“Stop Covering Your Chest” — Conservative Trans Icon Jin Xing Slams Dilraba Over Cleavage

Dilraba Dilmurat is an A-list Chinese actress from Xinjiang province. She’s a regular when it comes to endorsement deals with major brands, although she’s usually praised more for her exotic beauty than for her acting expertise.


Recently though, Dilraba’s red carpet walk caught some unexpected flack from trans icon Jin Xing, who asked, “What’s the point of wearing a plunging neckline on the red carpet if you keep covering your chest with your hands?”


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Naturally, a dramatic back-and-forth ensued. The topic shot to a top trending position on Twitter-like Weibo, with drama-hungry onlookers weighing in on questions of body autonomy, attention-seeking, and “slut-shaming.”


Jin Xing is a modern dancer, talk show host, and conservative media personality. Once a colonel in a military dance troupe, Jin underwent gender-affirming surgery and came out as a trans woman in 1995. She adopted three children, and married a German man in 2005.


Jin Xing — literally “Venus” in Mandarin — is both an insider and an outlier in China’s entertainment industry, having earned a reputation for her “poisonous tongue” and sharp sense of sarcasm. She’s usually clad in a qipao, a long, tight dress which silhouettes a woman’s body and is held as a symbol of traditional Chinese feminine beauty.


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US readers may struggle to conceive of the phrases “trans icon” and “conservative media personality” being spoken in the same breath, but Jin Xing has been a well-known figure in the space for years. On her talk show, Jin urges women to get married and have children, positioning herself as a loyal defender of conservative values and fitting young audiences’ stereotype of the nagging aunt.


This controversy marks Jin Xing’s return to Weibo, after she was banned for vocally supporting Ukraine when Russian troops invaded. She took the opportunity to invoke the CCP-friendly term “cultural confidence,” sharing a photo of herself accepting an award at an international event.


“Cultural confidence means speaking up as a Chinese person on the international stage, not walking the red carpet in ostentatious clothes,” she wrote, criticizing actors who “rely on dramatic clothes to catch eyeballs,” and denouncing them as “carpet stars.”


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Naturally, Dilraba’s 80 million followers were not happy. Many jumped to her defense, admonishing Jin for a lack of self-awareness, and for her eagerness to exert control over women’s bodies.


“I have the right to pursue beauty, and also the right to protect myself,” wrote one.


“Cameras are everywhere,” another commented. “Not wanting to expose herself isn’t wrong.”


Others, however, sided with Jin Xing.


“Sister Jin is right,” wrote one, “If you wear it, own it.”


“Dilraba’s fans will attack you for telling the truth,” commented another.


In a survey of 228,000, 58% supported Jin’s position that Dilraba “should not wear that neckline,” while 42% voted for her “freedom to cover her chest.” Dilraba, meanwhile, has not addressed the comments.


All images via Weibo

‘Barbie’ Banned, Embroiled in Geopolitical Controversy

The highly-anticipated Barbie movie has landed itself in troubled waters before even hitting theaters.


The Warner Bros. film, directed by Greta Gerwig and starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling as the iconic Barbie and Ken, will be released on July 21st. Online, fans are excited about the movie’s vibrant aesthetic and catchy soundtrack, which features popular artists like Dua Lipa, Ice Spice, Ava Max, Dominic Fike, Gayle, and more.


Not all is sunny and bright though — the film’s trailer inadvertently stirred controversy over its perceived depiction of the ‘nine-dash line,’ a focal point of territorial disputes in the South China Sea. Now, Barbie has been banned wholesale in Vietnam.


“We do not grant license for the American movie Barbie to release in Vietnam because it contains the offending image of the nine-dash line,” said the head of the Department of Cinema, the governing body that licenses foreign films.

The trailer features a map of the fictional Barbie Land, which displays the city surrounded by pink clouds in the shape of a heart. The second map, created with childish, crayon-like scribbles, is meant to represent the ‘real’ world as we know it. A dashed line juts out into the map’s ocean along the shore of what would be China, which many have taken as a depiction of China’s claim to the area.


Some Chinese netizens were quick to compliment the film for its perceived representation.


“Have a clear position and never give in,” writes one user.


“Violation of our territorial sovereignty will never be ignored,” reads another comment.


Warner Bros. did not appear to view the situation with the same die-hard fervor.


