Fan Bingbing, a mainland Chinese actor, has been banned in China for more than four years due to tax evasion. The Chinese government removed all of her work and appearances.
To date, Fan’s efforts to revive her career in China have not been successful.
The Vanishing of Fan Bingbing
Fan Bingbing, an actor who regularly shares her life on social media, suddenly stopped her online activities in 2018.For three months, her 70 million followers were concerned as Fan was not regularly updating her social media.
While many suspected that Fan might have been detained or was under surveillance in 2018, the Chinese government had accused her of evading taxes.
In China, not paying taxes promptly and properly has severe consequences in addition to fines and possible jail time.
The Accusation
After being missing in action for three months, on Oct. 3, 2018, the pro-Beijing newspaper South China Morning Post claimed that Fan was under house arrest and residential surveillance at a secret location.The Hong Kong news company also reported on the State Office of Taxation in China publicizing that Fan and her companies faced almost $130 million in fines and overdue taxes. On the other hand, state media Xinhua News Agency said Fan allegedly underpaid her taxes by 255 million yuan (about $36.6 million).
Apology for Evading Taxes
On the same day as the South China Morning Post’s news report, Fan resurfaced on Weibo (a Chinese social media platform) with an apology letter.In it, Fan said she had been in unprecedented pain and agony in the past few months and had time to rethink and reflect. She was ashamed of her actions. She was also sorry for “not prioritizing the national interests and social interests over personal interests.” She also profoundly regretted she had betrayed the government’s nature and the public’s trust.
The state-run entertainment control office has since “fine-tuned” the notice about bad behavior performers and who can be banned from TV for life.
Depending on the severity of the violation and “negative behavior,” the office said it would execute an industry ban and boycott involved performers for one to five years or permanently. In addition to TV dramas, movies, TV programs, online dramas, short films, and other entertainment productions by the listed and banned artists must be suspended.
The department also said the State Council has the right to impose necessary restrictions on broadcasting relevant programs as it sees fit.
The ban list has since expanded to include anyone involved with drugs or prostitution.
In January 2018, non-mainstream performers with tattoos, such as hip-hop artists, and subculture performers, were also deemed unhireable in China. The Beijing government suppression started later in the year.
Bad Behavior Performer Ban
Vicky Zhao Wei, actor and singer who starred in “Shaolin Soccer,” also vanished off the net in China after posting photos from the fashion magazine L'Officiel China in a dress with a graphic pattern. The Beijing government considered the design on the dress to be similar to the Japanese military flag used in World War II. The fashion magazine was also heavily criticized. Later, Zhou was also accused of fraud. Anyone searching Zhou’s name online would get zero results.Who Can Be Banned
If a performer, actor, artist, or entertainer has been part of illegal, immoral, or unethical activities, the Chinese government will put them on the list of Bad Behavior Performers, which it periodically updates.Prime Example of the Regime’s Power
Once a beloved, high-earning, mainland A-list actress, the official taxation bureau fined Fan more than 880 million yuan (about $126.2 million) for the tax turmoil in 2018, and her red-hot career suddenly turned cold.It has been over four years since Fan has starred in any work in China. One of her previously filmed and produced TV series, “The Legend of Baqing,” was banned from broadcast by the government. The abandoned project cost about 270 million yuan (nearly $39 million) to produce.
Life After China Ban
The ban halted Fan’s entire acting career in China. She vanished from the China entertainment industry as movie and TV production crews and companies stopped working with her in line with the Beijing government’s order.Acting Skills Recognized
At the 2022 Asia Contents Awards (ACA), Fan won the ACA Excellence Award, which is given exclusively to performers who have contributed extensively to Asian movies.Although Fan Bingbing did not attend the festival ceremony during the COVID-19 pandemic, she pre-recorded a thank you video in English. Fan told the audience about her comeback. She said she looked forward to working with more South Korean directors, producers, and actors. She also said she would attend the Busan film festival next year and would see her fans in 2023.
Reporters saw Fan visiting Hong Kong in October 2022, allegedly looking for work. Multiple local media reported that Fan was in Hong Kong to meet with film producers and use movie and television resources outside mainland China to make her anticipated comeback on the big and small screens.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8Fnexp4PYk