Lose to Win

• 陈昕廖 (Shannon Liào), The 范冰冰 (Fàn Bīngbīng) saga shows China’s willingness to control overly wealthy celebrities, The Verge, October 23, 2018

For more than a decade, 范冰冰 (Fàn Bīngbīng) has been a strong, powerful woman adored by the public. Her demure apology and obeisance to 北京 (Běijīng) is exactly what the government sought by singling her out: a return to the status quo that would put her in her place. Underneath the surface accusations of tax evasion and extravagant excess, there was another story unfolding: a subtle power struggle between China’s strong woman and its strongman leader. The latter appears to have won. [Read more].

范冰冰 (Fàn Bīngbīng) once told Chinese reporters, “I don’t need to marry into a wealthy family. I am my own wealthy family”. It was a seemingly innocuous statement that could also be interpreted as subversive to the patriarchal state. [Read more]. Photo: Olivier Metzger for Télérama.