Voluntary exile or enforced disappearance? For more than a month, actress Zhao Wei has simply flown away. His social media accounts have been deleted, his name has disappeared from Chinese streaming platforms, and some of his films are no longer findable.
This is not the first time that this kind of disappearance questions in China. A few months ago, Jack Ma, billionaire co-founder of Alibaba, did not give any sign of life, after being in the sights of the authorities. He was recently seen in Hong Kong, according to Reuters. The disappearance of Zhao Wei could also be linked, since she was in touch with the businessman, according to RFI.
Another case was publicized in 2018. Fan Bingbing had been locked up in secret for three months. She was finally sentenced to a fine equivalent to 111 million euros, in particular for acts of tax evasion.
The high salaries targeted by the regime
If one believes some news sites, Zhao Wei would however have embarked for France, where she owns vineyards with her husband. But there is nothing to support this assertion at the moment.
All this comes as the authorities have decided several years ago to target extremely wealthy celebrities, especially in the entertainment industry. As explained International mail, Xi Jinping’s government wanted to reduce the salaries of certain stars to avoid creating a greed among the youngest. It would therefore not be completely by chance if the names mentioned above are those of some of the wealthiest personalities in the country.