”The map in Barbie Land is a child-like crayon drawing,” said a representative. “The doodles depict Barbie’s make-believe journey from Barbie Land to the ‘real world.’ It was not intended to make any type of statement.”


The origins of the nine-dash line can be traced back to the late 1940s, when China released a post-World War II map featuring a U-shaped line. It originally had 11 dashes, but in the 1950s, two of those dashes were taken away. This was a concession generally accepted by historians to the neighboring communist government of North Vietnam.


This U-shaped zone encompasses more than 80% of the South China Sea. Everything within that zone, including islands, has been claimed by the Chinese government under the pretext of “historical rights.” However, many other Southeast Asian nations, like Vietnam and the Philippines, also claim parts of this area.


One thing’s for sure — it’s not the first time that international media has run into trouble when it comes to China and geopolitical representation.


Cover image via Warner Bros.

Poignant Martial Arts Film ‘Never Say Never’ Breaks Box Office Records

Boys fighting under the glow of blue spotlights. Boys stretching, sprinting, kicking into the air. Boys laughing, boys crying.


More than anything, Never Say Never (八角笼中) is an exploration of boyhood, mentorship, and perseverance in the face of hardship — themes which are touching the hearts of Chinese audiences.


Never Say Never made over 400 million RMB (about 55 million USD) in box office sales prior to its opening day. It beat the previous record holder, The Eight Hundred, which became the world’s highest-grossing film of 2020 after bringing in its own impressive presale haul.


Directed by Wang Baoqiang, who is himself an actor and martial artist, Never Say Never tells the story of a group of orphaned boys who are taken in by a martial arts coach (played by Wang). The coach, whose own dreams of becoming a fighting champion were dashed, trains the children in martial arts so they can pursue a better life.


“This is a story about finding a way out,” Wang said at the Beijing premiere of the film on June 26. “Movies are my way out, and movies have given value and meaning to my life.”


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Wang Baoqiang (center) in his 2012 comedy Lost in Thailand. Image via IMDb


Wang grew up in rural Hebei province; prior to his breakout as an actor, he worked as a laborer. He is known for his blockbuster comedy Lost in Thailand (2012) and his role in the film series Detective Chinatown. Referring to the children he cast in Never Say Never, he said, “[I] seemed to see my former self.”


Early reviews praised the gritty authenticity of the film. “This movie proves that Wang Baoqiang has not forgotten his roots,” one critic wrote on Douban, a review aggregator similar to Rotten Tomatoes. “He has deep empathy for the working class and vulnerable groups… This movie allows us to deeply appreciate and understand how some people must try their best just to live.”


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Promotional poster for Never Say Never. Image via Weibo


The record-breaking sales of Never Say Never represent an increasingly successful recovery for Chinese box offices. Though sales have not quite returned to pre-pandemic levels, they grew 52.9% in the first half of 2023, and reached 1 billion RMB (139 million USD) in record time this summer.


According to China Youth Network, there are 106 films already released or slated to be released this summer, with a projected box office haul of 15 billion RMB (2 billion USD).


Cover image via Weibo

Can ‘Midsize Influencers’ Solve China’s Body Image Problem?

“168 cm, 65 kilos, apple-shaped figure,” reads Xin Badi’s bio on Xiaohongshu. Confident and bubbly by nature, Xin boasts over 140,000 followers on the Instagram-like app. At 23 years old, she’s a full-time fashion blogger from China’s southern Guangdong province.


On Xiaohongshu she shares short videos and photos of herself in fashionable outfits, but unlike most fashion influencers, her videos often start with the self-effacing humor of showing off her belly and pinching on the abdominal fat.


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Images courtesy of Xinbadi.


“I started posting in February,” Xin tells RADII. “I hope my videos can help those who struggle with body image anxiety.”


Bloggers like Xin belong to a new, unapologetic category of influencers that is trying to change perceptions around body image in China: ‘midsize’ (微胖 weipang) influencers.


Literally meaning “a little bit fat” or “micro-fat” the term weipang has grown to be associated with women whose bodies don’t quite fit in with the mainstream standard of ultra-thin figures, but who are also not plump enough to qualify for the ‘plus-size’ label (大码 dama).


Many in China have reclaimed the term, confidently using it to set themselves apart from influencers with conventionally thin figures, and the hashtag ‘midsize outfit’ has accumulated over 7.8 billion views on Xiahongshu and over 38 billion views on Douyin (China’s TikTok).


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Images via @Violalala on Xiahongshu.


