Stefanie Sun's reps deny that she was blacklisted by Chinese authorities
Singaporean singer Stefanie Sun's agency has dismissed rumours that she was blacklisted by Chinese authorities as false.
Amid a recent crackdown by the Chinese government against what it perceives as an unhealthy entertainment industry, an unverified list of Chinese celebrities had been circulating online, apparently a list by China's National Radio and Television Administration that includes stars who will be blacklisted by authorities for holding foreign non-Chinese citizenship. A blacklist implies that they would not be able to perform or make TV appearances in China.
This list initially cited seven celebrities (Jet Li, Nicholas Tse, Liu Yifei, Mark Chao, Zhang Tielin, Wang Leehom and Wilber Pan), but singers Stefanie Sun and Wei Wei were later added to the list.
Some netizens questioned Stef Sun's appearance on this list, since, unlike most of the other celebs on the list, the Singaporean Mandopop singer has never been a Chinese citizen, although she is popular in China.
On Saturday (4 Sept), Sun's management gave Apple Daily a simple response to talk of her being blacklisted: "False rumours."
Fake and unverified news often spread on Chinese social media platforms like Weibo.
Crackdown on celebrities
China has gone on a blitz against celebrities that the government perceives as undesirable.
Two weeks ago, actress-producer Zhao Wei, who shares a reported billion-dollar fortune with her husband Huang Youlong, was seemingly "cancelled" by the government with no reason announced – her name was deleted from the credits of all her TV shows on Chinese media platforms like Tencent Video and iQiyi.
Before that, actor Zhang Zhehan, who had suddenly gained popularity over boys' love TV series Word Of Honour, was censured after a scandal broke over old photos of him at Japan's war memorial Yasukuni Shrine. Social media platforms deleted his accounts and corporate brands terminated their endorsement contracts with him. Zhang had reportedly been signed with Zhao's company, but it's unclear what the reason for Zhao's blacklisting is, as she was linked to previous incidents that could have earned the government's displeasure.
Watch more Lifestyle videos:
