Chinese netizens are highlighting a new phenomenon — requests from high school students to pose as parents, with tasks that range from retrieving confiscated phones to calling for sick leave on their clients’ behalf.
A post on Instagram-like app Xiaohongshu detailed one job request to pick up a confiscated phone. The student had included information about the age to be portrayed, and task details including work hours, salary, and application format.
The post received over 9,400 likes, resonating with other netizens who shared similar experiences in the comments section.
The viral post had all the makings of a real job listing. Image via Xiaohongshu
Other users had faced similar situations, and some went to great lengths to portray a more convincing ‘father’ image, even scolding students in front of their headmasters. Another recounted calling the noodle vendor outside the school ‘dad’ for three years, simply because the school’s policy prohibited food deliveries to campus, but made an exception for homemade dishes.
Instead of turning to third parties, some students choose to take on the role of parent themselves. One shared that, posing as her own mother, she had successfully reported an English teacher for providing test answers to students in hr own class through practice exams.
Still, it’s not always a smooth operation. One cello teacher shared an experience in which a middle school student posed as a mother seeking lessons for her daughter.
“For those who are underage, it’s essential to have a discussion with your family before proceeding,” she wrote. “If you can’t afford the tuition fees on your own, you have to find a solution that works with what you have.”
In China’s rigid academics-first culture of parenting, these ruses might stem from students’ desire to navigate life independently, either without burdening their parents, or else, without incurring their wrath.
After pleas for legal recognition of same-sex marriage were rejected, activist Jimmy Sham and his husband still saw a glimmer of hope
Having failed to convince appeal judges last August, Sham brought his appeal for same-sex marriages to the Court of Final Appeal, where he argued that the ban on same-sex marriage, as well as the lack of alternative frameworks, infringed upon his rights to equality.
The Court of Final Appeal rejected Sham’s appeal but acknowledged that the absence of plausible alternatives violated his rights to equality. The court called for the development of an alternative framework that imparts “a sense of legitimacy, dispelling any sense that they belong to an inferior class of persons whose relationship is undeserving of recognition.”
Activist Jimmy Sham. Image via Wikimedia Commons
“The absence of legal recognition of [same-sex partners’] relationship is apt to disrupt and demean their private lives together in ways that constitute arbitrary interference,” noted Justice Patrick Keane.
It’s not the first time Sham appealed for same-sex marriage. Since 2018, Sham launched two judicial reviews to the court, with neither proving successful.
For LGBT populations in Hong Kong, the appeal ruling of the court is a “step forward,” according to Kelley Loper, the director of the Human Rights Program at the University of Hong Kong.
This latest ruling marked the first time the court addressed same-sex marriage as a comprehensive matter; in comparison, previous rulings had seen the court grant rights to same-sex couples in limited domains, such as taxation and dependent visas.
“This time, the court case is about the so-called wholesale recognition of same sex relationships,” as noted by Yiu-tung Suen, an associate professor of gender studies at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, in an interview with The New York Times.
There are also rising signs of public support for same-sex marriage in Hong Kong. A survey this year found 60% in favor of legalizing same-sex marriage, compared to 38% a decade ago.
Twenty years ago, Ali Wong was pursuing a degree in Asian-American Studies, and seriously considering a career in academia.
Now at 41, she’s a breakout hit writer and producer. She’s well-known for her Netflix stand-up specials, Baby Cobra, Hard Knock Wife, and Don Wong, and just this year, she took on a major starring role in the smash-hit show Beef.
It seems to be the year of Ali Wong — but the star definitely didn’t get here by accident.
Ali Wong: Stand-Up Comedy to TV Show and Movies
Growing up in San Francisco, California, Wong was the youngest of four children in a family with a Vietnamese mother and a Chinese-American father.
Her journey as a performer started at UCLA when she became part of Lapu, the Coyote that Cares Theatre Company (LCC), now the longest-running Asian-American theater company in the United States. She discovered her passion for performing here, later explaining that, “by creating complex characters and relationships through dialogue, [she had] the power to portray Asian-Americans as multidimensional human beings.”
