Did Chinese actor Zhang Zhehan quietly make his way back into social media? Netizens seem to think so particularly those who recently stumbled upon an account that they think might belong to him.
This summer, in spite of the phenomenal success of his drama Word of Honor, Zhang Zhehan found himself in the middle of a very public outcry which resulted in him being declared persona non grata in China. You see, old photos of the actor posing with the controversial Yasukuni War Shrine in the background had surfaced along with pictures of him at a wedding with Dewi Sukarno who herself is considered a controversial figure. With his actions deemed unpatriotic and disrespectful of Chinese history, an industry wide boycott soon saw almost all traces of the actor removed from social media including his Weibo account.
Recently however, Netizens came across an account with the handle Duo Rou Pu Tao 511 Bei (多肉葡萄511杯) which many think could be his “secret” side account. For one, “511” on the account’s handle also coincides with the date of the actor’s May 11 birthday. Then, there’s the new photo shared by the account which was captioned “Lu Fei’s (路飞) Growth Diary”. Lu Fei is the name of the actor’s fur baby.
What do you guys think? Are Netizens just grasping at straws? Or do you reckon there might be a nugget of possibility that a gradual comeback is still possible? Fans are no doubt hopeful to see his return, whilst others remain angry. “Why can the Han traitor now post on Weibo” asked one Netizen. Another said “do you think the internet has no memory?”
As of press time however, the account can no longer be found as it seems it’s been removed or taken down.
[CORRECTION:] The old photos do not show him visiting the shrine as stated in an earlier version of the post which has been corrected.
Source: 1
HL
This guy’s downfall is definitely super quick and unexpected…
carmen
debe despegar de china muchos buenos actores hacen excelente actuacion hollywood, deberia irse estudiar actuacion y aprender ingles dentro par de años peliculas de gran renombre, se lo aconsejo ya en china no volvera siga su gran camino a los angeles california
Teddyfoxfluff
There have been many clarifications coming out on Zhang ZheHan’s incident, and his cherry blossom photos were taken along a highly recommended tourist route (he never went anywhere a typical tourist wouldn’t go). Please find further clarifications at teddyfoxfluff.wordpress.com.
Chris
Oh for crying out loud, people are still so angry that he can’t even post about his dog? There are far more important things to be angry about than this. Yes, yes, I know what all the controversy and arguments are, but aren’t we all too busy in our daily lives to hold onto these types of grudges?
Lala
Some people have no better things to do than to complain and shit about others lol.
I’m pretty sure he has no idea or knowledge when he posed at the site and attended the wedding. No one informs him and he didn’t educate himself about it; if he have known he wouldn’t do such a thing. No Chinese people would!!!
On a happier note, he looks manly and looks like he grew a mustache?? lol
Anon
LOL It says “old photo” – a photo from the past. Not a current one.
And on whether he was “informed” about the history of that shrine, unless he is seriously mentally deficient, there is no way he could not know – it’s in the school history books and every Chinese kid is drilled in history; it’s in the news every year cos every year there will be speeches blah blah (from SK too) when the Jap ministers go there to pay their respects to their “war heroes” ; there are some sort of celebrations every year to commemorate some significant historical events, in which the entertainment industry plays a big part.
What he underestimated was his own explosive success – cos there is no issue for ordinary chinese tourists to visit and have a look; but a different story for public figures who have massive influence over others. He was not smart enough to clean up his weibo history ahead of time. That was an old photo too. The agency that managed him was very slow too, especially when the owner, Zhao Wei had encountered the same controversial issue exactly 20 years ago – she wore a Jap flag dress. She, of all people, should have forseen this. I blamed her much more !!! She didn’t take care of ZZH.
kim
I recommend you to not use the term “jap” because that’s a slur. Thank you.
Anon
“Jap” is a slur? Really? It’s just short for Japanese. No color, race or religion connotation at all. But thanks for the tip. Or I might get banned from visiting Japan.
Kim
I don’t have any intentions or time to educate you as to why it’s a slur, nor do I have any bad intentions for letting you know. The internet is free. Please be respectful regardless.
Sebhai
Japs
Lisa
Don’t non-celebrities have Weibo? So he can’t even have a basic thing like a social media account anymore? I get what he did, but allow the guy to live his life. Geez.
Yamapisukii
At this point, they might as well look at ALL pictures that regular citizens took while traveling in Japan. I’m sure there a ton who visited shrines as well. Let’s cancel those regular people too because what they’re doing is wrong. Sounds so ridiculous. 🙄
JG
He did not “visit” that shrine. He took a picture in front of a cherry blossom site.
Monserrat
Which countries can an artist working in their country safely visit, that won’t make the public chase them with pitchforks?
Teh
As long as not Japan,by the look of it.
Laila
While I do understand, the Chinese netizens can be too much at times. It’s okay to be patriotic, but zealous patriotism can come off as negative. They pretty much have ended the man’s career already so just let him live his life normally now.
susu
zealous patriotism ur right bout that
Anon
For Americans, it has bad connotations since WWII especially for Japanese Americans.
Anonymous
Tennis player, Peng Shuai has also been censure after speaking out accusing a high profile government personnel of sexually assaulting her. Her weibo account is gone and even her name has been deleted from China’s search engine.
laihonn
She’s not the one one that get censure recently. Singer Kimberley Chen Fang-yu and Namewee 黃明志 also got censure completely over a satire song.
I am kind of scare for her, considering the type of government China is and her allegation. I hope she’s okay.
Hunter2020
It’s good that they removed this account too. What’s the point of enforcing the ban on this guy then, if he’s allowed to keep an alternate account?