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Weibo Watch: Shaping Olympic Narratives
Exploring Olympic narratives on Weibo, the craze surrounding China’s youngest triple gold champion, the latest trending stories, and the Weibo word of the week.
PREMIUM NEWSLETTER | ISSUE #34
This week’s newsletter:
◼︎ 1. Editor’s Note – Shaping Olympic narratives
◼︎ 2. What’s New and Noteworthy – A closer look at featured stories
◼︎ 3. What’s Trending – Hot highlights
◼︎ 4. What’s Remarkable – Quan Hongchan is China’s Olympic sweetheart
◼︎ 6. What’s Popular – My Little Pony trading cards
◼︎ 7. What’s Memorable – Fu Yuanhui as a meme
◼︎ 8. Weibo Word of the Week – Olympic-only fans
Dear Reader,
Since July 26, Weibo has gone into full Olympic mode. The hot lists, timelines, and news channels are filled with Olympic-related topics. From table tennis to diving, from wrestling to shooting, a wide array of sports events and the accomplishments of China’s star athletes are the main stories of the day.
“The Olympics are as much about stories—many of them political—as they are about sports,” Jacques deLisle wrote1, arguing that besides the athletic events themselves, political narratives are a central part of the modern Games.
Chinese official channels place great importance on how China performs at the Olympics and the stories they choose to highlight. While the overarching themes of national pride and achievement remain constant, the specific narratives can vary with each major sports event.
These themes & narratives are particularly visible when China is the host country. While the Beijing Summer Olympics marked China’s rise on the international stage, the 2022 Winter Olympics emphasized Chinese cultural confidence and its leadership role in the global community. The latest Asian Games, hosted in Hangzhou, provided an ideal stage to showcase China’s digital advancements and technological innovations, reinforcing the narrative of ‘Team China’ as an international leader in both sports and technology.
As we look at the 2024 Olympics in Paris, there is a shift in focus. With less direct control over the event, there is greater emphasis on media coverage, carefully selecting and highlighting stories and themes that reflect China’s political agenda, social norms, and cultural values.
As one of the country’s leading social media platforms, Weibo and its algorithms actively shape Olympic narratives. The app features a dedicated Olympics section where China’s latest medals are celebrated. Users can engage in athlete fan forums, watch livestreams, explore athlete trends, predict medal counts, and cheer for their favorite stars. State-initiated hashtags dominate the trending lists.
China’s Olympic Journey: Strong History, Promising Future
One element of China’s Olympic narrative that stands out in the official coverage of Paris 2024 is the continuous connection between past Olympic accomplishments and this year’s events. This year marks forty years since China first competed in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics with a 216-strong team.2
The focus on the past achievements of China’s athletes was clear from the very first day of these Olympics. When young shooters Huang Yuting (黄雨婷) and Sheng Lihao (盛李豪) won China’s first gold at Paris 2024, state media celebrated by honoring Xu Haifeng (许海峰), who won China’s first-ever Olympic gold in shooting at the 1984 Olympics.
Through social media and TV, Chinese official media and state broadcaster CCTV have been honoring many different athletes who competed for China at the Olympics over the past four decades, such as Zhou Jihong (周继红), who became the first Chinese diver to win a gold medal, or table tennis star Deng Yaping (邓亚萍), who won four Olympic championships.
Chinese state media have been honoring older Chinese athletes who won gold over the past four decades.
By linking current achievements with historic victories, the image of China as a historically strong sports nation is reinforced. This emphasis on physical strength is intended to also strengthen the nation’s identity. Of course, there’s nothing new about that. As early as 1895, the influential scholar Yan Fu emphasized that “a nation is like a human,” asserting that just as physically weak individuals need exercise to strengthen their bodies, China—then seen as the “sick man of Asia”—needed to improve its physical, intellectual, and moral strength, with physical strength being a priority.3
Honoring prior Olympic athletes also creates a lineage of Chinese Olympic talent, with older athletes passing the torch to younger generations. The differences in age are highlighted, such as how Xu, born in the 1950s, won the first Olympic gold, compared to the current champion athletes born fifty years later. These young, post-00s athletes represent China’s promising, bright future.
Combating ‘Toxic Fandom’, Encouraging Patriotism & Positivity
Beyond the bigger narratives that are about national pride and historical legacy, there is also a heightened focus on the narratives surrounding individual athletes, Olympic fandom, and the social responsibility of Chinese audiences.
Athletes’ stories reflect broader social values of perseverance, humility, and family importance. One example is Chinese female taekwondo medalist Guo Qing (郭清), whose journey from a small village to Paris was highlighted by Guangzhou Daily. As the oldest daughter in a big family, Guo initially started doing taekwondo to improve her strength to help her parents. When she turned out to have exceptional talent, she left her town in the mountains to train at the provincial level. With her salary, she is the main source of income for her parents and her five younger brothers, who are still in school.
Another way the Olympic narrative is controlled revolves around Chinese Olympic fans and their expected positive and patriotic behavior. Some Olympic stars, such as table tennis champions Sun Yingsha (孙颖莎) and Wang Chuqin (王楚钦), have become more than beloved athletes—they’re treated as celebrities, with similar fan group cultures surrounding them.
During the August 3 match, when Sun Yingsha was defeated by her teammate Chen Meng (陈梦), the boos from spectators at the Olympic venue clearly showed that many Chinese fans supported Sun over Chen, despite both being members of Team China. Online, some fans went too far in their idolization of Sun and started smearing Chen.