Wong (top) with siblings and father. Image via Instagram
Those experiences provided the foundation for her standup comedy career. Right after her college graduation, at 23, Wong started out performing at a laundromat/coffee shop in San Francisco called Brainwash Cafe, which she jokingly describes as “basically a homeless shelter.” She later chose to move to New York to pursue her comedic aspirations.
Life in New York wasn’t easy. In the early stages of her career, Ali Wong dedicated all her efforts to comedy, sharing a loft in SoHo with six other people. Wong would perform as many as nine sets in a single night, moving from one venue to another between 7 PM and 2 AM.
“For the first year I lived in New York, I never ate out,” Wong said to NBC News, “I literally just ate lentils and brown rice at home. Sometimes I’d treat myself to this half chicken from Chinatown that cost $3.50.”
Wong believed that every joke had to land successfully at least 20 times on stage before it could become part of her regular set, a practice she maintained throughout her career. She also rarely takes a break from the stage — her longest hiatus was just 13 days long, during her honeymoon in Japan.
It was this unyielding pursuit of comedic excellence that would eventually catapult her into the limelight. 2011 was the tipping point for Ali Wong’s comedy career. She earned recognition from Variety as one of the “10 Comics to Watch” and began making notable appearances on esteemed platforms like The Tonight Show, John Oliver’s New York Stand-Up Show, and Dave Attell’s Comedy Underground.
In 2016, Wong took center stage and gained a new degree of notoriety with her Netflix stand-up special Baby Cobra. Alongside her stand-up success, Wong also ventured into television and film, leaving her comedic mark on productions like Breaking In, American Housewife, and even The Angry Birds Movie, solidifying her status as a versatile and talented performer.
Ali Wong on Ethnicity and Asian Representation
Wong is also known for her adept use of elements from the Asian-American experience — segments like “Asia is not only China and Japan” and “Getting Asian Food with non-Asian People” highlight her skillful integration of these cultural aspects.
Raised in a household where Chinese culture took precedence, Ali’s Vietnamese heritage was somewhat overshadowed. She attributes her mother’s limited connection to Vietnamese culture to her early immigration to the United States in 1960, where she had few opportunities to engage with fellow Vietnamese immigrants. This disconnect was further influenced by her education at Duchesne College in Omaha, Nebraska, where the nuns emphasized assimilation into American culture. Nevertheless, Ali pursued Asian-American studies at UCLA, and later learned Vietnamese through the Fulbright program, allowing her to infuse her performances with a deeper cultural resonance.
Wong was a writer for the first three seasons of Fresh Off the Boat, the first U.S. television sitcom to revolve around an Asian-American family since Margaret Cho’s “All-American Girl.” The show was a success, and was part of ushering in a new era of Asian-American film and TV.
Stand-up comedian Sheng Wang commented that Wong’s work has directly contributed to the growing demand for Asian-American comedy.
“Her comedy reaches a huge audience and it doesn’t feel like it’s selling out. That’s meaningful to this audience,” Wang said.
However, Ali Wong emphasizes the importance of not putting oneself in a box.
“I think it’s really important to not limit yourself to Asian-American stand-up comedy shows,” Wong said in an interview with NBC. “In order to be the best comic, you have to perform in a wide diversity of rooms.”
“Because whatever job you do, if you do it well with a unique point of view that makes people pay attention to your voice, it will influence Asian-American studies by nature of you being Asian-American,” she added.
Ali Wong: Relationships and Motherhood
Ali Wong occupies a unique position in comedy, not only as an Asian-American but also as a woman and mother in the industry. She has two daughters with Justin Hakuta, the son of inventor Ken Hakuta.
There are plenty of distinct challenges for women in stand-up, especially those with families, Wong explains, remarking that, “it’s very unusual for a female stand-up comic to have kids or even want kids. The stand-up comedy lifestyle is particularly unsupportive of having a family.”
