Photo: VCG

The Chinese Ministry of Culture and Tourism recently unveiled cases of violations of the law on the entertainment industry, from May to October, amid a campaign on the industry to ensure the celebration activities of the centenary of the founding of the Communist Party of China (CPC).

In the six months from May to October, the ministry said nationwide law enforcement teams on the entertainment industry dispatched more than 53,000 personnel, conducted more than 18,000 inspections on performance management units and dealt with 153 cases. 

The ministry did not give specific names of any persons or units concerned in these cases but media and netizens speculated that one case of a Shanghai-based company, punished for organizing a concert without relevant qualification, is related to popular singer Cai Xukun.

According to some posts circulating on the internet, one of the organizers of Cai's concert in July in Beijing gave free tickets to some fans and local medical workers who were devoted to local anti-epidemic work. However, the company turned out to lack the relevant qualification to provide the ticket service. The authenticity of the posts could not be verified.

Media and netizens also speculated that the singer mentioned in another case of a bar in Xi'an, capital of Northwest China's Shaanxi Province, which was punished for organizing a performance with an entertainer surnamed Wang, was in fact Wang Hao. Wang is better known by his stage name PG One, who had his works removed from Chinese music platforms after a controversy in 2018 was triggered by one of his songs that features explicit language about women and references to drug use.

PG One won first place in China's first ever rap reality show, The Rap of China, in 2017. He was also boycotted by some Chinese netizens after it was revealed that he had an affair with his best friend's wife, winner of the Golden Horse for best actress Li Xiaolu, in January, 2018.

The ministry also revealed punishments on some units that illegally organized performances in the name of the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the CPC to profit. 

These cases were revealed amid China's harsh crackdown on the entertainment industry.