"The Deceased Used for Publicity and Marketing"
The Chinese ex-husband and mother-in-law of Taiwanese actress Xu Xi Yuan (48, Seo Huiwon), who died of pneumonia, have had their Chinese social media accounts permanently suspended. This came amid criticism that the mother and son were trying to increase views on social media by mentioning Xu Xi Yuan's affairs.
According to media outlets such as Hong Kong Ming Pao on the 9th, China's Weibo (the Chinese version of X) announced the previous day that "some accounts violated public order, customs, and moral boundaries in the 'Da S' (大S, referring to Xu Xi Yuan) case and did not respect the deceased and the bereaved family," and indefinitely blocked accounts such as 'I am Sha Shaojian,' 'Zhang Lan·Consumer Life,' and 'Wang Xiaofei.' They also closed about 100 accounts that spread rumors.
Weibo stated, "The deceased was maliciously used for publicity and marketing," and criticized that "traffic (visitor numbers) was increased and attention was raised as a hot issue."
Xu Xi Yuan, who rose to stardom in the Chinese-speaking world through the Taiwanese drama 'Boys Over Flowers,' married Chinese businessman Wang Xiaofei in 2011 but divorced in 2021. At that time, the mother-in-law was Zhang Lan.
Previously, a rumor spread on Chinese social media that Wang Xiaofei had chartered a private plane to bring back Xu Xi Yuan's ashes. The 'I am Sha Shaojian' account also claimed online that Wang Xiaofei bore the cost of the private plane transporting the ashes. According to local media, the operator of the 'I am Sha Shaojian' account was a person who frequently interacted with Zhang Lan and Wang Xiaofei and even worked at Wang Xiaofei's restaurant chain.
However, the bereaved family refuted this, stating that the cost of the private plane was covered by the family and Xu Xi Yuan's current husband, Gu Jun Yeop, a member of the Korean group Clon. The private plane company also denied that Wang Xiaofei bore the cost. Li Liang, vice president of the Douyin (Chinese version of TikTok) group, announced via a Weibo post that "the private plane operator publicly refuted the rumor," and "(Wang Xiaofei's) account has been permanently suspended."
Amid this controversy, the deceased's former mother-in-law and husband appeared to sympathize with the rumors. Zhang Lan reportedly engaged in heated exchanges with netizens during a live broadcast on social media.
Gu Jun Yeop criticized on his own social media, "Some pretend to be sad, wandering in the rain, while others are hurting our family by creating fake news about insurance and costs."
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