"If Caught, They Disappear"... Famous Chinese Show Hosts Vanish After Tax Evasion Exposure

"Warning to the Entertainment Industry Regarding Taxes and Regulations"

Famous Chinese show host Zhu Zhenhui.
Photo by Suhu.com capture

[Asia Economy Reporter Na Ye-eun] Two famous Chinese influencers, caught by Chinese authorities for tax evasion involving tens of millions of yuan, have disappeared from the internet.

The Hong Kong South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported on the 14th that the Weibo accounts of Zhu Zhenhui (朱宸慧) and Lin Sansan (林珊珊), the top e-commerce livestream hosts who were caught for tax evasion last month, have vanished. Zhu Zhenhui has 15 million followers on Weibo, and Lin Sansan has 9.6 million followers.

Currently, their company websites only display a "server error" message. Additionally, their shopping accounts operated on portals such as Taobao, Douyin, and Xiaohongshu are all unsearchable.

Earlier, on the 22nd of last month, Chinese authorities discovered Zhu Zhenhui and Lin Sansan’s personal income tax evasion and imposed fines of 65.55 million yuan (approximately 12.2 billion KRW) and 27.67 million yuan (approximately 5.1 billion KRW), respectively. Immediately after the fines were imposed, they issued an apology statement on Weibo saying, "We fully accept the tax authorities' decision. We will cease our live broadcast activities."

SCMP explained that it is not uncommon in China for the social media accounts and online records of those caught by authorities to disappear without any explanation. It added, "The two influencers have vanished from the internet, and no official explanation has been provided by related parties."

Furthermore, it analyzed, "Their cases serve as a warning from China regarding taxes and regulations directed at live commerce broadcasts and the entertainment industry."

Meanwhile, Chinese actress Fan Bingbing also disappeared after the 2018 tax evasion scandal involving dual contracts, sparking rumors of her disappearance. After the tax evasion exposure, Fan Bingbing underwent a confidential investigation by Chinese tax authorities and was fined taxes and penalties totaling 880 million yuan (approximately 150 billion KRW). She reappeared in public only eight months after the incident.

Also, in August, famous actress Zheng Shuang (鄭爽) paid a total of 299 million yuan (approximately 55.11 billion KRW) in back taxes and fines. Her ex-boyfriend Zhang Heng (張恒), who helped her evade taxes, was also fined 6 billion KRW.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.