Latest news with #Qiqi
Newsweek
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Newsweek
Chinese Authorities Warn Comedians Over Jokes About Men and Women
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Chinese officials in the eastern province of Zhejiang have put stand-up comics on notice to avoid jokes that could fuel resentment between the sexes. Why It Matters Introduced to China a little over a decade ago, stand-up comedy experienced something of a boom in the 2010s, moving beyond small local venues and into the national media spotlight, spawning series such as Shanghai-based Xiaoguo Culture Media's Rock & Roast. Social commentary is no stranger to the genre. But Chinese comedians weaving sensitive topics, including the gender divide, into routines have drawn unwanted scrutiny and censorship from the ruling Chinese Communist Party, which has in recent years increasingly cracked down on activities it considers disruptive to social harmony. Newsweek reached out to the Chinese Foreign Ministry via email for comment. What To Know Zhejiang's propaganda bureau issued a notice Sunday advising stand-up comedians to avoid relying on jokes that "intensify gender antagonism" to boost their profile. "As a new form of performance, stand-up comedy has attracted many young people, and it is normal for it to express different perspectives and even present differences between men and women," the bureau acknowledged while stating that roasting the opposite sex shouldn't be the focus of bits. "For example, some jokes imply that all men are unreliable, while others belittle women's abilities—such content is not only inaccurate but also easily misleads the audience and reinforces gender stereotypes," the notice said. Stand-up comedian Qiqi performs at a shopping mall in Beijing on November 21, 2020. Stand-up comedian Qiqi performs at a shopping mall in Beijing on November 21, 2020. Greg Baker/AFP via Getty Images Comedians should ensure their words promote social responsibility, and their industry should self-regulate and "deliver high-quality comedic works," the bureau said, warning that failure to do so will be met with tighter regulations. Several gender-related routines by female comics have garnered attention in Chinese media. Fan Chunli, who performs under the stage name Fangzhuren and is a former sanitation worker from Shandong province, gained a surge of new fans after her appearance on The King of Stand-up Comedy on the iQiyi streaming platform, where she revealed how she had left an allegedly abusive marriage. Other comedians have faced backlash for their routines, such as Yang Li, whose sponsor, dropped her last year after outraged men flooded the retail giant's social media with complaints. Yang had previously sparked controversy over a 2020 joke about some average-looking men, quipping, "Why can they look so ordinary yet remain so confident?" Comics in China must tread carefully to avoid provoking authorities, a lesson learned by stand-up comedian Li Haoshi in 2023 after a joke about his dogs using a well-known military slogan was deemed "severely insulting" to the People's Liberation Army. Despite a public apology, Li was placed under investigation, and his production company, Xiaoguo Culture Media, was fined $2 million. The episode continues to cast a shadow over China's emerging stand-up comedy scene. What People Are Saying Teng Wu, director of South China Normal University's Center for Contemporary Cultural Studies, wrote for Sixth Tone in September: "China's stand-up, but its history—a foreign comedy performance art that was successfully localized, industrialized, then devastated only to be revived—reveals the pitfalls and risks of the country's popular culture model." One user wrote on the Chinese microblogging platform Weibo: "Stand-up comedy is, at its core, all about talking about things you've experienced. The content of stand-up shows has started to change simply because in the past couple of years, the proportion of male and female performers has shifted." Another Weibo user wrote: "There isn't really any gender antagonism, just excessive feminism, with one-sided attacks on Chinese men." Another Weibo user wrote: "It's just a few female stand-up comedians expressing some factual opinions—are people really this afraid? Men have held the power of discourse for thousands of years."
South China Morning Post
20-07-2025
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
Chinese family of girl resembling Hong Kong actress Cecilia Cheung sparks gender debate
A teenage girl in China went viral for looking like the famous Hong Kong actress Cecilia Cheung Pak-chi, but controversy followed her fame as her family was suspected of having a preference for boys. The 15-year-old girl, nicknamed Qiqi, went viral after she was caught on camera by an online influencer in a town in central China's Henan province. Nearly six million people viewed her videos. The 15-year-old, who is nicknamed Qiqi, is liked by many people online for her unpretentious character. Photo: Photo: Douyin Many were attracted to her beautiful looks, saying she was like a blend of Hong Kong actress Cheung, model Angelababy and Chinese actress Song Zuer. In the influencer's video, Qiqi appears to be shy. But many said they were attracted by her unpretentious character. They also said she had dwarfed the looks of many stars even without wearing make-up. Some said Qiqi looks like the daughter that Cheung and her ex-husband, the Cantopop star, Nicholas Tse Ting-fung, never had.
Yahoo
12-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
JJ Lin denies romance rumour with 23-year-old influencer
12 Feb - JJ Lin's camp has recently dismissed rumours that the singer-songwriter is currently in a relationship with model and influencer, Annalisa Qiqi. Earlier, a netizen claiming to be a former classmate of Qiqi, claimed that the influencer met JJ through a mutual friend at the end of 2023 and had been dating the Singaporean singer since then. It is believed that Qiqi is only 23, while JJ is 43. It sparked a series of "investigations" by Chinese netizens, who dug out past interactions between the two parties. In a statement to the media following the rumour, JJ's agency said, "We will not respond to any groundless rumours on the Internet. JJ's life centres on his music career. Thank you for your concern!" JJ is currently on his world tour and will be performing in Toronto soon. (Photo Source: JJ IG, Annalisa IG)
