Controversial Chinese Gymnast Known for 'Sexy Dance' Gains 3.5 Million Followers on SNS Just One Day After Resuming Posts

Former Gymnast Turned Influencer with Account Suspension
Records Total of 6.3 Million Followers
"Don't Tarnish the Gymnastics World" Criticism Also Raised

Influencer Wu Liufang, a former Chinese gymnast. Hong Kong South China Morning Post (SCMP)

A former Chinese gymnast turned influencer, who had her account suspended for posting sexy dance videos, gained over 3 million followers just one day after her account was restored.

On the 7th (local time), Hong Kong's South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported that Wu Liufang (30), who previously competed as a member of the Chinese national gymnastics team at the World Gymnastics Championships, had her social media account reinstated. Wu has a history of winning multiple titles in the balance beam event. However, she suffered a neck injury during the 2012 national team selection, which prevented her from participating in the London Olympics and abruptly ended her athletic career. After retiring, she graduated from Beijing Sport University and worked as a coach at a sports school, among other jobs, but faced financial difficulties.

In 2019, Wu began live streaming on social media. Despite broadcasting six hours daily, her earnings were only about 3,000 yuan (approximately 580,000 KRW). Consequently, she decided to change her content direction and posted videos on the Chinese social media platform Douyin featuring her wearing miniskirts and stockings while performing sexy dances. Her follower count steadily increased along with her income, but the videos spread widely and drew significant criticism from the sports community. On the 22nd of last month, Olympic gymnastics national team member Guan Chenchen criticized her, saying, "Stop tarnishing the gymnastics world," and added, "How would parents who want their children to do gymnastics feel when they see these videos?"

Ultimately, on the 24th of last month, her account was suspended for violating the platform’s community guidelines. Wu’s fans strongly protested to the platform, arguing, "There is much more provocative content out there, so why is only Wu being penalized?" As a result, Douyin restored her account on the 1st, and within a day, Wu gained 3.55 million followers, bringing her total follower count to 6.3 million.

Chinese beauty influencer Pan Yurun, who attracted attention for paying 100 million yuan (approximately 18.5 billion won) in taxes.

Meanwhile, as local governments in China face declining tax revenues due to the economic downturn, they are intensifying crackdowns on tax evasion by popular streamers. On the 15th of last month, the State Taxation Administration announced on its official website that it had uncovered three cases of tax evasion related to live streaming influencers from 2020 to 2023 and imposed heavy fines. It is reported that the Southwestern Sichuan Province fined an influencer 14.31 million yuan (approximately 2.76 billion KRW) for tax evasion amounting to 8.05 million yuan (about 1.55 billion KRW). In Northeastern Liaoning Province, an individual who failed to pay 7.35 million yuan (about 1.417 billion KRW) in taxes was fined nearly twice the amount owed. In Eastern Zhejiang Province, a live streaming host paid a fine of 2.47 million yuan (470 million KRW) due to tax evasion.

Pengpeng, Executive Chairman of the Guangdong Reform Association, explained, "Weak economic momentum can lead to corporate tax evasion, and local governments also need to address tax revenue shortfalls. Taxation of influencers has long been an unclear area in China due to the absence of comprehensive tax laws for new industries." The administration stated, "Online live streaming influencers are public figures who have a duty to pay taxes and set an example for their fans."