to prevent the resentment from this division shifting towards the authorities.
On May 22nd, discussions about the banning of wealthy internet celebrities emerged on various social media platforms in mainland China, such as “Several million-follower flaunting internet celebrities banned” and “Wang Hongquanxing gained popularity through flaunting wealth.” Reports from “Red Star News” indicated that on the evening of May 21st, a “mini earthquake” occurred in the internet celebrity circle, leading to the banning and silencing of several million-level influencers including Wang Hongquanxing, Baoyu’s sister, and Baigongzi across all platforms.
These influencers shared a common trait of frequently flaunting their wealth. For example, the internet celebrity “Baoyu’s sister” with over two million followers was silenced on Douyin, and her account could no longer be found on Xiaohongshu. Wang Hongquanxing, with 4.374 million followers on Douyin, last livestreamed on March 30th. His Weibo account was banned, and he could not be located on Xiaohongshu.
Wang Hongquanxing had previously revealed during a livestream that he owned seven luxury homes in Beijing’s Xinghe Bay area, with the largest spanning 991 square meters, and stated that he wouldn’t leave home unless his whole body was worth at least eight digits.
Earlier on May 15th, Tencent, Douyin, Weibo, Xiaohongshu, Kuaishou, and several other platforms simultaneously released announcements strictly prohibiting users from spreading messages of comparison, indulgence, and fantasies of sudden riches, and had begun banning violating accounts.
On May 21st, Voice of America reported that Yip Yaoyuan, a professor at the International Studies Symposium at Saint Thomas University in the United States, stated that flaunting wealth in China is a serious issue. Most people are aware of the significant wealth gap in Chinese society and can only pursue “imagined wealth” through internet celebrities and influencers. The Chinese Communist Party’s crackdown on this behavior may be due to its deviation from General Secretary Xi Jinping’s call for “common prosperity.” With the economy in decline, accumulating public resentment could lead young people to focus their anger on the government.
Wang Guochen, a research assistant at the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research, analyzed that with China’s weak economy, the people do not feel the “common prosperity” advocated by General Secretary Xi Jinping, but instead experience “common poverty.” If internet flaunting of wealth becomes prevalent again, it could further amplify feelings of relative deprivation. However, regulating flaunting of wealth may not necessarily help boost the Chinese economy.
A well-known flaunter of wealth in the mainland was Guo Meimei. The scandal involving Guo Meimei’s ostentatious display of wealth began in 2011. On June 21st of that year, Guo Meimei, posing as the general manager of the China Red Cross commercial department, flaunted her lavish lifestyle on Weibo claiming to live in a large villa, drive a Maserati and Lamborghini, and own over ten Hermes handbags among other luxuries. On July 9, 2014, Guo Meimei was arrested for illegal gambling. On May 21, 2015, she was indicted for allegedly running a gambling den and on September 11 of the same year, she was sentenced to five years in prison and fined 50,000 RMB.