Authorities made it clear that this kind of fan culture goes against the Olympic spirit China wants to promote. After Saturday’s match, the Ministry of Public Security vowed to crack down on “chaotic sport-related fan circles.” According to Weibo management, over 12,000 posts were deleted and 300 accounts were banned. One woman in Beijing was arrested for posting “defamatory online comments.” State media outlets, such as CCTV, posted commentaries about the elimination of toxic fandoms in sports (“体育饭圈化顽症”).
The thing about the Olympics is that they evoke all kinds of emotions and reactions—not all of them deserve a gold medal. By shaping the narratives and social media discussions surrounding China’s performance, its athletes, and its fans, the Chinese Olympic experience is being polished into one that aligns with the authorities’ vision—positive, non-chaotic, and strong.
There’s much more to say about China during the Olympics—I haven’t even touched on the doping allegations, the sometimes controversial interactions between Chinese athletes and foreigners, and many other stories that have emerged on the margins of the Olympics. That’s why I started the ongoing Olympic file on What’s on Weibo, which I’ll keep adding to until the Paris Games end on the 11th.
Miranda Barnes and Ruixin Zhang have contributed to the compilation and interpretation of some topics featured in this week’s newsletter. As always, if you have any observations or ideas you’d like to share, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me.
Best,
Manya Koetse
(@manyapan)
References:
1 deLisle, Jacques. 2008. “One World, Different Dreams: The Contest to Define the Beijing Olympics.” In Owning the Olympics: Narratives of the New China, edited by Monroe E. Price and Daniel Dayan, 17-67. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.
2 The history of China at the Olympics goes beyond 1984, but this year was the first time for the People’s Republic of China to reappear at the Olympics since China was an official participant in the Summer Olympics in Helsinki in 1952 (where they actually showed up too late).
3 Xu, Guoqi. 2008. Olympic Dreams: China and Sports, 1895-2008. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, [page 18-19].
What’s New
The Big Olympic File | To capture all the must-know medals and online discussions happening on the sidelines of the Olympics, here’s the What’s on Weibo China at Paris 2024 Olympic File. You’ll find daily short updates on the latest Olympic trending news.
Controversy over broken paddle | It’s the incident that broke the champion’s bat – after winning gold at the table tennis mixed doubles, Wang’s paddle got damaged. It’s a topic that keeps brewing online.
No kimonos allowed | A Chinese girl who was refused entry to a local comic convention for wearing a kimono or yukata raised questions about whether restrictions on Japanese attire were motivated by historical sensitivities or gender bias.
Cooking oil scandal | The recent scandal involving Chinese fuel tankers being used to transport cooking oil have reignited food safety concerns in China. This has led to panic buying of artisanal oils and increased censorship to control online discussions. Are these incidents exceptions, or do they reveal deeper issues with censorship and regulation? This Chinafile conversation, featuring insights from Isabel Hilton, Yaling Jiang, David Bandurski, and myself, explores the challenges the Chinese government faces in ensuring a safe food supply and what consumers should know about their food.
What’s Trending
Without exaggeration, nearly all of Weibo’s top trending lists have been dominated by Olympic medals and moments, which we’ve covered in our Olympic file here. But what else has been trending? Here are some non-Olympic Weibo discussions that caught my eye:
🔐 Cyberspace ID
On July 26, China’s Ministry of Public Security and the Cyberspace Administration released a draft proposal for a new system involving “cyberspace IDs”—a digital identity authentication system designed to enhance online security and protect personal information. This system aims to enhance privacy by providing an anonymous way to verify a person’s identity online without exposing their actual personal information. Although the initiative is still in its draft phase, it has gained international media attention, including coverage by the New York Times and BBC, which cite critics suggesting that, rather than just increasing privacy, this system could further concentrate government control over the internet. On Chinese social media, however, such discussions are suppressed. Tsinghua University law professor Lao Dongyan (劳东燕), who criticized the draft proposal, had her Weibo account restricted following her comments. This topic is on my to-write list, so stay tuned for more developments.
🏎️ Internship Gone Wrong
Driving a Porsche to your internship job, and playing golf after work? Might sound good, but a Chinese university student who showed off his lavish lifestyle and internship at CITIC Securities sparked public outrage after posting a video online flaunting his wealth. Netizens began investigating the student’s background, wanting to uncover the identity of his father and how this ‘fù’èr dài‘ (富二代), or second-generation rich, accumulated their wealth. This incident comes amid a campaign by Chinese internet authorities to combat the online flaunting of extreme wealth and luxury, which is seen as having a negative societal impact, especially in times of unemployment and widening wealth gaps. Earlier this year, several prominent luxury influencers had their social media accounts shut down as part of this effort.
The student also faced backlash for leaking confidential corporate information about company projects in his video, further intensifying the controversy. As a result, CITIC Securities terminated the student’s internship and announced plans to strengthen its internal management to prevent similar incidents in the future. Although the student has apologized, it’s unlikely he will find another internship opportunity anytime soon.
🍲 Malatang Plushies
The Gansu Provincial Museum in Lanzhou has scored a social media hit with its malatang plushies, which are sold in its museum store. Customers can choose the toy ingredients, which are then “cooked” by the staff in a toy pot before being handed to them. Málàtàng (麻辣烫), meaning ‘numb spicy hot,’ is a popular Chinese street food dish featuring a diverse array of ingredients cooked in a soup base infused with Sichuan pepper and dried chili pepper. Over the past year, some places in Gansu, such as Tianshui, have started promoting their own “Gansu-style” take on the dish.