A similar phenomenon has emerged on international TikTok, where some female influencers label themselves ‘midsize,’ pointing out the lack of ‘average’ body types in a fashion industry that’s becoming increasingly polarized between ultra-thin and plus-size models.


Size Matters: The Quest for Bigger Clothes

In recent years, the body positivity movement has also gained some momentum in China, with brands like Neiwai pioneering inclusivity in their campaigns, plus-size models like Xu Ruoxin on the covers of high-profile fashion magazines, and rapper Chen Jinnan openly discussing body image in her songs.


But while the demand for plus-size clothing is growing, recent controversies surrounding shrinking clothing sizes hint that China’s body positivity movement has barely scratched the surface.


Lingerie Brand Neiwai Takes Bold Stance On Body Diversity | Jing Daily

Image via Neiwai’s Instagram.


A ‘midsize’ fashion influencer named Monica Huang, 25, also from Guangdong province, mostly buys clothes that are intended for export (贸款 yikuan), as these brands normally carry bigger sizes while still being available on domestic e-commerce platforms.


“I can’t really fit into the majority of pretty clothes, and the ones that fit will make me look very fat,” she tells RADII. She also mentioned that she prefers yikuan garments because she likes wearing ‘Western style clothing’.


xiaohongshu fashion model china

Images courtesy of Monica Huang.


Xin’s experience is similar.


“When I buy clothes here in China I feel like the sizes are getting smaller and smaller,” she says. “It’s very confusing.”


To address the problem, she opened her own online clothing store on Xiaohongshu, where her followers can buy the outfits she wears in her posts without ever having to leave the app.


In recent years, stores targeting ‘midsize’ and ‘plus-size’ customers are mushrooming on e-commerce platforms like Taobao, as well as on social networks like Douyin and Xiaohongshu, where they offer a wide range of styles and items.


The ‘activist to sex object’ pipeline

While her style would hardly turn heads in Los Angeles or New York, wearing tight, revealing clothes is still frowned upon by many in China, where the style is associated with promiscuity. Unfortunately, objectification appears to be even stronger when it comes to plumper women.


“I don’t have a lot of happy memories associated with my influencer career,” Huang confesses, adding “For me, it’s mostly been trolling and sexual harassment.”


china fashion trends

Images courtesy of Monica Huang.


A quick search on Douyin, (whose user base is mostly men, as opposed to Xiaohongshu where over 70% of the users are women) will reveal the term weipang is used by men to describe women with large breasts and booties, but thin waists and long legs.


On Douyin, weipang women are mistakenly identified with a ‘slim-thick’ body type rather than the diverse range of ‘midsize’ bodies displayed by influencers on Xiaohongshu, and many videos on the platform revolve around sexiness rather than fashion and style.


Some misogynistic users even go as far as mocking women who describe themselves as weipang, but who look more like Xin and Monica than Kim Kardashian. Others debate whether someone who weighs less than 60 kg can even call themselves ‘midsize’ or should just be considered thin.


china tiktok models

Search results for the term ‘weipang’ on Douyin. Screengrab via Douyin


“Some girls weigh as little as 50 kg and still consider themselves midsize,” Xin tells RADII, adding “I don’t think they are necessarily wrong. After all, weight isn’t everything when it comes to assessing someone’s body type.”


And while the definition of ‘midsize’ is fluid and has caused debate on both domestic and international corners of the internet, the proliferation of content featuring influencers with a more diverse range of body types can hopefully represent a step in the right direction.


“I hope many women can watch my videos and overcome body image anxiety,” Xin says. “Everyone deserves to make peace with themselves.”


Cover image designed by the author

Jackie Chan and Fans Pay Tribute Following ‘Mulan’ Singer Coco Lee’s Tragic Death

On July 5, actress and singer Coco Lee passed away at the age of 48. She had been in a coma following a suicide attempt on Sunday.


The tragic death was announced by Lee’s sisters in an Instagram post which detailed the singer’s years-long struggle with depression. They revealed that her condition had worsened recently, resulting in the attempt to take her own life over the weekend.


The same post asks Lee’s fans to respect the family’s privacy, but also acknowledges her remarkable career spanning more than three decades.


“Coco is also known to have worked tirelessly to open up a new world for Chinese singers in the international music scene,” reads the caption.


coco lee

Image via Instagram.


Lee was born in Hong Kong, but grew up in the U.S. She returned to Hong Kong after winning a singing contest at the age of 17 which kickstarted her career.


