Trending in Beijing: Latest on Richard Liu’s Arrest, Beijing’s Gigantic New Airport, and ‘FOCAC Blue’

A wrap-up of the top stories and hashtags Beijing netizens and local media have been posting on Chinese social media this week, exclusively for the Beijinger by What’s on Weibo editor-in-chief Manya Koetse. 
 

Richard Liu’s Arrest: New Details Emerge

Despite allegations of rape, netizens side with Liu

It is the topic everyone is talking about on Chinese social media this week: the brief Minneapolis arrest of JD.com CEO Richard Liu (Liu Qiangdong 刘强东), one of China’s most powerful tech moguls. The billionaire’s mugshot (pictured above) started dominating trending topics lists on Chinese social media after news of his arrest first came out on Sunday, Sep 2.

Liu’s arrest is reportedly connected to a suspected rape. JD.com issued a statement through Weibo this week, saying their CEO was “falsely accused.” 

Liu was only arrested for one day – he was taken into custody on Friday, Aug 31, and was released without charge the next day. JD.com stated that Liu had returned to China by Monday.

According to new details that have emerged about the case, the accusations against Liu were made after a group dinner at a Japanese restaurant. The woman who reported Liu for assault allegedly is a Chinese exchange student attending the University of Minnesota, where Liu was also taking part in a program for top-level executives. 

Beijing Times reports that Liu and the woman departed in the same car together after the wine-filled evening, and that he allegedly accompanied the woman to her house. She reported Liu to the police at 1.00 am that same night. 

According to various sources, including Sina News, this is not the first time the woman has reported an assault case to local authorities; she previously reported one of her former male friends to the police. Her identity has not been revealed. 

On Weibo, responses to the case have been mixed, but a majority of commenters support the celebrity businessman, believing he has been framed, saying: “This obviously was a premeditated plan!” But some also doubted his innocence, wondering why the JD.com CEO has not held a press conference to clarify the accusations made against him.  

Liu and his young wife Zhang Zetian, an internet celebrity nicknamed ‘Sister Milk Tea’, are a popular power couple. 

Richard Liu is not the first Chinese celebrity to be arrested in the US. The famous Chinese comedian, actor, and host Zhou Libo (周立波) also became a number one trending topic on Sina Weibo last year when he was arrested in New York for the illegal possession of guns and cocaine.

Richard Liu, nor his wife, have not posted anything on social media since the brief arrest.
 

Beijing’s New Daxing Airport Well Underway

The airport will be the world's largest

Chinese media report that an important phase in the construction of Beijing’s new airport has been completed: the roof of Hangar 1 has been capped. The 404.5-meter-long structure will be the world’s longest aircraft hangar. It can hold a maximum of 12 aircraft.

Beijing’s Daxing International Airport is a prestigious project that is propagated as being “100 percent China-made.” Located in the Daxing district of southern Beijing, it will become an important part of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei city cluster.

According to Sina News, up to 8,000 construction workers are simultaneously working on the airport, which, with its 700,000 square meters, will be the world’s largest. By 2025, the airport is planned to be able to welcome 72 million passengers per year. 

Some of those who already had access to the gigantic site of the future airport, such as aviation photographer Chou Gui, shared some impressive photos on Weibo, calling the project “spectacular.” 

The construction is expected to be finished on Jun 30, 2019. The international airport will go into operation in October next year. 
 

A Heavily Censored Forum on China-Africa Cooperation 

And Beijing blue skies for Africa

More than 50 African leaders convened in Beijing for the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), which took place from Sep 3-4. President Xi Jinping’s keynote speech was titled "Work Together for Common Development and a Shared Future," setting the tone for the event, that was all about the strengthening of China-Africa relations. 

The major event was heavily propagated by state media on Chinese social media, where the summit’s hashtag (#中非论坛#) received over 130 million views. Despite the popularity of the topic, there was not much netizens could say about the event, as most comments were censored and virtually all comment sections underneath state media reports were disabled on Weibo. 

It is not uncommon for social media to be especially heavily controlled during important (international) events, such as Party congresses or multilateral meetings. 

Based on the comments that did get through on Weibo, one of the things that apparently stood out during the event for many people was not so much the content of the summit, but the blue skies that came with it.

Beijing saw unusually clear days over the past week, reminding of the blue skies during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) in Beijing in 2014, better known as “APEC Blue.” 

“Could we call this ‘FOCAC Blue’ (中非论坛蓝)?” some Weibo users suggested.

“Beijing is such a magical place,” others wrote: “The moment the summit starts, the skies suddenly turn blue.” 

By Manya Koetse @manyapan
What’s on Weibo editor-in-chief

Manya Koetse is the editor-in-chief of www.whatsonweibo.com. She is a writer and consultant (Sinologist, MPhil) on social trends in China, with a focus on social media and digital developments, popular culture, and gender issues.

Photos: Anna Hartley, Weibo, People’s Daily, Xinhuanet.com