On September 11th, the 37-year-old mainland Chinese actor Yu Menglong tragically fell to his death in Beijing. The police swiftly ruled out criminal suspicion, attributing the incident to an “accidental fall after drinking.” However, many netizens remain skeptical and find it hard to accept. On September 24th, Taiwanese actress Lin Caiti posted a screenshot on Threads, revealing that she had reposted a video on Weibo suggesting that Yu Menglong may have been abused before his death, but the post was deleted within a minute.
Yu Menglong, who had over 20 million followers on Weibo, met a mysterious death by falling from a building. Questions surrounding the cause of his death have sparked intense speculation in the past two weeks, bringing to light various sensational rumors about the entertainment industry’s “unspoken rules” and political-commercial scandals. The Chinese authorities not only failed to disclose details of the case but also aggressively suppressed discussions, labelling them as “rumors” and detaining individuals, leading to strong public dissatisfaction and questioning.
Lin Caiti disclosed on Threads on September 24th that she reposted a video on Weibo in the early hours, suggesting that Yu Menglong may have been a victim of abuse. She exclaimed, “Talking about escaping from a sealed room? Who would believe in escaping looking like this? Nowadays, human lives can be treated as trivial, and all keywords and messages can be censored! What kind of country is this?”
However, her post was deleted within a minute, prompting her to question, “If it’s indeed just about escaping from a sealed room, what are they afraid of?” She directly addressed the controversies and doubts surrounding Yu Menglong’s cause of death, criticizing the strong suppression of public opinions by the Chinese authorities.
After her post went public, netizens praised Lin Caiti, calling her “incredibly brave” and urging everyone to speak out courageously. They commented, “Supporting you, there’s definitely something fishy about this, see how scared they are, that shows how deep this issue goes,” and harshly criticized the actions under the Communist Party’s rule in mainland China.
Some netizens provided insights to Taiwanese internet users, stating that under the Communist Party’s surveillance rules, almost any content related to keywords is likely to be dealt with, and the deletion of posts may stem from Weibo’s AI automatic review mechanism. Lin Caiti’s boldness in speaking out raised concerns about her safety, especially after mainland Chinese actress Sun Lin also spoke up about the Yu Menglong incident and received threats. Moreover, Sun Lin was hit by a flowerpot when she went out to collect a package recently, leading to her being hospitalized. In response, Lin Caiti stated that she would “not go to China again” and emphasized that she doesn’t rely on the mainland to make money, expressing her sorrow that a life could be just buried like that.
Born in Macau, Lin Caiti was asked if she was afraid to return there, to which she calmly responded, “Not at all, as long as I don’t go back, that’s fine,” and boldly stated, “The world is so big, is there really nowhere for me to stay?”