With songs in English, Cantonese, and Mandarin, Lee was able to rise to international fame. In 1998, Disney selected her for Mulan’s theme song Reflection.


Three years later in 2001 she sang A Love Before Time for the Academy Award-winning film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, which she famously performed at the Oscars that same year.



The news of Lee’s passing quickly spread across Chinese social media, and was amplified when Jackie Chan posted a selfie with the singer on his Weibo account, with a related hashtag amassing over a million views at the time of writing.


“Coco, you are born a star, with such awesome talent and unique personal style,” reads the emotional post. “Your voice, dancing and sunny smile have left a mark on many. You brought so much to this world. There is now one more star in the sky, may there be no sickness there. Rest in peace.”


coco lee bruce lee singer dead

Image via Jackie Chan’s Weibo @成龙.


The singer’s death touched many in China, sparking discussion around mental health in the country, and in the Asian entertainment industry.


A Weibo post with over 21,000 likes remembers other pop stars who took their own lives, calling for increased awareness about depression.


“Kimi Qiao, Sulli, Leslie Cheung, Coco Lee, all of them were taken away by depression. Let’s stop overlooking it, because depression is a hidden sickness.”


According the World Health Organization, depression is prevalent in China with over 54 million citizens affected. RADII recently wrote about ‘Brain Fog’ a indie documentary on the theme of mental health in China, by filmmaker Jidi Guo.


Cover image via Instagram

Cai Xukun’s Abortion Scandal: Fans Flustered, Prada in Pain

Last week, Chinese idol Cai Xukun was accused of having coerced a woman —identified only as ‘Ms. C’ — into having an abortion after a one-night stand in 2021. Cai has denied forcing Ms. C to terminate her pregnancy.


According to a post which detailed the allegations, after Ms. C became pregnant, Cai’s mother arranged for Ms. C to be paid off and surveilled by a private investigator to ensure the pregnancy was not fake.


“This matter is extremely complicated,” the post reads. “Ms. C has been seriously injured [by it].”


ms c with proof of letters between her and cai xukun's mom

Ms. C holding documents that purportedly indicate a settlement between her and Cai Xukun’s representation. Image via Baidu


The claims were later backed up by WeChat screenshots and voice recordings attributed to Cai’s mother, as well as ultrasound photos of the baby and abortion records.


On Weibo, the hashtag discussing the allegations has garnered nearly 3 billion views since the story was posted. Netizens are following the unfolding saga with a moralistic fervor, with some even calling for the Cai to be blacklisted as a media figure.

After days of social media uproar, Cai finally responded on Weibo, where he has over 39 million followers. He admitted that he’d had a relationship with Ms. C. However, he wrote, “What needs to be clarified to everyone and to the media is that the relationship between Ms. C and I was voluntary…there was no so-called ‘forced abortion.’”


Cai is the third Prada brand ambassador to crash and burn online in recent years. Last fall, actor Li Yifeng, another Prada representative, was detained by authorities for soliciting prostitutes; before that, actress Zheng Shuang was called out by her ex-boyfriend, who revealed that she had considered asking her surrogate mother to terminate a seven-month pregnancy. Both revelations resulted in major online backlash.


Prada ended its partnership with Li and Zheng in the aftermath of their scandals, though it has yet to announce a decision with regards to Cai, who is arguably their highest-profile ambassador.


cai xukun in prada

Cai in Prada. Image via Weibo


One netizen asked, “Is Prada dead?”


“Their contract [with Cai Xukun] is still not canceled…boycott all brands that still endorse Cai Xukun.”


Cai has been one of the faces of Prada since 2019, a partnership that exemplified the brand’s plan to expand its market share in China. The country’s ‘idol culture,’ a phenomenon most prevalent in East Asia wherein millions of young fans obsess over multi-hyphenate idols, is a proven driver of sales. According to The China Project, some 500 million Chinese consumers are “ready to spend money on an idol.”


However, scandals and government crackdowns in the past two years have dampened the positive effect of the so-called ‘idol economy’. Idol Kris Wu’s high-profile arrest on rape charges and the near-simultaneous suppression of celebrity worship in 2021 were a significant turning point in the power of idol culture in China.


One netizen commented, “Will Prada still dare to partner with Chinese idols in the future?”


For Prada, at least, it remains to be seen whether tapping into idol culture might be more trouble than it’s worth.


Cover image via Weibo