Trending in BJ: Latest on JD.com CEO’s Arrest, FOCAC Blue
Trending in Beijing wraps up the top stories and hashtags Beijingers have been discussing on Chinese social media this week, exclusively for the Beijinger by What’s on Weibo editor-in-chief Manya Koetse.
Richard Liu’s Arrest: New Details Emerge
Despite allegations of rape, netizens side with Liu
It
is the topic everyone is talking about on Chinese social media this
week: the brief Minneapolis arrest of JD.com CEO Richard Liu (Liu
Qiangdong 刘强东), one of China’s most powerful tech moguls. The
billionaire’s mugshot (pictured above) started dominating trending
topics lists on Chinese social media after news of his arrest first came
out on Sunday, Sep 2.
Liu’s arrest is reportedly connected to a
suspected rape. JD.com issued a statement through Weibo this week,
saying their CEO was “falsely accused.”
Liu was only arrested
for one day – he was taken into custody on Friday, Aug 31, and was
released without charge the next day. JD.com stated that Liu had
returned to China by Monday.
According to new details that have
emerged about the case, the accusations against Liu were made after a
group dinner at a Japanese restaurant. The woman who reported Liu for
assault allegedly is a Chinese exchange student attending the University
of Minnesota, where Liu was also taking part in a program for top-level
executives.
At the night of the banquet, Liu is sitting next to the female student who later accused him of rape
Beijing Times reports
that Liu and the woman departed in the same car together after the
wine-filled evening, and that he allegedly accompanied the woman to her
house. She reported Liu to the police at 1.00 am that same night.
According to various sources, including Sina News,
this is not the first time the woman has reported an assault case to
local authorities; she previously reported one of her former male
friends to the police. Her identity has not been revealed.
This obviously was a premeditated plan!
On
Weibo, responses to the case have been mixed, but a majority of
commenters support the celebrity businessman, believing he has been
framed, saying: “This obviously was a premeditated plan!” But some also
doubted his innocence, wondering why the JD.com CEO has not held a press
conference to clarify the accusations made against him.
Liu and his young wife Zhang Zetian, an internet celebrity nicknamed ‘Sister Milk Tea’, are a popular power couple.
Zhou Libo's mugshot also went viral last year
Liu is not the first Chinese celebrity to be arrested in the US. The famous Chinese comedian, actor, and host Zhou Libo (周立波) also
became a number one trending topic on Weibo last year when he was
arrested in New York for the illegal possession of guns and cocaine.
Neither Liu nor his wife has posted anything on social media since the brief arrest.
Beijing’s New Daxing Airport Well Underway
The airport will be the world's largest
Chinese
media report that an important phase in the construction of Beijing’s
new airport has been completed: the roof of Hangar 1 has been capped.
The 404.5-meter-long structure will be the world’s longest aircraft
hangar. It can hold a maximum of 12 aircraft.
Beijing's Daxing airport will also be home to the world's longest aircraft hangar
Beijing’s
Daxing International Airport is a prestigious project that is
propagated as being “100 percent China-made.” Located in the Daxing
district of southern Beijing, it will become an important part of the
Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei city cluster.
According to Sina News,
up to 8,000 construction workers are simultaneously working on the
airport, which, with its 700,000 square meters, will be the world’s
largest. By 2025, the airport is planned to be able to welcome 72
million passengers per year.
Some of those who already had access to the gigantic site of the future airport, such as aviation photographer Chou Gui, shared some impressive photos on Weibo, calling the project “spectacular.”
Photo of the future airport by photographer Chou Gui
The
construction is expected to be finished on Jun 30, 2019. The
international airport will go into operation in October next year.
A Heavily Censored Forum on the China-Africa Cooperation
And Beijing blue skies for Africa
More
than 50 African leaders convened in Beijing for the Forum on
China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), which took place from Sep 3-4.
President Xi Jinping’s
keynote speech was titled "Work Together for Common Development and a
Shared Future," setting the tone for the event, that was all about the
strengthening of China-Africa relations.
The major event was
heavily propagated by state media on Chinese social media, where the
summit’s hashtag (#中非论坛#) received over 130 million views. Despite the
popularity of the topic, there was not much netizens could say about the
event, as most comments were censored and virtually all comment
sections underneath state media reports were disabled on Weibo.
It
is not uncommon for social media to be especially heavily controlled
during important (international) events, such as Party congresses or
multilateral meetings.
Based on the comments that did get
through on Weibo, one of the things that apparently stood out during the
event for many people was not so much the content of the summit, but
the blue skies that came with it.
Beijing saw unusually clear
days over the past week, reminding of the blue skies during the
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) in Beijing in 2014, better
known as “APEC Blue.”
Blue skies posted on Weibo
“Could we call this ‘FOCAC Blue’ (中非论坛蓝)?” some Weibo users suggested.
“Beijing is such a magical place,” others wrote: “The moment the summit starts, the skies suddenly turn blue.”
To see more topics that have been trending in the capital recently, go here.
By Manya Koetse @manyapan
What’s on Weibo editor-in-chief
Manya Koetse is the editor-in-chief of whatsonweibo.com.
She is a writer and consultant (Sinologist, MPhil) on social trends in
China, with a focus on social media and digital developments, popular
culture, and gender issues.
Photos: Anna Hartley, Weibo, People’s Daily, Xinhuanet.com
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