Chinese actress Jing Tian (景甜) has been slapped with a US$1.1 million fine for breaching the nation’s advertising law by touting candies as a weight-loss drug.
Jing, who has been in Hollywood blockbusters such as The Great Wall with Matt Damon and Kong: Skull Island, has been a brand ambassador for Infinite Free, a Guangzhou-based company that claimed its fruit and vegetable candy could prevent the body from absorbing sugars, oils and fats.
In the ads, which have since been pulled from e-commerce sites such as Alibaba’s Taobao and JD.com, the 33-year-old actress said that people could keep in shape by taking two “candies” after eating a meal.
The local regulator in Guangzhou imposed a 7.22 million yuan (US$1.1 million) fine on Saturday, saying ordinary food cannot be claimed to have therapeutic effects under advertising law.
The state regulator said it supported the decision in a follow-up statement, adding that market regulators nationwide should step up supervision of celebrities’ advertising activities.
Jing is the latest celebrity to be caught up in a year-long crackdown on the entertainment industry. Regulators have targeted what state media outlets have characterized as “improper” idol worship, excessive wealth held by some and dubious tax practices.
The Chinese cyberspace regulator last year told social media platforms to remove all rankings of celebrities.
One of China’s most popular film stars, Zhao Wei (趙薇), was blacklisted from the nation’s Internet, while actress Zheng Shuang (鄭爽) was ordered to pay 299 million yuan in overdue taxes, late fees and fines.
Jing, who raked in 2.6 million yuan in “illegal income” from the endorsement, apologized on Sina Weibo, saying she did not do enough due diligence when she signed her contract.
“I hereby offer my solemn apology, for failing to fulfill my obligations to examine the contract during the process of signing and for the negative impact on consumers that trust the related product,” she wrote. “I’ll never advertise for any product in this category in future to prevent this from happening again.”
THE TRAGEDY OF PUNCH: Footage of the seven-month-old Japanese macaque has gone viral online after he was rejected by his mother and formed a bond with a soft toy A baby monkey in Japan has captured hearts around the world after videos of him being bullied by other monkeys and rejected by his mother went viral last week. Punch, a Japanese macaque, was born in July last year at Ichikawa City Zoo. He has drawn international attention after zookeepers gave him a stuffed orangutan toy after he was abandoned by his mother. Without maternal guidance to help him integrate, Punch has turned to the toy for comfort. He has been filmed multiple times being dragged and chased by older Japanese macaques inside the enclosure. Early clips showed him wandering alone with
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese yesterday said he did not take his security for granted, after he was evacuated from his residence for several hours following a bomb threat sent to a Chinese dance group. Albanese was evacuated from his Canberra residence late on Tuesday following the threat, and returned a few hours later after nothing suspicious was found. The bomb scare was among several e-mails threatening Albanese sent to a representative of Shen Yun, a classical Chinese dance troupe banned in China that is due to perform in Australia this month, a spokesperson for the group said in a statement. The e-mail
TENSIONS: The march went ahead without clashes, but arrests were still possible as police investigate suspects behind Nazi salutes, racist slurs and homophobic insults Thousands of people on Saturday marched in southeastern France under heavy security in tribute to a far-right activist whose killing, blamed on the hard left, has put the country on edge. The crowd — many wearing black and some covering their lower faces with masks — marched through the city of Lyon carrying flowers and placards bearing pictures of Quentin Deranque and the words: “justice for Quentin” and “the extreme left kills.” The 23-year-old died from head injuries following clashes between radical left and far-right supporters on the sidelines of a demonstration against a politician from the left-wing France Unbowed
‘OCCUPATION’: Hong Kong said it had lodged ‘stern protests’ with Panama’s consulate, and would ‘staunchly support’ the rights and interests of Hong Kong companies Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino on Monday ordered the temporary occupation of two ports run by a unit of CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd following the Supreme Court’s ruling against the firm’s concession, escalating a dispute that has become a proxy battle between the US and China in Latin America. Mulino said in a speech that the administration and operation of the two ports on the strategic Panama Canal is to revert to the country’s National Maritime Authority to ensure their uninterrupted, safe and efficient operation. The occupation covers movable equipment at the ports and does not mean a definitive loss of
RSS