This isn’t the first time the Gansu museum’s merchandise has gone viral; they previously had a popular green horse plushie based on an ancient bronze statue. Their creative initiatives have been praised by Chinese official media as a way to breathe new life into older museums and make them more appealing to younger visitors. But how original is this initiative, really? The entire concept, including the staff ‘performance’ of selecting the ‘food items’ and playfully pretend-cooking before wrapping it up for customers, seems quite similar to the Jellycat Diner experience.
🏛️ Toddler Abuse Case
A child abuse case currently being heard in a local court has drawn significant public attention this week due to its gruesome and heartbreaking nature. A two-year-old girl from Hebei, known as ‘Tian Tian,’ was allegedly abused and killed by her biological father and his girlfriend. The girl’s mother told Chinese media that she initially raised her daughter alone while her father was working and living in another city. However, when he filed for divorce in late 2022, he took their daughter away, and her attempts to regain custody were unsuccessful. A year later, in late 2023, she was informed of her daughter’s death. The two defendants are now accused of repeatedly abusing the girl by beating, freezing, tying up, and starving her. The girl’s father claimed to have a mental illness in an attempt to evade punishment, but a police evaluation determined that he was not mentally ill. Tian’s mother, who spoke to Chinese media this week, expressed her hope that both defendants will be sentenced to death to seek justice for her daughter.
📴 Where is Hu Xijin?
Hu Xijin (胡锡进) is one of China’s most well-known political and social commentators, especially on Weibo. For years, he has posted daily on the platform. Until now. The former editor-in-chief of Global Times has not posted on his account since July 27—an extraordinary, unannounced pause from his usual social media activity. Various foreign media outlets, from New York Times to Bloomberg, suggest that his silence might be related to comments Hu made about the Third Plenum and Chinese economics, particularly regarding China’s shift to putting public and private enterprises on an equal footing. Without an official statement, Chinese netizens are left guessing about his whereabouts. Some say they do not mind a break from Hu’s daily posts and sometimes controversial opinions.
What’s Noteworthy
There is one Olympic athlete who really seems to have conquered everyone’s hearts these days: Quan Hongchan (全红婵). Alongside Olympic stars like table tennis champions Sun Yingsha (孙颖莎) and Wang Chuqin (王楚钦) and swimmer Pan Zhanle (潘展乐), the young springboard diver from Guangdong has become one of the most-discussed athletes on Chinese social media during Paris 2024.
Quan has accomplished a lot. She previously, in 2021, won gold in the women’s 10m platform at the Tokyo Olympics, at just 14 years old. At the Paris Olympics, together with Chen Yuxi (陈芋汐), she first secured gold in the women’s synchronized 10m platform event on July 31st. On August 6, she also won gold in the women’s 10-meter platform diving final – the water did not even splash!
By winning her first gold in Tokyo and her third medal in Paris, she broke the record of former Chinese diver Fu Mingxia (伏明霞) and became the youngest triple Olympic champion in China’s history at just 17 years old.
Her athletic talent and young age are significant reasons why Quan is so popular online. Many Chinese sports fans feel connected to her Olympic journey, having watched Quan mature throughout the years. The moment she won her second Paris medal and fell into the arms of her coach, crying, is being shared all over social media.
But the diving star is also noteworthy for her funny expressions and sometimes awkward or laissez-faire attitude. She is delightfully authentic and quirky—something that is referred to as “being Guangdong-style relaxed” (“广式”松弛感) by Chinese netizens.
Her backpack is covered in stuffed animals (some say she’s “carrying a zoo on her back”), she loves wearing animal-themed slippers (like her ugly fish slippers), and she unapologetically wore Olympic party sunglasses during her post-win press conference. She got adorably excited when meeting fellow Olympic star Eileen Gu. She loves showing off her gold medal, and when a reporter asked her if she wanted to learn her pet phrase in English, she simply declined and said, “I don’t wanna know.”
Quan does what she does best: being who she is.
In the end, more than her incredible talent, it’s her way of just being herself and staying relaxed in the face of enormous Olympic pressure that has made Quan one of China’s most quirky and adorable gold-winning athletes. Some have even crowned her as their very own “Queen Quan 👑.”
What’s Popular
My Little Pony trading cards (小马宝莉卡) have become incredibly popular in China, with some cards selling for sky-high prices. These cards, produced by Kayou, have a dual appeal as they are used for both collecting and playing games. They are particularly popular among China’s “post-10s” (10后, born after 2010), but they also attract older collectors.
There are four main categories of My Little Pony card packs: Rainbow Pack, Moonlight Pack, Twilight Pack, and Special Pack (彩虹包/辉月包/暮光包/特典包). The cards are typically sold in blind packs of 6 (costing around 10 yuan/$1.4), meaning each pack contains a random assortment of cards, so you won’t know what you’re getting until you open it.
This element of surprise, combined with the fact that new versions of each card pack are released every few months while older versions are discontinued, makes the cards irresistible to many. People are not only playing the My Little Pony card game but also trading them, watching related livestreams, and following social media channels to identify the rarest and most sought-after cards. This has grown into its own subculture, and Chinese media reports suggest that the price of some rare cards has soared to extremes, with some reportedly selling for as much as 160,000 yuan ($22,000).
