However, many young Chinese are unaware that the Tiananmen Square massacre ever happened. Successful Chinese influencers are attuned to political dangers Li hadn’t planned a livestream for June 4, suggesting he was at least aware it was a sensitive date. But that neither Li nor his team spotted the potential error speaks to the success of the silence around Tiananmen. It seems that the tank cake was an unfortunate coincidence leapt on by sensitive censors-a kind of paranoia that is common during tense times in Chinese politics. (It was Singles Day, the Chinese equivalent of Black Friday.)įollowing the government line, in the last year, Li had turned away from promoting international products, doubled down on patriotic language, and encouraged his viewers to buy Chinese-made goods. But his popularity exploded during the coronavirus pandemic: He now has more than 40 million followers on Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, and he sold a record $1.9 billion of products via the major e-commerce platform Taobao in a single day last year. By 2019, Li was worth a few million dollars. Streaming is a huge and competitive business in China. As his nickname suggests, Li specializes in selling cosmetics and became famous a few years ago for marathon sessions of lipstick application. Li’s background also doesn’t suggest a willingness to burn down his online empire for a symbolic gesture.
Military equipment is often cutely reproduced in China, with even playgrounds bearing pictures of armored personnel carriers or helicopters a cake that looks like a tank isn’t an unusual idea. Li and his team likely did not plan for the tank imagery to coincide with the Tiananmen Square anniversary.
But Li’s name now returns blank results on search platforms, even on e-commerce sites. Censors promptly pulled the show offline, and it hasn’t returned, with Li’s team citing “technical difficulties.” Early June is a prime time for online shopping ahead of June 18, China’s second-biggest day for online sales. In mainland China, the anniversary claimed an unexpected victim: e-commerce influencer Li Jiaqi, widely known as the “Lipstick Brother” or “Lipstick King.” During a livestream on June 3, Li was presented with a cake that resembled a tank. This year, authorities again used the national security law passed in 2020 to block gatherings six people were arrested. In Hong Kong, the public once freely memorialized the massacre. June 4, the anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre-in which People’s Liberation Army (PLA) forces killed hundreds and perhaps thousands of protesters as well as crushing demonstrations across the country-is a fraught moment in China.