How a Chinese Anti-American P2P Platform Monetizes Fans

Hundreds of police swarmed the streets of Beijing's financial district on August 6 as Chinese authorities aggressively quashed a planned protest against losses sustained by peer-to-peer (P2P) lending platforms. Greg Baker/AFP/Getty Images

Commentary

On May 21, 2021, Shenzhen Public Security Bureau made a case report on three P2P (peer-to-peer) lending platforms, Ideal Treasure, RJS Investment, and Xitou.com, accusing them of fraud. Xitou.com attracted special attention among the three platforms because its owner, Huang Sheng, is known for his pro-Chinese communist party (CCP) and anti-American views. Netizens summarized the strategy he took to raise investments as defaming America to attract fans. It is alleged that he has defrauded more than 5,000 people of more than $93 million.

‘Defaming America’ to Earn Fans

Huang registered a number of social media accounts on platforms such as WeChat and Weibo to spread his anti-America views. His WeChat account “fenghuangshan” had been posting articles daily, sometimes twice a day, until his P2P fraud was exposed by local authorities on May 21.

A characteristic of Huang’s anti-American articles was the use of clickbait terms, such as “stock market doomsday,” “bloodshed,” and “the downfall of the world.” Judging from these headlines alone, the United States market has supposedly collapsed 13 times in 17 days. He attracts viewers to make anti-American remarks.

Huang’s articles were highly touted by the regime’s mouthpiece. In 2020, when the world held the regime accountable for the virus coverup, Huang published an article in March headlined “Rightfully, the world owes China a thank you.” It was regarded as a precious asset by state-run media outlets, such as Xinhua News Agency, which extensively trumpeted and forwarded the propaganda.

Given that the CCP virus, commonly known as the novel coronavirus, has caused a global catastrophe, those who are rational should probe into the cause of the worldwide spread of the virus which originated from Wuhan.

Two Chinese women walk past a painting of a Red Guard from China's Cultural Revolution period at an art exhibit in Shanghai on April 17, 2008. Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty Images

Huang’s Easy Target: Regime Believers

Objectively speaking, Huang’s fraud comes easily. His conduct of “illegally taking public deposits” targeted a select group, the so-called patriots who feel affection for the regime. Why are they targeted? Because they are easily deceived. Provided that they believe in the lies of the CCP, they can be easily fooled by Huang’s fallacies. It is a matter of being rational.

Conversely, those who can see the evil nature of the CCP, in particular, those who denounce the CCP will not fall for the trap.

If people are not rational, they have to suffer the consequences, meaning they are duped. Huang claimed that before founding Xitou.com in 2014, he was the first person to monetize fans. What does that mean?

It means Huang attracted fans with articles such as “The world owes China a thank you” or “The collapse of America” and persuaded them to invest on Xitou.com, which is equivalent to turning fans into cash. This is how his monetization of fans works.

Huang’s gimmick relied on a loophole that those fans believed the CCP could surpass America. In fact, it is the CCP that impedes the Chinese economy from overtaking that of the United States. The development of the Chinese economy lies in the fruit of Chinese people’s hard work, endeavor, and wisdom. As long as the aforesaid nature of the Chinese remains unchanged, the Chinese economy will continue to advance.

Nevertheless, the CCP’s system renders the Chinese hopeless and stops them from striving hard in life. This indeed jeopardizes the Chinese economy the most and is a grief for the Chinese.

Recently, there has been a rising phenomenon of “lying flat” in China, which indicates that people do not want to work hard. The number of people who adopt the lying down movement has not been vast enough to pose a threat to the Chinese economy for now, but there is a possibility of harmfulness.

Whether the United States collapses or not is an issue for Americans. For the Chinese, only when the CCP collapses will the Chinese usher in brand new opportunities and hopes. With the effort the Chinese put in, the Chinese economy will prosper in due course.

Zhao Pei is a Chinese news commentator from Canada. He also frequently shares his inside stories of China in his program, Micro News.

Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.