What’s Memorable
As the 2024 Paris Olympics have generated a wave of memes and sometimes unexpected fandoms around athletes, including the rising popularity of diver Quan Hongchan, we’ve selected an Olympic-related article for our archive pick this time. Chinese Olympic swimmer Fu Yuanhui became a sensation on Chinese social media after finishing third in the women’s 100m backstroke at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics. Rather than just for her swimming skills, the then 20-year-old athlete was celebrated for her humorous expressions and relatable attitude.
Weibo Word of the Week
Olympic-only Fans | Our Weibo word of the week is ‘Olympic-only fans’ (Àoyùn xiàndìng fěn 奥运限定粉). Literally: Olympics (Àoyùn 奥运) + restricted (xiàndìng 限定) + fan (fěn 粉).
This term is currently being used in Olympic-related Chinese social media discussions to describe people who suddenly become ‘experts’ on sports, follow the latest results closely, and show strong interest and support for a particular sport or athletes like Wang Chuqin and Sun Yinsha, but whose enthusiasm lasts only during the Olympics and fades shortly afterward.
Although these fans might seem super passionate, they are also extremely temporary. As much as they actively participate in Olympic activities, watch live events, and suddenly know the ins and outs about some Chinese sport stars, their interest quickly evaporates once the Olympics conclude.
One reason ‘Olympic-only fans’ are facing criticism recently is due to a toxic Olympic fan culture where people insult opponents, coaches, bronze medalists, and others. Some of the ‘real’ fans are blaming the ‘Olympic-only’ fans for the negativity surrounding the events and are labeling them as ‘fake fans.’
This is an on-site version of the Weibo Watch newsletter by What’s on Weibo. Missed last week’s newsletter? Find it here. If you are already subscribed to What’s on Weibo but are not yet receiving this newsletter in your inbox, please contact us directly to let us know.
Featured
Weibo Watch: The Land Rover Woman Controversy Explained
‘Land Rover Woman’ is more than just the Chinese equivalent of the American ‘Karen’ meme. Understand why this viral story is shaking things up, and read about the trending topics that matter this week.
PREMIUM NEWSLETTER | ISSUE #36
This week’s newsletter:
◼︎ 1. Editor’s Note – Landrover Woman Controversy
◼︎ 2. What’s New and Noteworthy – A closer look at featured stories
◼︎ 3. What’s Trending – Hot highlights
◼︎ 4. What’s Noteworthy – South Korean women ask for help on Weibo
◼︎ 6. What’s Popular – The contagious success of Black Myth: Wukong
◼︎ 7. What’s Memorable – Train Tyrant Woman
◼︎ 8. Weibo Word of the Week – Armless Flying Fish
Dear Reader,
One can become a meme overnight. There are many people who could tell you all about it, from the Subway Judge to the Train Tyrant. This week, it’s ‘Land Rover Woman’ who has become the latest addition to the Chinese Lexicon of Viral Incidents.
The incident, which we detailed in our recent article, occurred on August 28. In short: a woman in a white Range Rover, complete with a Chanel logo, became enraged when another driver refused to yield as she attempted to force her way into traffic while driving in the wrong direction. In the middle of a congested road, she exited her vehicle and caused a scene. She screamed, pointed, kicked the other car, and ultimately yanked open the driver’s door of the man who blocked her path, proceeding to hit him in the face. She then drove off (see video here).
Land Rover Woman during the incident.
The man, blood dripping from his nose, remained calm and did not retaliate, explaining afterward that he chose not to strike back because his children were in the back seat. The woman, identified as 36-year-old Wang from Qingdao’s Laoshan district, was subsequently handed 10 days of administrative detention and fined 1,000 yuan (approximately $140).
As footage of the incident went viral on Chinese social media, it sparked widespread debate.
The man, later revealed to be a former member of the military, spoke to reporters a day after the altercation, stating that it had left him not only physically hurt but also mentally distressed. He announced that he was preparing to take legal action against the woman and would not accept mediation.
The man, Lin, received overwhelming support from Chinese netizens, who saw the situation as an injustice on multiple levels.
Gender Dynamics
The woman physically assaulted the man, who chose not to defend himself—not because he couldn’t, but because of social norms, his responsibilities as a father, and his background in the military.
This dynamic has triggered discussions about the double standards in how aggression is viewed depending on gender and how a “real man” (真汉子) would and should respond in such a situation.
Some commenters suggested that the man “lost face” by being hit by a woman without fighting back, especially given his military background. Others argued the opposite, saying his restraint proved he truly was a “real man.”
Regardless, both perspectives agree that Chinese societal norms put the man in an unfair, vulnerable position.
Social Privilege
A major factor in the controversy revolves around social privilege. The woman’s entitled behavior—saying “So what if I hit you?” (“打你怎么了”)—and her driving a luxury 1.3 million yuan ($180,000) Range Rover with a Chanel logo contrasted sharply with Lin, a decommissioned soldier running a local guesthouse who was simply traveling with his children.
Many netizens saw this as a clear example of social class injustice, a power imbalance between a wealthy woman and a working-class man. Wang’s sense of entitlement allowed her to believe she could act violently without facing real consequences. The outrage was further amplified by Lin’s former military service, a profession meant to protect others, making the incident feel even more unjust.
Legal Disparities
Perhaps the biggest point of contention in the Land Rover Woman controversy is the perceived leniency of the punishment. The woman received 10 days of administrative detention and a small fine, but many netizens feel her actions amount to disorderly behavior (“picking quarrels and provoking trouble” 寻衅滋事罪), which has seen far harsher penalties in cases with less public impact.
