China View: Beijing Pushes Celebrities To Promote Party Politics

Elizabeth Fernandez/Fred Lee/Edgar Su/Reuters

In a bold and strategic move, China has been tapping into the power of digital media by inviting popular Taiwanese influencers to explore and showcase one of its most mysterious and captivating regions—Xinjiang. With its sprawling deserts, dramatic mountain ranges, and rich cultural heritage, this remote corner of China is being revealed to the world in a whole new light, as influencers craft stunning visual stories that highlight its breathtaking landscapes and hidden gems.

However, these videos are not only meant to promote tourism, but also aim to promote China’s political values. Historically, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has utilized celebrities and popular artists to promote its political ideology. The state incorporates celebrities into public service advertising and political campaigns to influence public behavior.

Celebrities who participate in state-endorsed activities are given the opportunity to boost their visibility, which allows them to further enhance their commercial value in the entertainment industry. Celebrities who choose not to cooperate with the government and its regulations risk getting banned from the industry entirely. It is notoriously difficult for formerly banned artists to regain their popularity due the government labeling them as “tainted artists”.

“The pop stars who perform in China are willing to support the Chinese government for the simple reason of keeping the hugely profitable Chinese market. The stars make exorbitant amount of money if they cooperate with the government,”

-Kang Liu, director of the Duke Program of Research on China at Duke University

The CCP’s use of celebrities to promote its political agenda has a long history. During the 1930s, efforts were made to transform the movie industry by cultivating script writers, directors, producers, and actors to promote “anti-feudal” and “anti-imperialist” material. In 1949, the CCP continued to criticize commercialized celebrity culture for its association with “corrupted lifestyles, loftiness, individualism”. During this time, the government aimed to remodel movie stars into popular icons who could propagate socialist values and promote state policies.

Following China's Reform and Opening Up policy in 1978, reforms brought about economic growth, urbanization, and a heightened interest in popular media. With the rise of celebrity relevance, the government also witnessed the rise of celebrity behaviors that they viewed as damaging to the national identity, such as excessive displays of luxury, sex scandals, and tax evasions. To correct these behaviors and leverage the popularity of celebrities, the CCP took active measures to regulate and control them. Can stricter regulations and harsher punishments dissuade celebrity misbehavior?  

In the 1980s, movie star Liu Xiaoqing was heavily criticized by the government for glorifying capitalism and deviating from the CCP’s principles. During this period, Teresa Teng’s songs were also denounced by the government for similar reasons. As a result, Teresa Teng’s songs and Liu Xiaoqing’s movies were officially banned and became widely inaccessible. Since 2005, harsher measures have been instituted to regulate celebrities including the products they endorse, media platforms, and fan groups. Various government agencies also began issuing regulations and notices to ban celebrities involved in scandals.

Due to the public visibility of celebrities, the government sought to prevent these harmful behaviors from influencing society, especially the younger population. Since then, the phrase “tainted artists” has been used by the government and the public to chastise banned celebrities. This public participation adds further disciplinary power to the state regulations on celebrity behavior. China has continued to enhance these restrictions of celebrities since Xi Jinping took power in 2013. Policies included tightening control of the mass media and strengthening the promotion of socialist values by CCP members and celebrities.

For Chinese celebrities, cooperating with the government has become an effective way to expand their reach. Those endorsed by the state are offered rare opportunities to perform on state television, star in state-sponsored films, and attend national conferences. Participation in these widely viewed activities can boost celebrities’ visibility and increase their commercial value. Therefore, celebrities have strong incentives to satisfy state demands in pursuit of career, fame, and wealth.

Weibo, a Chinese-owned X-like social media platform, has become an important site of public discourse. Weibo is widely accessible to Chinese citizens, which allows for government agencies and popular figures to interact directly with the public. Many Chinese celebrities have utilized Weibo to make important announcements, promote their work, advertise endorsements, and voice political views.

Following a protest in Hong Kong in which a Chinese flag was tossed into the Victoria Harbour, many Taiwanese celebrities spoke out against it on social media. This protest was in response to Beijing’s expanding influence over Hong Kong. Many citizens of Hong Kong value its autonomy and separate governance system from mainland China.

These Taiwanese celebrities began endorsing Beijing's territorial claim of the island by reposting a Chinese state media post in support of unification. Some celebrities, such Taiwanese actor Yang Hsiu-hui, expressed fear that if they spoke out against Beijing’s stance, they would risk losing their career. This robust response from celebrities defending the Chinese government also occurred when former speaker of the United States House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan.

The state media outlet China Central Television sent out a post on Weibo with the message “there is only one China in the World.” Within hours, Chinese celebrities started to repost this message to their followers. This included popular figures such as Xie Na, a 41-year-old TV host and actress with 128 million followers on Weibo. Taiwan celebrities who reposted the message were praised by Chinese media and fans while celebrities who did not repost the message were called out for their silence.

The presence of celebrities and the government on Weibo is an important component in shaping public behavior, particularly the younger population. The CCP views celebrities as a dangerous influence on young people. Xi Jinping has said that he believes that young people must be “patriotic, hardworking, dedicated, and self-sacrificing for the greater interest of the society”. To ensure that younger generations embody these qualities, the government has utilized influential celebrities to broadly promote its political objectives.

“Pop culture celebrities are highly visible and persuasive icons of commercial advertisement. Likewise, they are useful public images for political purposes in China, where commercial and political advertising are normally mixed up.”

This is evident in the government’s “United Front” influence and outreach operations, which offer paid trips to Taiwanese influencers and celebrities. In exchange for filming promotion tourism videos, many of these popular figures publicly endorsed Beijing’s territorial claim on Taiwan by reposting a Chinese state media post in support of unification.

China’s regulations force celebrities who wish to keep their careers to cooperate with the government’s political messaging. Government regulations have also forced some popular figures to reject lucrative endorsement deals due to political differences. Chinese actress Yang Mi ended her role as Versace’s Chinese ambassador after the company released a line of t-shirts that featured Hong Kong and Macau as independent nations.

Following accusations of forced labor and internment camps in Xinjiang, more than 30 Chinese celebrities ended their promotional partnerships with brands that spoke out against Beijing’s alleged actions, including H&M, Nike, Adidas, Puma and Calvin Klein. These instances of collective support from celebrities exemplifies the role they play as vocal defenders of the country’s actions.

Despite the risk of being banned and deplatformed, some celebrities have actively called out China and its actions. In a speech delivered at the United Nations Human Rights Council, Hong Kong singer Denise Ho spoke out against China and its continued attacks on Hong Kong’s democracy and human rights. While many Hong Kong citizens have protested against Beijing’s growing influence in the region, most Hong Kong celebrities have avoided participating or making public comments. As a result of her candor and activism, however, she has been blacklisted from the entertainment industry in mainland China, has had concerts canceled, and lost sponsorship deals.