iQiyi CEO Gong Yu Cancels Platform’s Idol Talent Programs and Offsite Voting for Next Few Years

Gong Yu, Director of the China Television Associationand Founder and CEO of iQiyi, said at a symposium organized by the China TV Artists Association (CTAA) on Wednesday that iQiyi has cancelled its idol talent show and any offsite voting features on the platform for next few years.

“iQiyi, in conjunction with other platforms, always insists on drawing a clear line with unhealthy trends in the industry, resisting unreasonable pay and tax evasion,” Gong added.

A variety show iQiyi produced – “Youth with You,” Season 3 – accused of encouraging viewers to buy milk and scan the QR code inside the bottle caps to support their favorite stars on the show. This was suspended by the Beijing Municipal Radio and Television Bureau in May.

The Wednesday symposium focused on a series of illegal and immoral phenomena within the industry, such as fandom culture, fan economy, stars with high popularity, dual contracts and abnormally high pay, by deeply analyzing their causes and harms.

Yu Fei, Vice President of the China Film Association, sees fandom as a large crowd in a disorderly state. One star’s hundreds of thousands of fans are equivalent to the population of a county. They are easily incited to online violence and random judgement of others.

Hu Zhanfan, Chairman of the CTAA, pointed out that it is necessary to speak up in time against all kinds of negative events in the industry, so as to expel immoral actors from the artistic stage.

There have been several explosive scandals in China’s entertainment industry in the past month. Qian Feng, who has hosted several hit shows for Hunan Satellite TV, has been suspended after a woman surnamed Xiao alleged online that he raped her in his home in Shanghai two years ago. Like the case of superstar Kris Wu, this case also shocked many Chinese netizens and triggered a discussion about the chaos inside the entertainment industry.

SEE ALSO: Beijing Targets ‘Chaotic’ Online Fan Clubs by Removing Apps from Stores

You Xiaogang, Director of the CTAA, said at the symposium that a registration mechanism for actors should be established. Those who break the law and commit crimes will be punished by judges. For those who do not break the law but seriously lose their morality, however, relevant institutions should be established to formulate punishment for them.