Award-Winning X-men Actress Plans Comeback in 2023

In 2018, Beijing banned her as a 'Bad Behavior Performer'

Chinese actress Fan Bingbing after winning the Best Actress Award of the Asian Film Awards in Hong Kong, on March 21, 2017. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

Fan Bingbing, a mainland Chinese actor, has been banned in China for more than four years due to tax evasion. The Chinese government removed all of her work and appearances.

To date, Fan’s efforts to revive her career in China have not been successful.

Marked as a “Bad Behavior Performer” by the Chinese Communist Party and government media, Fan shifted her career focus to South Korea and Hong Kong. Insiders speculate that the award-winning actress may return to the spotlight in 2023.

The Vanishing of Fan Bingbing

Fan Bingbing, an actor who regularly shares her life on social media, suddenly stopped her online activities in 2018.

For three months, her 70 million followers were concerned as Fan was not regularly updating her social media.

While many suspected that Fan might have been detained or was under surveillance in 2018, the Chinese government had accused her of evading taxes.

In China, not paying taxes promptly and properly has severe consequences in addition to fines and possible jail time.

The regime strictly controls media content regarding what the public is allowed to watch or play. The State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television, which regulates broadcast media and films,  released a mandate on strengthening the Production and Communication Management of Radio and Television Programs, commonly known in China as the “Bad Behavior Performer Ban Order” in 2014.

The Accusation

After being missing in action for three months, on Oct. 3, 2018, the pro-Beijing newspaper South China Morning Post claimed that Fan was under house arrest and residential surveillance at a secret location.

The Hong Kong news company also reported on the State Office of Taxation in China publicizing that Fan and her companies faced almost $130 million in fines and overdue taxes. On the other hand, state media Xinhua News Agency said Fan allegedly underpaid her taxes by 255 million yuan (about $36.6 million).

The government mouthpiece said, therefore, Fan Bingbing was listed as one of the many banned bad behavior performers.

Apology for Evading Taxes

On the same day as the South China Morning Post’s news report, Fan resurfaced on Weibo (a Chinese social media platform) with an apology letter.

In it, Fan said she had been in unprecedented pain and agony in the past few months and had time to rethink and reflect. She was ashamed of her actions. She was also sorry for “not prioritizing the national interests and social interests over personal interests.” She also profoundly regretted she had betrayed the government’s nature and the public’s trust.

The state-run entertainment control office has since “fine-tuned” the notice about bad behavior performers and who can be banned from TV for life.

Depending on the severity of the violation and “negative behavior,” the office said it would execute an industry ban and boycott involved performers for one to five years or permanently. In addition to TV dramas, movies, TV programs, online dramas, short films, and other entertainment productions by the listed and banned artists must be suspended.

The department also said the State Council has the right to impose necessary restrictions on broadcasting relevant programs as it sees fit.

The ban list has since expanded to include anyone involved with drugs or prostitution.

In January 2018, non-mainstream performers with tattoos, such as hip-hop artists, and subculture performers, were also deemed unhireable in China. The Beijing government suppression started later in the year.

Fan Bingbing became one of the most internationally acclaimed actors to be banned by China. However, she is not the only one on the banned list.

Bad Behavior Performer Ban

Vicky Zhao Wei, actor and singer who starred in “Shaolin Soccer,” also vanished off the net in China after posting photos from the fashion magazine L'Officiel China in a dress with a graphic pattern. The Beijing government considered the design on the dress to be similar to the Japanese military flag used in World War II. The fashion magazine was also heavily criticized. Later, Zhou was also accused of fraud. Anyone searching Zhou’s name online would get zero results.

Renowned concert pianist Li Yundi was also made to disappear from the screen after being arrested for prostitution.

Who Can Be Banned

If a performer, actor, artist, or entertainer has been part of illegal, immoral, or unethical activities, the Chinese government will put them on the list of Bad Behavior Performers, which it periodically updates.

Once an artist is on the ban list, they will be erased from media, both online and offline. The banned artists’ TV programs, shows, movies, and performance credits will be suspended and pulled. Production companies will boycott the marked performers from getting jobs. The ban remains until the state office lifts it.

Prime Example of the Regime’s Power

Once a beloved, high-earning, mainland A-list actress, the official taxation bureau fined Fan more than 880 million yuan (about $126.2 million) for the tax turmoil in 2018, and her red-hot career suddenly turned cold.

It has been over four years since Fan has starred in any work in China. One of her previously filmed and produced TV series, “The Legend of Baqing,” was banned from broadcast by the government. The abandoned project cost about 270 million yuan (nearly $39 million) to produce.

The premiere of “Air Strike,” a 2018 war and action movie Fan participated in, was postponed indefinitely after the tax scandal; the film company removed all the scenes Fan had already shot. The authorities also erased Fan from the promotional materials.

Life After China Ban

The ban halted Fan’s entire acting career in China. She vanished from the China entertainment industry as movie and TV production crews and companies stopped working with her in line with the Beijing government’s order.

Fan made her income primarily from her cosmetic brand, FanBeauty. She would sell and introduce products to her followers online. At this point, Jiangsu Province Taxation Bureau had fined Fan Bingbing and her enterprises for unpaid taxes, late fees, and fines totaling nearly 900 million yuan (about $129.1 million).

Acting Skills Recognized

At the 2022 Asia Contents Awards (ACA), Fan won the ACA Excellence Award, which is given exclusively to performers who have contributed extensively to Asian movies.

The ACA was not Fan’s first achievement for acting in Asia.

In early 2022, Fan appeared in “Insider,” her first Korean drama after her tax-related hiatus. Fan debuted in Korea in the Korean Film “My Way Back” in 2011.

One of her most significant milestones was joining a star-studded cast in the Marvel Superhero Blockbuster “X-Men: Days of Future Past” in 2014.

Initially intended for a Caucasian actor, Fan got the part of Clarice Ferguson (Blink) alongside Hollywood megastar Hugh Jackman.

During an interview with Today Online, Fan said she was surprised by the director’s decision to offer her the part of Blink in the international franchise. “It shocked me that they would hire an Asian actress like me for the global franchise. I was nervous. It is Hugh Jackman, after all.”

When she asked the Marvel franchise director why he decided to employ an Asian instead of a Caucasian for the part, the director said he wanted a familiar face that could relate to the audience on a global scale.

Fan has continued to be among the top 10 highest-paid actresses on the Forbes China Celebrity 100 list since 2006.

Fan had planned her first comeback three years ago, in a movie with director Li Yu, but it wasn’t made that year.

Fan and female Chinese film director Li reunited in 2021 and worked on “Insider,” which won Fan Bingbing the Best Asian Contents Award at the 27th Busan International Film Festival (BIFF).

Although Fan Bingbing did not attend the festival ceremony during the COVID-19 pandemic, she pre-recorded a thank you video in English. Fan told the audience about her comeback. She said she looked forward to working with more South Korean directors, producers, and actors. She also said she would attend the Busan film festival next year and would see her fans in 2023.

Reporters saw Fan visiting Hong Kong in October 2022, allegedly looking for work. Multiple local media reported that Fan was in Hong Kong to meet with film producers and use movie and television resources outside mainland China to make her anticipated comeback on the big and small screens.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8Fnexp4PYk