The light sentence is viewed by many as a failure of the legal system to adequately address the severity of the incident, especially given the public nature of the attack and its broader social implications.
This has led to people seeking justice in their own ways. Some people started calling the Qingdao city hotline, directly expressing concerns to local authorities that the sentence given to ‘Land Rover Woman’ is too lenient. Others took matters into their own hands through digital vigilantism, attempting to track Wang’s whereabouts to ensure she was being properly detained. Earlier this week, her license plate went viral, with livestreamers filming her car as it was spotted in the streets.
Beyond the “Karen” Meme
As this incident has sparked online conversations about fairness and accountability, ‘Land Rover Woman’ has also become an internet meme.
With her black face mask, summer hat, long hair and white dress, she has become a recognizable figure, embodying the kind of woman everyone loves to hate. She’s poppping up in various photoshopped images and AI-generated videos. Even car stickers have been made featuring her image alongside the now infamous quote, “So what if I hit you?””1
Various “Land Rover Woman” AI-generated images published on Xiaohongsu.
Car sticker “So What If I Hit You?”
‘Land Rover Woman’ is more than just the Chinese equivalent of the American “Karen” meme, which depicts a stereotypically entitled, middle-aged white woman who often complains or picks fights. Land Rover Woman is not just entitled and rich, she also embodies netizens’ frustration over what they see as an imbalance in how justice is applied across gender and social class.
‘Film poster’ published on Weibo: “逆行的血案“: “The Bloody Wrong-Way Incident”
Turning her into a meme has become a form of social critique. By making Land Rover Woman part of China’s larger digital discourse, it has also become a way for netizens to seek justice. For Wang, becoming an internet meme and a target of public outrage is likely to have a far greater impact on her daily life than a ten-day detention.
Miranda Barnes contributed to the compilation and interpretation of some topics featured in this newsletter. Ruixin Zhang has authored the ‘What’s Noteworthy’ section.
Personal Note: I’ll be traveling in China for the next two weeks, so the upcoming newsletter might arrive a bit later than usual. However, rest assured, I’ll return with fresh insights. Not long ago, I covered the ‘robotaxi revolution’ in Wuhan, now the world’s largest city for driverless taxis. I’ll be heading there to explore the latest AI trends and see the developments firsthand. Have any specific questions about robotaxis? Let me know!
Best,
Manya Koetse
(@manyapan)
1 AI images from Xiaohongshu by AI老白, 忙到七点的麻辣香锅, 视野洞见PPT. Car sticker images by 小文分享.
What’s New
The Paralympic File | Following China’s golden success at the 2024 Paris Olympics, the spotlight now shifts to the Paralympics (残奥会), running from August 28 to September 8, 2024. While not as widely followed as the Olympics, the Paralympics still garnered significant attention on Chinese social media, where many athletes are celebrated not so much as national heroes, but as champions of their home regions.
Road Rage | What possessed the female driver of a Land Rover to drive against traffic, cut in line, and assault another driver? This incident has dominated trending topics on Chinese social media over the past week—not just because of the woman’s behavior, but also because of how the victim responded and the legal fallout. See article, video link included.
Bump in the Road | A viral court case in China has sparked debate after a female employee was fired shortly after announcing her pregnancy. While the company cited “poor performance,” the courts ruled in her favor. The case highlights the ongoing issue of pregnancy discrimination in Chinese workplaces, but also reveals the mixed feelings people have about women who may be seen as taking advantage of the system.
What’s Trending
🛑 Edible Oil Scandal Update & Goji Controversy
On August 25, China’s State Council Food Safety Office, alongside several other government agencies, released the results of their investigation into a cooking oil scandal that shocked the nation earlier this year. The scandal involved edible oil being transported in tankers that had previously carried chemicals and waste, raising serious food safety concerns. The investigation uncovered multiple violations of food safety laws across Hebei, Tianjin, Inner Mongolia, and Shaanxi, including failures to properly clean tankers before transporting food products and attempts to cover up these actions. Nationwide inspections reportedly have not found similar issues in other regions so far. The government has since imposed significant penalties, including a $400,000 fine on Sinograin Oil and a total of $1.1 million in fines on six other logistics and edible oil companies. Additionally, criminal charges have been filed against two drivers involved in the illegal activities.
While people are still concerned about the safety of their cooking oil, another food safety controversy has popped up again. CCTV-2 recently exposed that some merchants in Gansu have been illegally using industrial sulfur to fumigate goji berries to enhance their appearance and boost profits. Industrial sulfur, which contains high levels of arsenic, is not approved for food processing. Though the berries may look appealing, they are toxic, further fueling netizens’ fears about hidden dangers in other food products.
💍 Huang Zitao’s Three Years of Mourning
Chinese celebrity Huang Zitao (黄子韬) has been the center of attention lately. The former EXO member recently announced his engagement to fellow singer Xu Yiyang (徐艺洋). Both artists appeared on the reality show Dare Or Not, where Huang’s proposal to Xu was featured in the final episode. The couple had publicly confirmed their relationship in July, following years of dating rumors.
It has now come to light that Huang Zitao allegedly chose to observe a three-year mourning period in honor of his late father before announcing any major personal news. After the mourning period ended, he began preparing to publicly share his relationship and marriage plans. Huang’s father unexpectedly passed away in 2020, and the revelation about Huang observing a mourning period has sparked conversations about upholding traditional family values. However, some skeptical voices suggest that Huang is only using filial piety as a way to explain why he previously denied being in a relationship.
