China’s Weibo has banned a fan club of K-pop band BTS from posting for 60 days, saying that it had raised funds illegally, days after photographs of a customized airplane funded by the fan club were posted online.
The fan club account, which had more than 1.1 million followers on the social media platform, focused on BTS member Jimin.
The restrictions imposed on the account came amid China’s campaign to clean up the entertainment industry and clamp down on “irrational behavior” exhibited by fans.
Photo: AP
Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) has called for a “national rejuvenation,” with tighter Chinese Communist Party control of business, education, culture and religion.
The party has since reduced children’s access to online games and is trying to discourage what it sees as unhealthy attention toward celebrities.
Last week, the government banned effeminate men on TV and banned idol development shows for their “low moral values” that could be a bad influence on young people.
The BTS fan account was banned from posting on Weibo after images circulated last week of a customized airplane from Jeju Air with images of Jimin on it. The customized airplane was part of the club’s plans to celebrate his 26th birthday next month.
The stunt drew swift criticism online for its excess.
Following the backlash, the account issued a statement last week on its feed urging fans to be “rational” when chasing celebrities for a “harmonious and healthy Internet environment.”
Weibo said in a statement on Sunday that the group has been banned from posting for 60 days, after it was found to have raised funds illegally.
“Weibo firmly opposes such irrational star-chasing behavior and will deal with it seriously,” the statement said.
The fan club began raising money in April to prepare for the birthday celebrations, the Global Times reported, with more than 1 million yuan (US$155,000) raised in the first three minutes of the fundraising activity and 2.3 million yuan in the first hour.
The club also planned to run advertisements celebrating Jimin’s birthday in newspapers such as the New York Times.
It is not uncommon for K-pop fans worldwide to celebrate the birthdays of their favorite celebrities by taking out newspaper or billboard advertisements, or customizing public transport vehicles with images of their idols.
Many fans also fundraise to donate to charitable causes, such as funding education for the underprivileged or sponsoring wild animals in stars’ names, as part of such celebrations.
In a separate statement on Sunday, Weibo said that it had banned 21 other fan accounts for 30 days for posting “irrational star-chasing” content.
The banned fan accounts were mostly centered around K-pop celebrities, such as members of boy bands NCT and EXO, and girl group Blackpink.
Chinese singer-actor Lu Han (鹿唅), a former member of K-pop group EXO, on Sunday said that he would cut ties with Swiss luxury watch brand Audemars Piguet after a video circulated online last week that showed its CEO referring to Taiwan as an “ultra-modern, high-tech country.”
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