‘China’s Kim Kardashian’ banned from social media for bragging about wealth

Chinese social media platforms like Douyin have removed the accounts of several influencers

Wang Hongquanxing is a Chinese influencer who has become the latest casualty in the Communist Party’s crackdown on public displays of extravagance, The Telegraph has reported. The 30-year-old, nicknamed “China’s Kim Kardashian,” has been banned from Chinese social media platforms for bragging about his wealth.

Hongquanxing once claimed that he never leaves his house without clothes and jewellery worth less than 10 million yuan ($2.1 million). As of last week, however, his social media accounts were removed from Chinese platforms like Weibo, Douyin and Xiaohongshu.

The ‘Chinese Kim Kardashian’ had 4.374 million followers on Douyin, where he regularly posted about his lavish lifestyle. His posts showed designer handbags and expensive jewellery lining the walls of his house. He was banned from the platform for violating its regulations.

Hongquanxing is one of several Chinese influencers whose accounts have been wiped off social media. According to Fortune magazine, the purge comes after the Cyberspace Administration of China said in April that it would target influencers who are “deliberately showcasing a lavish lifestyle built on wealth.”

Following this, several Chinese social media platforms issued a joint statement on May 15 promising to crack down on wealth show offs. These platforms included Tencent, Douyin, Kuaishou, Weibo, Bilibili and Little Red Book.

China had announced a campaign to “clean up” the internet in 2016. Since then, it has targeted several accounts which, authorities feel, do not conform to positive social values.