Global brands including luxury fashion house Prada and healthcare company Haleon have cut ties with star Chinese actor and singer Li Yifeng (李易峰), who was detained on prostitution charges as the government continues a crackdown on the entertainment industry.
Li, 35, also known as Evan Li, was arrested by Beijing police on charges of “soliciting prostitution on multiple occasions,” and reportedly confessed to the allegation, a Sina Weibo post by the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau and a report by state-run China Central Television showed.
His detention was followed by a series of international and Chinese companies announcing they have terminated all business relations with the actor, including Prada, where he was a brand ambassador.
Photo: Screen grab from Li YiFeng Weibo
Sensodyne, a toothpaste unit of UK-based Haleon, and Zhenguoli, a beverage brand of dairy giant China Mengniu Dairy, also severed ties with Li.
Chinese authorities often tout confessions by the accused in high-profile cases, which the US, the UK and other human rights advocates have long cited as evidence of coercion or torture.
Some of those cases have involved vice crimes like prostitution, such as American venture capitalist and Sina Weibo opinion-maker Charles Xue (薛蠻子), who disappeared in 2013 and was released after state television ran a taped statement in which he admitted to hiring prostitutes.
China has ordered sweeping actions to clean up the entertainment industry, with the broadcast regulator moving to ban film stars with “incorrect” politics, cap salaries and rein in celebrity fan culture.
Star pianist Li Yundi (李雲迪) was arrested for soliciting a prostitute in October last year as part of the wider crackdown on the sector. He has not been seen in public since.
Li Yifeng was previously recognized by the authorities as he played the role of Mao Zedong (毛澤東) in The Pioneer, a patriotic movie released last year to celebrate the Chinese Communist Party’s 100th anniversary.
He has also appeared in multiple promotion videos for government agencies, including the Ministry of State Security and the Supreme People’s Procuratorate.
With more than 60 million followers on the microblogging platform Sina Weibo, Li Yifeng was involved in the boycott of Hugo Boss over its pledge not to use cotton produced in Xinjiang over concerns it is made with forced labor by Uighurs.
FRAUD ALLEGED: The leader of an opposition alliance made allegations of electoral irregularities and called for a protest in Tirana as European leaders are to meet Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama’s Socialist Party scored a large victory in parliamentary elections, securing him his fourth term, official results showed late on Tuesday. The Socialist Party won 52.1 percent of the vote on Sunday compared with 34.2 percent for an alliance of opposition parties led by his main rival Sali Berisha, according to results released by the Albanian Central Election Commission. Diaspora votes have yet to be counted, but according to initial results, Rama was also leading there. According to projections, the Socialist Party could have more lawmakers than in 2021 elections. At the time, it won 74 seats in the
EUROPEAN FUTURE? Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama says only he could secure EU membership, but challenges remain in dealing with corruption and a brain drain Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama seeks to win an unprecedented fourth term, pledging to finally take the country into the EU and turn it into a hot tourist destination with some help from the Trump family. The artist-turned-politician has been pitching Albania as a trendy coastal destination, which has helped to drive up tourism arrivals to a record 11 million last year. US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, also joined in the rush, pledging to invest US$1.4 billion to turn a largely deserted island into a luxurious getaway. Rama is expected to win another term after yesterday’s vote. The vote would
CANCER: Jose Mujica earned the moniker ‘world’s poorest president’ for giving away much of his salary and living a simple life on his farm, with his wife and dog Tributes poured in on Tuesday from across Latin America following the death of former Uruguayan president Jose “Pepe” Mujica, an ex-guerrilla fighter revered by the left for his humility and progressive politics. He was 89. Mujica, who spent a dozen years behind bars for revolutionary activity, lost his battle against cancer after announcing in January that the disease had spread and he would stop treatment. “With deep sorrow, we announce the passing of our comrade Pepe Mujica. President, activist, guide and leader. We will miss you greatly, old friend,” Uruguayan President Yamandu Orsi wrote on X. “Pepe, eternal,” a cyclist shouted out minutes later,
Myanmar’s junta chief met Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) for the first time since seizing power, state media reported yesterday, the highest-level meeting with a key ally for the internationally sanctioned military leader. Senior General Min Aung Hlaing led a military coup in 2021, overthrowing Myanmar’s brief experiment with democracy and plunging the nation into civil war. In the four years since, his armed forces have battled dozens of ethnic armed groups and rebel militias — some with close links to China — opposed to its rule. The conflict has seen Min Aung Hlaing draw condemnation from rights groups and pursued by the
RSS