🙏 Man Killed at Gaomi Nightmarket
A shocking incident took place on August 28th in Gaomi (高密), a county-level city in eastern China’s Shandong Province. Videos shared online captured how a seemingly minor argument between two men at a night market escalated into a horrifying tragedy.
Initially, the altercation seemed minor, as a man argued with a market vendor who was there with his wife and child. However, the situation took a tragic turn when the man suddenly grabbed a large knife and fatally attacked the vendor in front of his family and numerous bystanders. The man was decapitated in the attack. Police have urged people to stop sharing videos of the incident. The attacker, a 36-year-old local, has been detained. Social media discussions have largely centered on the idea that the crime occurred in a moment of uncontrollable rage. While one life was lost and another family devastated, the lives of the wife and young son, who witnessed the horrific killing of their husband and dad, will be forever changed.
🐸 From Eyelid Surgery to Sad Frog
“How am I supposed to face people looking like this?” The story of a certain Ms. Yuan from Guiyang went top trending on Weibo recently. The Chinese woman spent 20,000 yuan ($2820) on a double eyelid surgery, a procedure that creates a crease in the upper eyelid to give the appearance of larger, more defined eyes – it’s very popular among women in East Asia for cosmetic reasons. However, in this case, the procedure turned out differently than expected.
The procedure was poorly executed and had created an overly wide crease, which gave the woman’s eyes a somewhat exaggerated, bulging appearance. “I look like a sad frog,” the woman told reporters. She made the news after filing an official complaint about the wide crease. The topic became popular because the “Sad frog” is a well-known online meme, but others also took this news as a warning: be careful about choosing a reputable clinic for cosmetic surgeries.
⚽ 0-7 Soccer Match Between China and Japan
One Weibo hashtag about China’s national soccer team losing 0-7 to Japan in the third round of the 2026 World Cup Asian qualifiers garnered over 360 million views in a single day on Thursday (#国足0比7日本#). Regardless of what is said about the spirit of sports, soccer inevitably gets dragged into the political arena, and in the case of China versus Japan, this match is particularly sensitive for Chinese audiences, bringing up associations of national pride linked to historical conflicts and more recent geopolitical tensions. Perhaps losing wasn’t the biggest issue, but losing with a 0-7 score—the biggest-ever loss to Japan in Chinese soccer—certainly was.
On Weibo, many found the outcome of the match unacceptable, not just because it was against Japan, but because they felt China’s overall performance was disappointing and ill-prepared for Japan’s attacking strategies. All things considered, 0-7 isn’t too bad—there was a trending match in 2014 during the Beijing Cup between Haidian and Fangshan junior teams that ended with a 47-0 score.
What’s Noteworthy
An unusual plea recently appeared on Weibo as several South Korean accounts urgently called for help. Using translation tools, these women reached out to Chinese netizens, raising awareness and seeking support to combat the sexual exploitation of girls and women in South Korea related to the ongoing “Deepfake Room” scandal.
The deepfake scandal centers around online chat groups where AI was used to generate countless pornographic images by manipulating real photos of South Korean female students and schoolgirls, all without their consent. These images were then shared in Telegram chatrooms, some with thousands of members—one reportedly had 220,000 participants. The scandal has ignited national outrage, with growing calls for stricter regulations on apps like Telegram and harsher punishments for those involved.
These posts quickly gained significant attention on Chinese social media, sparking discussions about similar issues in China, such as the widespread problem of men secretly filming women with hidden cameras in places like dressing rooms and public transport, with the footage often shared online. Many Chinese netizens voiced their support, urging East Asian women to stand together and protect each other from such threats.
What’s Popular
The success of the Chinese game Black Myth: Wukong (黑神话悟空) continues to snowball, becoming a true national sensation. Officially released on August 20 after years in development, the game has exceeded all expectations. Within an hour of its release, it topped Steam’s “Most Played” list, with over 2 million concurrent players.
According to recent data, the game, based on the classic Chinese tale Journey to the West, has been selling around 400,000 copies per day on the American gaming platform Steam over the past two weeks, with no signs of slowing down.
Chinese brands and tourism sites are also benefiting from the success of Black Myth: Wukong, China’s first major ‘AAA’ blockbuster game. The Luckin Coffee chain collaborated with the game to launch a special drink and merchandise. The collaboration drew huge crowds, and the merchandise sold out nationwide in seconds, reportedly almost crashing Luckin’s system. Various scenic sites in Shanxi that appear in the game, from temples to gorges, have also seen a significant boost in tourism.
What’s Memorable
In light of the Land Rover Woman controversy, our archive pick this week takes us back to a popular story from September 2018. A female passenger’s refusal to give up her seat on a high-speed train ignited a wave of reactions on Chinese social media. Dubbed the “High-Speed Train Tyrant Woman” (#高铁霸座女#), her rude behavior quickly went viral. Netizens drew comparisons to a similar incident involving a male passenger earlier that year, sparking a flood of memes featuring the two “train tyrants.”
Weibo Word of the Week
Armless Flying Fish | Our Weibo word of the week is 无臂飞鱼 (wú bì fēi yú), which translates to ‘Armless Flying Fish.’
During the Paralympics, some Chinese athletes have been nicknamed “Armless Flying Fish” by Chinese netizens and media to metaphorically describe their extraordinary ability to “fly” underwater despite their disabilities.
