From right: TFBoys members Yi Yangqianxi, Wang Junkai and Wang Yuan Photo: IC

A month after being caught smoking at a Beijing restaurant, Chinese teenage heartthrob Roy Wang (Wang Yuan) re-emerged by making a brief appearance on China Central Television's (CCTV) flagship evening news Wednesday.  

During the daily news program Xinwen Lianbo on Wednesday, Wang was seen singing with school children and several senior artists in another at an event featuring the route of the Long March carried out by the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army from 1934 to 1936. The event was held in Ganzhou, East China's Jiangxi Province, the starting point of the Long March. 

The broadcast came after he was caught smoking inside a restaurant in Beijing on May 21, which disappointed and upset many Chinese netizens who consider him a role model. 

Wang, 18, a member of the popular Chinese teen band TFBOYS and actor, was listed by Time magazine as one of the 30 most influential teenagers and appointed as a UNICEF Special Advocate for Education in 2017. He has 73 million followers on China's Twitter-like Weibo. 

Wang apologized on his Weibo account later, saying that "I deeply regret my actions, and feel very sorry for the bad social influence...I will accept responsibility and punishment."

After watching Xinwen Lianbo, many Net users hailed Wang's return and showed tolerance to the young star. Some netizens on Weibo said Wang should follow the spirit of the Long March and strive to be a better public figure. 

"I am not his fan. But he has apologized sincerely and paid for his carelessness. Nobody's perfect. Overall, it is good to see Wang repair his mistake," a Beijing-based media professional who requested anonymity, told the Global Times on Thursday.

He said that our society is tolerant and kind to outstanding youth.