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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.