The athlete currently receiving the most attention with this nickname is Para swimmer Guo Jincheng (郭金城), who won five medals, including three gold, at the Paris 2024 Paralympics. The 23-year-old from Hebei Province lost both arms in an accident at the age of five. Since joining the swim team at age 12, Guo has trained nearly every day, focusing not only on body strength but also on breathing techniques to help him swim longer without needing to come up for air.
Another Chinese para athlete, Lu Dong (卢冬), has also been dubbed the ‘Armless Flying Fish’ for her incredible speed in the water despite her disability. At 32, Lu continues to excel—having already won numerous medals throughout her career.
Para swimmer Yuan Weiyi (袁伟译) is another athlete who has earned the “Armless Flying Fish” nickname for transcending boundaries and winning multiple medals over the course of his career.
The original ‘Armless Flying Fish’ is Chinese swimmer Zheng Tao (郑涛), who set a world record by winning four gold medals at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics. Zheng lost his arms due to an electric shock when he was a child but did not let this prevent him from achieving remarkable success.
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Featured
China at the 2024 Paralympics: Golds, Champions, and Trending Moments
China’s standout moments, trending topics, and social media buzz from the 2024 Paralympics in Paris.
This article was first published by What’s on Weibo on
After China’s golden success at the 2024 Paris Olympics, it’s time for the Paralympics (残奥会) from 28 August 2024 – 8 September 2024. Although not as popular as the Olympics, the start of the Paralympics was still a popular topic on Chinese social media, with the topic hitting the top trending lists on August 28-29.
China has sent a delegation of 284 athletes—126 men and 158 women—to compete in 302 events across 19 sports. For 95 of these athletes, it’s their Paralympic debut.
This article is a ‘live file’ to track the various relevant hashtags and discussions on Chinese social media surrounding the events. If you don’t see any current updates, refresh the page or check back a day later to see new additions.
August 28
🔹 Celebrating the Start of the Paralympics
The opening ceremony of the 2024 Paralympics on August 28 took place at the Place de la Concorde, featuring 500 performers and a parade celebrating the 128 competing nations.
The Chinese delegation was led by two flag bearers: female wheelchair fencer Gu Haiyan (辜海燕) and male weightlifter Qi Yongkai (齐勇凯).
What particularly attracted attention on Chinese social media is how the renowned actor and martial arts hero Jackie Chan participated in the Paralympic torch relay (#成龙传递巴黎残奥会火炬#). He carried the Paralympic flame through the city, and also found some time to pose for selfies. People seemed to especially appreciate how popular Jackie Chan is, not just in China but also among fans abroad. This even made it to the number one trending topic on Chinese short video app Kuaishou.
August 29
🔹 China’s First Paralympic Gold
🥇 The first gold of the 2024 Paralympics for China was won by para-cyclist Li Zhangyu (李樟煜) in the Men’s 3000 m Pursuit. Beyond winning gold, he also broke a world record, smashing the previous record by crossing the line in a time of 3’31”338, 11 seconds faster than his compatriot Liang Weicong (梁伟聪), who finished with a time of 3’42”468 and took the silver medal.
For the 36-year-old Li, this marks his fifth Paralympic gold. He previously won the 3000m Individual Pursuit event at Rio 2016, and also earned a silver at London 2012 and a bronze at Tokyo 2020.
Chinese state media celebrating the first Paralympic gold.
Li Zhangyu was born in 1988 in Nanshan Village, Zhejiang. Diagnosed with cerebral palsy as a child, he had difficulty walking and often fell. To help him, his father bought him a small bicycle at the age of five or six. This marked the beginning of Li’s cycling journey, which would eventually lead him to become a historic Paralympic champion.
🔹 China’s Second Paralympic Gold
🥇 Wang Xiaomei (王小梅) became the second Paralympic athlete to win gold for China in the women’s C1-3 3000m individual pursuit.
The 24-year-old athlete from Yunnan’s Dali set a new world record in the women’s C3 3000m individual pursuit with a time of 3:44.660. In the final, where she claimed gold, she broke the world record again with a time of 3:41.692.
Wang Xiaomei has congenital cerebral palsy, which primarily affects the right side of her body. Cycling has significantly improved her physical condition. She is widely recognized as an inspiration for the way she has faced her challenges and persevered, which has led her to where she is today.
🔹 Two Swimming Gold
August 29 also marked the start of the swimming events, with 46 athletes from the Chinese team participating.
🥇🥇 Chinese swimmer Chen Yi (陈怡) secured gold in the women’s 50m freestyle S10, while Jiang Yuyan (蒋裕燕) claimed gold in the women’s 50m freestyle S6.
As a result, on the first day of the Paralympic events, the Chinese sports delegation earned a total of 4 gold medals and 1 silver medal.
August 30
🔹 Zhou Xia’s Three-Time Gold
🥇 Chinese para-athlete Zhou Xia (周霞) grabbed another gold for China on Friday. In the women’s T35 100m final, she claimed her medal with a season-best time of 13.58 seconds.
Zhou in Paris (left), Tokyo (middle) and Rio (right).
For Zhou, it’s her third Olympic success; she previously also grabbed gold in Rio and Tokyo. Zhou suffers from muscular atrophy in her left leg and left hand due to a car accident.
🔹 Yang Hong’s World Record
🥇 It seems that China is breaking many world records at this Paralympics. The 24-year-old Yang Hong (杨洪) clinched the gold medal in the Para Swimming Men’s 200m Individual Medley at the La Défense Arena in Paris.