During the filming of her first special, Baby Cobra, Wong was seven months pregnant with her first daughter. She took the opportunity to share details around her pregnancy journey on social media, and in interviews while promoting the show. New York Magazine wrote that “The special’s arrival on Netflix is the sort of star-making moment that unites the tastes of the unlikeliest fans.”
Two years later, Wong, pregnant with her second child, returned to the stage for Hard Knock Wife, another Netflix special which saw Wong sharing her takes on the challenges of breastfeeding, the comical aspects of post-pregnancy bodily changes, and ever-evolving marital dynamics after having children.
“Maternity leave is for new moms to hide and heal their demolished-ass bodies! I couldn’t go back to work topless beating my wet titty, trying to establish dominance over all my coworkers. You’d get fired! People don’t tell you about all the crazy shit that goes down when you get pregnant, when you give birth.”
“How’s that for leaning in?” Wong quipped. “I don’t believe any comic has ever done that before.”
In 2022, Wong finalized her divorce from ex-husband Justin Nakuta, although the two remain friends and collaborators, with Nakuta continuing to act as her tour manager.
More recently, Wong has been dating SNL star Bill Hader. The pair started dating last year and parted ways, before picking up their romance again in 2023.
“They were both at a good place in their lives and decided to give it another shot,” said an insider source.
Ali Wong has earned her place in entertainment — and today, her star is still rising. Even with specials like Baby Cobra and Hard Knock Wife behind her, it wasn’t until this year that Wong turned heads with her starring role in Beef.
With an impressive list of achievements that’s still growing, Ali Wong shows no signs of slowing down.
Dilraba Dilmurat is one of the most popular actresses in China today. After her breakout role in the 2017 television series Eternal Love, Dilraba became a household name across the country, and with over 63 million followers on Weibo, she’s one of the platform’s most-followed celebrities.
Dilraba, also known as Dilireba, was born on June 3, 1992 in Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang. Of Uyghur ethnicity, Dilraba overcame discrimination early in her career to become a top actress and fashion icon. Today, she’s one of the most commercially successful ethnic minority celebrities in China — and her star is still rising.
Life of Dilraba Dilmurat
Outside of her prolific entertainment career, Dilraba leads a relatively quiet personal life.
When she was just 9 years old in 2001, her father enrolled her in entrance exams for Xinjiang Art Middle School’s dance program. Dilraba was initially unaware she was even auditioning for the program, but earned admission and spent the next six years training intensively in dance.
After graduating in 2007, Dilraba joined the Xinjiang Song and Dance Troupe as a performer, before expanding her education with a year of study in 2009 at Northeast Normal University in Jilin province. During this time, she placed third in a local singing competition, as she began to expand her creative reach beyond dance.
In 2010, Dilraba was admitted to the prestigious Shanghai Theatre Academy to study drama, film and television. That same year, she auditioned for acclaimed director Lu Chuan’s film The Last Supper, marking her first foray into acting.
Dilraba has maintained a low-key personal life outside of her career. She enjoys reading, sewing, and watching American television shows in her spare time, and makes efforts to stay connected to her Uyghur heritage through food, music and language.
Dilraba’s Rise to Fame
Dilraba’s meteoric rise to fame in China can be attributed largely to her glamorous image. Perhaps more than her acting chops, it was her elegant and unique looks that first captured the public’s attention.
Standing at 5’7” with porcelain skin and delicate features, Dilraba’s appearance stands out on screen. Her large, expressive eyes and signature long black hair are part of her celebrity persona, and also the source of endless brand endorsement deals.
Her breakout role was in 2017’s Eternal Love, a xianxia, or “immortal heroes” fantasy drama based on the book of the same name. Despite only having a supporting role, Dilraba struck a chord with fans. In the years that followed, she became a mainstay in China’s entertainment industry.
