CHINA-DISSIDENCE: CHINESE INFLUENCER LI JIAQI CENSORED ON CHINESE SITES FOR INADVERTENTLY SHOWING A TANK ON TAM ANNIVERSARY
|
Multi-millionaire Chinese e-commerce 'influencer' Li Jiaqi, widely known as the “Lipstick
Brother” or “Lipstick King”, has been removed from search platforms and even e-commerce
sites for a livestreamed programme on June 3, when Li Jiaqi was presented with a cake that
resembled a tank. Censors promptly pulled the show offline and it hasn’t returned. Reports
indicate that Li Jiaqi and his team did not plan for the tank imagery to coincide with the
Tiananmen Square anniversary. Military equipment is often cutely reproduced in China, with
even playgrounds bearing pictures of armoured personnel carriers or helicopters; a cake that
looks like a tank isn’t an unusual idea. His background also doesn’t suggest a willingness to
burn down his online empire for a symbolic gesture.
|