August 31
🔹 China Going Strong: 20 Gold Medals on Day Three
On the third day of the Paralympics, Team China is going at full speed, as its gold medal count is already up to 20! This also includes a few athletes who grabbed gold on the 30th.
With 42 medals in total, China is topping the Olympic ranking.
September 1
🔹 “The Paralympics Are About the Limits of the Mind”
How does the general Chinese audience feel about the Paralympics? On Weibo and other platforms, the event is generally receiving less attention that the Olympics, also because it generally is less popular, with less commercial value.
Nevertheless, many people do follow the Paralympics and are impressed by the athletes. “The Olympics are about the limits of the body, the Paralympics are about the limits of the mind,” one Weibo user wrote.
Another Weibo blogger wrote: “The level of attention for the Paralympic events is still very low. It would be great if they could go trending a bit more. I bet many people don’t even know that the Paralympics take place after the Olympics. There’s only one gold medal for each event, but all those who participate in the Paralympic Games are heroes, winners, and champions in their own lives!”
September 2
🔹 From Small Village to Para Archery Gold
🥇 Zhang Tianxin (张天鑫), from a small village in Jiaxing, claimed gold in the Mixed Team W1 Para Archery event on September 2, alongside teammate Chen Minyi (陈敏仪). The pair defeated the Czech team. This victory comes shortly after Zhang also secured a bronze medal on September 1.
Having started archery in 2017, Zhang previously won gold at both the Tokyo Paralympics and the Hangzhou Asian Para Games.
On social media, his achievements are celebrated by Pinghu, the county-level city in Jiaxing where Zhang’s hometown, Shanqinggang village, is located. Pinghu also created a special film featuring Zhang, highlighting the strength of Para athletes.
September 4
🔹 The First gold for Henan: Wang Jingang
🥇 On September 4, Henan athlete Wang Jingang (王金刚) won the gold medal in the men’s 50m butterfly S6 final at the Paris Paralympics with a time of 31.24 seconds. This victory was celebrated on social media as it marked Henan’s first Paralympic gold. Henan is not typically among the top-performing provinces in the Olympics.
Wang Jingang (王金刚) taking the first Paralympic gold for Henan. Image via Zhengzhou Weibo account @郑州发布.
At the Paris Olympics, Chinese athletes from Guangdong Province won the most medals, followed by those from Shanghai, Shandong, Zhejiang, and Jiangsu.
It’s notable that during the Paralympics, even more than the Olympics, athletes’ hometowns are enthusiastically celebrating their Paris medals. Their achievements are viewed not just as national victories, but as local triumphs, bringing pride and joy to their communities.
This is evident in places like Henan, celebrating Wang Jingang, and Pinghu, honoring Zhang Tianxin, among many others. Rather than being solely seen as national heroes, these Para athletes are embraced as regional champions.
🔹 Who is four-time Paralympic champion Jiang Yuyan?
🥇 Jiang Yuyan (蒋裕燕) is one of the most discussed and popular Paralympic champions in China these days. She is also nicknamed the “Flying Fish with Broken Wings” (折翼飞鱼).
The Zhejiang-born athlete first claimed gold in Para Swimming in the women’s 50m freestyle, then went on to win another gold in the 50m butterfly. She added a third gold in the mixed event and secured a fourth on September 4th in the women’s 100m freestyle.
Jiang celebrated by Chinese official accounts.
Jiang began her professional athletic career in 2017, competing in national para events as part of the provincial team. She reportedly trains for at least six hours a day, with a key focus on maintaining balance, as she is missing her right arm and right leg.
As a preschooler, Jiang was involved in a car accident that resulted in the loss of her right hand and leg. To prevent muscle atrophy and aid her recovery, her mother enrolled her in a summer swimming class.
From the moment she entered the water, Jiang fell in love with swimming. She told reporters: “Fish have a tail, and I have a leg. In the water, I can enjoy freedom.”
September 5
🔹 Blind Soccer
While everyone’s focused on China’s national soccer team losing 0-7 to Japan in the 2026 World Cup Asian qualifiers, there’s a more successful story in Chinese soccer. China’s Blind Soccer team triumphed 1-0 against Morocco at the Paralympics, a victory that continues to be celebrated online despite the national team’s loss to Japan.
September 6
🔹 China’s Paralympic Success
With two days left before the end of the Paralympics, China is far ahead in the medal rankings with 186 medals, including 82 gold. The UK, in second place, lags behind with 100 medals, of which 42 are gold.
For both the Olympics and Paralympics, much of China’s sports success is often viewed by looking back at how far the country has come since it first participated in 1984.
In the Paralympics, China’s winning streak has continued since 2012, when Team China first took the top position.
Although China has seen great success in the Paralympics, and much like the Olympics, this success is tied to its rise on the global stage. However, it hasn’t led to more discussion on systemic issues around disability. The focus remains more on individuals overcoming challenges rather than addressing broader issues.[1]
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As the Paralympics are ending, more updates following soon to wrap up this article! (I’m out traveling a bit so please bear with me.
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By Manya Koetse
[1] Also see: Liu Yang & Zhongxuan Lin (2023) The national hero, the supercrip, and the self-reliant figure: Paralympic champions on China Central Television’s sports channel, Sport in Society, 26:9, 1477-1491, DOI: 10.1080/17430437.2022.2147064
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