Dilraba has often been criticized for a perceived lack of acting talent. Many viewers have expressed frustration with her lack of range, and Chinese netizens have called her “just a pretty face,” as well as a “director’s nightmare” — the latter assessment not referring to any diva-like behavior on set, but rather to the seemingly difficult task of encouraging chemistry with her co-stars.
China’s entertainment industry has historically relied heavily on glamorous, fresh-faced actors and actresses. Now though, audience tastes may be changing, and viewers are starting to lose interest in expressionless “emoji acting.” Nonetheless, Dilraba has become an onscreen staple.
TV and Dramas
Dilraba’s breakout success came largely from the world of romantic television dramas. Her first major TV role was in the 2014 romantic series Diamond Lover, where she played a prima ballerina. However, it was the 2017 fantasy drama Eternal Love that catapulted Dilraba to fame.
In Eternal Love, Dilraba portrayed the lovable demon princess Fengjiu opposite Vengo Gao. The drama became a cultural phenomenon, racking up over 20 billion views online, and cinching Dilraba a “Popular TV Actor of the Year” award.
Riding this wave of popularity, Dilraba went on to star in many other successful dramas. In 2018, she played a genius fashion designer in Pretty Li Hui Zhen, as well as the lead role in The Flame’s Daughter.
Dilraba is considered a leader of the new generation of Chinese stars, especially in the world of romantic dramas. As she continues captivating audiences, her television career remains integral to her success.
Dilraba Dilmurat Movies
In addition to her work on television, Dilraba’s roles in several high-profile films have also contributed to her fame.
In 2017, Dilraba co-starred in the romantic comedy Mr. Pride vs Miss Prejudice alongside Leon Zhang. Playing a quirky anthropologist, this was Dilraba’s first major film role and boosted her profile with movie audiences. That same year, she also acted in the fantasy epic Guardians of the Tomb.
Beyond that, Dilraba has also appeared in films like romantic comedy 21 Karat, and Fall in Love Like a Star.
As Dilraba matures in her career and performances, some audiences are calling for her to take on fewer innocent, girlish roles, and develop a greater presence at the box office.
Rumors and Controversies
Despite her popularity, Dilraba’s career has not been without some rumors and controversies.
In 2021, Dilraba showed support for Xinjiang cotton on social media as international brands stopped sourcing from the region amidst allegations of forced Uyghur labor. As an ethnic Uyghur herself, she stated that Xinjiang cotton farmers were being unfairly affected, causing many Chinese celebrities to follow suit.
Above: Dilraba’s short-lived work as a Dolce & Gabbana brand ambassador
Earlier in her career in 2018, Dilraba terminated her position as a brand spokesperson for Dolce & Gabbana after the luxury fashion house faced backlash for racist ads in China. She distanced herself from the controversy saying that she would always protect national interests.
And just recently, Dilraba was the subject of some heated critique on social media from conservative trans icon Jin Xing. Jin Xing criticized Dilraba’s cleavage-centric dress, and what she felt was a performative sense of modesty. While Dilraba didn’t respond to the criticism, the topic still shot to a top-trending position on Weibo.
Additionally, there has been ongoing gossip about a possible romance with co-star Yang Yang. Audiences are asking, is there a real-life Dilraba and Yang Yang relationship?
Fans may speculate about their close friendship and on-screen chemistry, but both Dilraba and Yang Yang have denied the dating rumors and maintained they are just friends.
In the few short years since her acting debut, Dilraba Dilmurat has rapidly become one of the most recognizable and influential celebrities in China today. With starring roles in some of the country’s highest-rated television dramas, films, and variety shows, her captivating charm has captured the hearts of millions nationwide.
As Dilraba expands her acting pursuits and business ventures, her star power shows no signs of fading. With popularity that’s hard to match, Dilraba has cemented herself as one of the country’s brightest young talents.
Cover image by RADII, other images via Weibo, Wikimedia Commons
Luckin Coffee, the Chinese chain known for dirt cheap coffee, is getting a premium makeover through an unlikely partnership with Kweichow Moutai, one of China’s most exclusive liquor brands — and their new latte packs a spirited kick.
