A screenshot of celebrities who have appeared in the video to to Bai Yingcang, a member of a northern Myanmar family all…
A screenshot of celebrities who have appeared in the video to to Bai Yingcang, a member of a northern Myanmar family allegedly involved in telecom fraud.Photo:Sina Weibo
A video has recently been circulating online that claims to show several celebrities appearing in a video to send birthday greetings to Bai Yingcang, a member of a northern Myanmar family allegedly involved in telecom fraud.
Actor Eric Tsang from Hong Kong Special Administrative Region(HKSAR), who appears in footage in the video, responded that he was asked by a friend to send the message and that when he recorded the message he thought he was just talking to a "friend's friend."
"I did this at the request of my Chinese mainland friend. At that time, I only knew such a video seemed to be sent to a friend's friend. After this, I think in the future I'll reject the request of people if I don't know them," Tsang said in a statement.
Tsang was not the only one to respond. Actor Du Xudong, who also appears in the video, also made a public announcement that he didn't run a background check on Bai and that he feels "guilty" about it.
HKSAR actor Charlie Cho, who has also been involved in the video, said that he only sent the birthday message to "make a living," noting that a lot of stars send similar messages on commission.
The viral video quickly sparked netizens' anger on China's social media platform Sina Weibo, earning 4.4 million views. Some netizens accused the stars of forgetting "their moral and social responsibilities" and being "too much focused on money."
"I don't mind the fact that those celebrities got paid for such a short message because the fame is their capital. However, it is shameful for them to dig every coin up without the slightest bit of social responsibility," posted one netizen on Sina Weibo.
Law expert Gao Ting told the Global Times that legally it is difficult to determine if the people involved in the scandal should be seen as guilty because "they can also be seen as victims" as they trusted the word of a friend. Yet, the incident acts as a reminder that the public should play an even "stricter role in supervising public figures."
"Celebrities' behavior and moral standards can make big impact on society's values. Compared to the money they made from commissions, the damage to their reputation is much more costly," said Gao.
Prior to the "telecom fraud" scandal, Da Xue, an entertainment agent, told the Global Times that paying to get a message from a star has "become an industry."
"Agents played an important role in this regard. Some of them negotiate for their stars and most of those stars are young idols that have appeared on TV, but have not yet become famous," Da revealed to the Global Times.
On E-commerce platform Taobao, there are shops selling "celebrity message" products. Chinese stars such as Zhao Lusi, Ju Jingyi and Yu Shuxin can be seen in the shop's advertisements along with slogans such as "star wishes VCR video" and "live-action videos."
Da told the Global Times that these videos can go for 1,000 ($150) to tens of thousands of yuan depending on a star's popularity or a customer's requested content, andmost of these videos can be personalized.
"Celebrities should be stricter in complying with their rules, and regulation departments should also take more effective punishment measures to stop such incidents," said a netizen on Sina Weibo.
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