Photo: Screenshot from the website
Zhang Xingte, a Chinese singer with 2.55 followers on China's X-like Sina Weibo, was splashed with water by three female individuals at the Shanghai Pudong International Airport on Saturday, reigniting public concerns on fandom culture.
Videos circulating online show the singer was surrounded by several masked women, who then proceeded to douse him with water. The incident quickly gained widespread attention on social media, with hashtags like "Zhang Xingte was splashed with water at the airport" trending on Sina Weibo and garnering more than 100 million views as of Tuesday afternoon.
On Monday, Zhang's studio said on its Weibo account that it had reported the incident to the local police.
According to a statement released by the Shanghai police on Tuesday, the three individuals, surnamed Yang (21), Zheng (17) and Chen (17), had been stalking and filming Zhang at another airport before, leading to a verbal altercation on Saturday.
The next day, they followed and filmed the singer outside a performance venue in Shanghai, resulting in another verbal altercation. On Monday, having learned of Zhang's travel plans in advance, the trio executed the water-splashing attack at the Shanghai Pudong International Airport.
The police have imposed administrative penalties on the three women in accordance with the law, said the statement.
Public places like airports and train stations, with high pedestrian traffic, are prone to serious consequences such as blocked pathways, stampedes and conflicts due to "star-chasing" behaviors, including following around and gathering to observe, police warned.
"In light of these disturbances that jeopardize public safety, public security authorities will rigorously address such disorderly and illegal activities in accordance with the law," said the statement.
Zhang Yiwu, a professor of cultural studies at Peking University, told the Global Times that interaction within fan circles makes the groups very cohesive and repel different voices.
Zhang warned that young people's views on people and society will be weakened and simplified when they stay in fan circles, where everything or everyone is either black or white, ignoring with no middle ground or complexities.
The Chinese government has been dealing with unhealthy fandom culture since 2021 and measures, including canceling all ranking lists of entertainers, barring forums that pick fights and lead to chaos, and requesting agencies to better guide fan groups and to crack down on frenzied idol worship among underage fans.
"It is urgent to manage fan circles and rectify these youngsters' ideologies, guiding them to support their idols in a rational manner, and this needs cooperation from all related parties," Zhang noted.
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