The odd couple just dropped a co-branded concoction called “Soy Sauce Fragrance Latte” at Luckin’s 10,000+ locations nationwide.
The new drink features a thick, booze-infused milk made from 53 degree Moutai baijiu, China’s iconic liquor.
Baijiu is a wide category of clear spirits, traditionally produced from products like barley and sorghum. Moutai is the leading name in the baijiu game, and for first-time palettes, it can be quite divisive — some know it as a drink for weddings, or for celebrating business deals, while for others it may induce gag reflexes and blackout flashbacks.
Though it packs a signature baijiu kick, the latte’s alcohol content stays under 0.5%. Retailing for 38 RMB ($5.50) per cup, Luckin is offering big discounts to lure drinkers to try this novel mashup. With coupons, drinkers can score the buzzy latte for just 19 RMB ($2.75).
Luckin Coffee rose as a sudden investor darling, and a contender to beat out Starbucks in China, but fell from grace under revelations of investor fraud. Nonetheless, the company has picked itself up from its lowest lows, and found a comfortable swing by focusing on China’s smaller cities.
One question remains: if the alcohol content is so low, what’s the point? This isn’t the strong Irish Coffee that some boozers know and love (and it’s certainly not the short-lived Family Mart version, in which clerks would simply pour a shot of Ballantine’s into a cup of the store’s regular latte).
Admittedly, the flowery taste of baijiu and the bitter taste of coffee could be a match made in heaven…but you won’t know until you try it.
Iconic Hong Kong actor Tony Leung has been presented with the Golden Lion Lifetime Achievement Award at the 80th Venice Film Festival.
Leung, known for films such as “Infernal Affairs” (2002) and “Lust, Caution” (2007), delivered an emotional acceptance speech upon receiving the award from longtime collaborator, Director Ang Lee.
“You want to make me cry!” Leung said after Lee praised him effusively and presented him with the honor.
Leung has a long history of wins at the prestigious film festival, with three of his films – “A City of Sadness” (1989), “Cyclo” (1995) and “Lust, Caution” (2007) – having won the Golden Lion top prize.
“Lust, Caution” (2007)
“I am so grateful to have been raised in Hong Kong, as well as being nurtured later by the Hong Kong movie industry…where my acting career began,” Leung told the audience.
“I also want to share this honor and give thanks to all the wonderful people who I have worked with over the past 41 years, because this is a tribute to them as well — and of course, to Hong Kong cinema.”
Ang Lee, who directed Tony Leung in “Lust, Caution,” called the 61-year-old actor an “inspiration for others” who can communicate “more in one look than many actors with a full monologue.”
He also praised Leung’s work ethic, recalling how he preferred to stay on set and watch others work rather than relax during downtime.
“We always think that directors help actors, but sometimes it’s the other way around,” Lee said.
Perhaps best known for 2000’s “In the Mood for Love,” which won him the Best Actor award at Cannes, Leung gained international fame through his collaborations with director Wong Kar-wai.
“It is like a dream come true,” Leung told reporters ahead of the ceremony, noting that acting helped him become less shy after suppressing feelings in his youth.
Leung also discussed his upcoming work, including the Hong Kong crime thriller “The Goldfinger” and his first European film, “Silent Friend.”
The latter, directed by Hungary’s Ildikó Enyedi, will see Leung taking on the role of a neuroscientist.
“I plan to spend like eight months (preparing for it) because I’m playing a neuroscientist. I have no idea about what neuroscience is. So I have to read a lot of books and I have to do a lot of university hopping,” he said.
He joins a prestigious list of Lifetime Achievement recipients at Venice that includes Hayao Miyazaki, Clint Eastwood, and Martin Scorsese. At 61, Leung is one of the youngest honorees in the award’s history – a testament to his enduring talent and cultural impact.
