[210813] The Zhang Zhehan Issue — Summarized
Okay guys some of you might have already heard if you’re on Twitter, some of you probably have not, but anyway, here’s a lowdown on what’s going on with ZZH today.
Basically ZZH’s past photos (2019?)- selfies of him in a shrine in Japan that has great significance for China as Japan basically did them wrong in WW2 and also him holding the Japanese flag - surfaced today in a pretty well-targeted, intense anti campaign.
Edit: Oops sorry forgot to add this in, so they also dug up a photo of him doing the Nazi salute, this one can’t be explained away at all. Although there are arguments that he was doing the Mao Zedong pose I think? But you know in situations of ambiguity it makes it harder for him to kind of explain it both ways, we can’t really comment much on this either? Like we don’t know, but there’s no denying that it looks offensive to another group of people whatever he was intending.
And the consequences have been pretty severe:
1. He’s been called a traitor to China for liking Japan and being pro-Japan based on that, plus his display photo was Luffy right so yeah, didn’t help
2. Thousands and thousands of antis and passer-bys have spat vitriol on him calling for him to be cancelled
3. All his brands have dropped him as an ambassador or endorser or spokesperson saying that basically they do not support anyone who doesn’t show that you know, China is best. The only ones that have not done so are One Leaf and I think TASAKI but I suppose they’re kind of you know, stuck in between a rock and a hard place considering they are Japanese brands
4. The national newspaper has criticized his apology pretty like harshly, and then CCTV continued to add on to that criticism during news time
5. AvenueX (gosh I never liked her at all) also removed all mentions of him and SHL from her channel, you know, after earning so much from tips, but I suppose she preferred GJ over ZZH most of the time
So yeah it’s not looking good at all for ZZH, and you definitely won’t be seeing him in any programs, magazine shoots, or product endorsements for the short term, maybe the rest of the year at least, or even like two years.
I mean, his fans and the rest of us all have pretty much just been quietly supportive, international fans get the nationalism theoretically but disagree with the way he’s being witch-hunted for it, but I suppose at least cfans all agree that yes, he did wrong in a country that you know, pretty much prides itself on its nationalism and anti… I guess other countries. So well, unfortunately, we can’t really comment on the politics part of it.
It was in bad taste, the photos, yes. And although he’d deleted them unfortunately antis did dig them up. And you know, China is always happy for an opportunity to remind its citizens to be patriotic etc. etc. I mean not gonna even touch that line, but for the purposes of government ideology etc. yes, it is entirely wrong for him to have done that. That I agree with.
And yeah he was an asshole for like doing the Nazi salute, or the Mao Zedong salute that looked like a Nazi salute. Whichever. If he didn’t intend it, then this is an unfortunate situation, but if he did, then yeah why right?
Was it worth this intense anti-campaign? It looks pretty much coordinated as a move, not gonna lie, and I am partially amused that antis went to that much trouble to dig through so many old photos. Theories are that basically ZZH and GJ have taken up too many “resources” in terms of endorsements and attention etc. that should have gone to other artists.
Of course would any of this have happened if ppl didn’t have any plausible ammo against ZZH? Yes, certainly. Celebrities get smeared all the time but never really struck the patriotism line, so yeah, this was something that was waiting to explode. It was in bad taste once again, and bad decisions.
Does he deserve to be cancelled over China-Japan politics? Of course I don’t think so, and it’s a bit hypocritical. The situation is a lot more dire than just being a tourist or taking a politically terrible photo, it’s a hyperbole yes, but my point is calling him pro-Japan and anti-China for actions that any common tourist or person would do is a little far-fetched, and it’s obviously being amplified because he’s popular right now. Okay but yeah the Nazi salute or MZD pose thing was pretty much an stupid move. I don’t know how that came about etc. but oh wells, that was pretty much morally wrong.
As a celebrity, even before he got popular, should he still have been more careful? Certainly. Like I said, there is no denying how terrible that was in that setting and in China of all places. And of course yes in the China context it’s a sin, but this was definitely a premeditated attack that was honestly pretty well organized. And it’s pretty much bullshit for calling for him to be cancelled and to leave the entertainment circles entirely because… honestly it’s not that huge of a deal comparatively even with some of the larger scandals etc. that we’ve seen so far.
But definitely, while we international fans think the intensity of this is bullshit, we don’t matter as always.
All fansites have urged the fans not to do anything and not to argue, they’ve also said that yes ZZH was in the wrong for behaving in a sense out of turn, but we should all learn from our mistakes yadda yadda. This is pretty much the only stance they can take right now, but the negative voices calling for his downfall is definitely like 100% greater than the positive comments.
Gosh, it’s up to anyone’s guesses right now because it’s really pretty bad. He’s trending in the top 20 on more than 4 topics for this, all his brands have dropped him and I suppose we have to be prepared for:
1. No events, no endorsements, no magazine shoots, no livestreams etc. (Personally I’ve unfollowed every single one of these fucking brands)
2. He has one magazine that is in the midst of print - This might get cancelled, no confirmation yet but if this entire debacle doesn’t die down yes, it might get cancelled as well
3. SHL Figurines - These are the only ones that have not been sent out yet, I think it’s pretty unlikely for them to refund or cancel unless a big bunch of users decide to refund and the damage is huge, but otherwise it should carry on
4. His dramas are likely going to be pushed back if not cancelled entirely if this situation worsens - that’s a possibility to think about, at least in the next 2 years
Yes he made a few mistakes for I guess enjoying himself in Japan and holding the flag, erm.. the Nazi (or MZD) salute. But I can’t help but feel that they really made a mountain out of a molehill deliberately (excluding the salute). Not to say it’s not an important issue for China, but I do believe that if there wasn’t a group of people having it out for him, this might have been a slap on the wrist rather than a country-wide condemnation.
ZZH may take a long, long break. He’s definitely not feeling great about this, and I suppose other than the “actions have consequences” part because yeah he did take a wrong step with this, he probably is wondering about how his popularity this year fucked with this considering the photos are so damn old and if people were so damn patriotic they would’ve you know, dug it out way earlier rather than now. Now of all times, when he’s sort of still at his peak.
Stay off Weibo because the comments there are terrible, I’m hoping it doesn’t continue to blow up but knowing antis there may be a few rounds more left to this. ZZH is definitely facing some penalties for having to break his contracts with all his brands, and I don’t know what his company or his friends or whoever are feeling about this right now. They can’t really speak out in defense because I mean, the evidence is there.
So if you’re expecting ZZH content this year from this point on it’s not going to happen unless maybe he announces his withdrawal. The good thing is quite a number of people can at least tell that he’s being made an example of, and being made a scapegoat for this, and he hasn’t lost a lot of support from people who already supported him (fuck the brands), so yep. Stay off the topic if you don’t wanna see comments on it, it’s going to be a long and tough ride.
Edit: Guys, I have been now labelled a liberal with a biased view of Chinese society because I didn’t give yall an objective, personal opinion-free history lesson on this. Feel free to block and cancel me now~ You have been warned to not be swayed by my post above. Do go do your own research and look through other Twitter threads! :DDDDD
Isn’t the first fucking thing they teach, to not fucking make ascriptions for people on the liberal-conservative spectrum but I suppose that’s just me
