“Do you think Xi Jinping is a dictator?”

Hu Chenfeng, a Chinese content creator who rose to fame by making videos about poverty, was suspended from Bilibili and Weibo after a viewer asked him: Do you think Xi Jinping is a dictator? CDT released a video of the incident:

After spewing bullshit under his breath, Hu proceeded to denounce the questioner by repeatedly exclaiming that the question was a serious violation of streaming guidelines, that the person who asked the question must be crazy and that the police would probably be at his door soon. The next day, Hu shared a message with Bilibili announcing that he would be taking three days off due to physical discomfort. Fans were skeptical that the choice was his, wondering beneath the announcement: Was it voluntary or forced? Are you sick or is there another reason behind this? Please express your opinion directly. Another fan asked: Stop beating around the bush. Please clearly state your opinion on him, apparently referring to the question about Xi. Despite Hu's vehement reaction to the issue and his abrupt announced hiatus, his social media presence was suspended across all platforms.

The question was a classic example of rushing into the tower (, change), slang for deliberately saying politically sensitive things online, knowing full well that censorship, or perhaps even actual detention, will follow. An example of rushing to the tower includes a WeChat article from December 2023 entitled Rise up, bloggers who refuse to be slaves! which denounced the censors as the moralizing face of evil. (For more on how to rush the tower, see CDT 20th anniversary glossary ebook.)

The incident was an almost exact repeat of a 2019 incident in which streamer Yao Shui Ge, famous for his outlandish online antics, invited a viewer onto his livestream only for the viewer to jokingly claim that he was Xi Jinping's son. Yao Shui Ge immediately ended the stream but the damage was done. He too was suspended on all platforms and his name became a hot term on both Bilibili and Baidure, returning no search results in the period following the incident. (It is now viewable on both platforms.) China CDT's Quote of the Day, a selection of a netizen's voice, said that Both streamers' panicked reactions to Xi's mentions revealed all:

Do you think Xi is a dictator? Judging from Hu Chenfeng's reaction and Yao Shui Ge's shock at the time, deep down everyone knows the answer. [Chinese]

Online mentions of Xi Jinping are so frequently censored that netizens have begun jokingly calling Xi Voldemort, after the Harry Potter villain, also known as He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Pronounced -the name. Recent Xi-related keywords that have been censored include: Xi Jinping governs China, Xi Jinping + The emperor is very happy, Xi Jin + Guaranteed failure, Jinping + Guaranteed failure and Freedom of expression + Xi Jinping. “Incendiary” content about Xi allegedly behind the removal of Meta's WhatsApp and Threads apps from the Apple App Store in China Friday.

This is not the first time that Hu Chenfeng has faced censorship. In early 2023, Hu made a viral video documenting an elderly woman's poverty in Chengdu. The censors removed it, much to his surprise. From Li Yuan of the New York Times:

In March, the Cyberspace Administration of China, the country's internet regulator, announced it would crack down on anyone who posts videos or posts that deliberately manipulate sadness, incite polarization, create harmful information that harms in the image of the Party and the government, and disrupts economic and social development. It prohibits sad videos of elderly people, disabled people and children.

[…] Hu Chenfeng recorded the images which were removed from the Chinese Internet. On popular video sites, he posted a recording showing an elderly woman living on just $15 a month. According to many commenters on social media, he revealed too much. This topic is untouchable, wrote one commenter on a now-deleted thread on Zhihu, a Quora-like site. Another wrote: His story was censored simply because it showed what life is like for many people.

[…] I made these videos in hopes of making money while pushing our society forward a little bit, Mr. Hu, the videographer, said in a video posted on a social media backup account that does not. had not been blocked. But I didn't expect it to be banned. [Source]