Was Yu Warned Kimi Qiao’s Old Post Named Wang Leehom 4 Block Busters ‘Vanish'

Old writings by Chow Ren-liang, long believed to have faded into silence with time, were suddenly dug up and immediately sent shockwaves through public opinion. They contained not only heavy, melancholic emotions, but also vague yet chilling warnings aimed at Yu Menglong, along with another name that stunned the public, Wang Lihong. At the same time, an old video of Yu Menglong unexpectedly went viral across the internet, offering what many see as further evidence. Meanwhile, the nomination list for the 44th Hong Kong Film Awards has also left the public in shock. Let's discuss all of this in today's program. Did Chow Ren-liang warn Yu Menglong and mention Wang Lihong? The Chinese language entertainment industry has been thrown into turmoil once again. Old social media posts by the late artist Chow Ren-liang, written while he was still alive, have recently been dug up by netizens. What they uncovered was shocking. The content is not only emotionally charged, but also explicitly mentions two names, instantly pushing public discussion to the top of trending searches. The first name is Yu Menglong. Netizens discovered that during his lifetime, Chow Ren-liang repeatedly hinted at and warned Yu Menglong to be cautious, expressing concern and anxiety for someone who had only just entered the entertainment industry. When these posts resurfaced years later, they immediately sparked speculation. Many believed that Yu Menglong had been targeted from the very start of his debut, seemingly unable to escape a grim fate. Chow Ren-liang's words now feel especially heartbreaking, as no one could have foreseen what would eventually happen. But the story doesn't end there. The second name mentioned is Wang Lihong. In one old post, Chow Ren-liang once wrote the following, I was about to head out, yet I couldn't fall asleep, tossing and turning in bed, feeling inexplicably unsettled. What was going on? Then I realized, it's Wang Lihong's birthday today. He was the one who pulled me into this industry, forcing me to live so desperately now, all because of a single sentence spoken on May 21st, 2005. I can barely endure it, yet it feels strangely exhilarating. From that moment on, Chow Chow's life trajectory changed, and my path began to split. Whatever this road becomes in the future, Teacher Wang must bear responsibility. Happy birthday. Placed in the context of that year, the passage may have seemed like nothing more than a moment of reflection. But viewed from today's perspective, netizens have begun to speculate intensely. What exactly happened behind these words? Wang Lihong was the one who invited Chow Ren-liang into the entertainment industry. Does that mean he was connected to these events? Could he even have acted as an intermediary? Some have bluntly claimed that Wang Lihong played a very big game and insist he is far from innocent. Debate over whether Wang Lihong was involved has shown no signs of dying down and has even been increasingly linked to Yu Menglong. After Yu Menglong's death, a series of dark rumors began circulating around Beijing's 798 Art District. Recently, social media has been flooded with claims that the 798 Art Museum is suspected of displaying a severed hand believed to belong to Yu Menglong, with assertions that the specimen's shape closely matches his physical characteristics when he was alive. The most widely circulated version of the rumor claims that Yu Menglong's body was never cremated, but instead stored in an underground cold storage facility beneath the museum. The story even extends to places he frequented during his lifetime, such as the Bulgari Hotel, alleging the existence of underground tunnels directly connecting these locations to the museum. Whether the hand truly belongs to Yu Menglong cannot be independently verified at this time. But when the truth remains unclear, netizens are unwilling to let even the smallest clue slip by. In just the past few days, yet another video of Yu Menglong has spread rapidly online. The footage was taken at a public event. In the video, it is clearly visible that Yu Menglong's manager, Du Chang, keeps a tight grip on his arm and refuses to let go. It is important to note that this is not a protective gesture. The video shows that Yu Menglong's movements are continuously restricted. He is unable to communicate or interact normally with others. As soon as the clip surfaced, public opinion exploded. Prior to this, rumors had already been circulating online, claiming that Yu Menglong was subjected to long-term personal control after refusing certain unspoken rules imposed by power-spile capital figures, and that he may even have suffered extreme treatment. This video now appears to be almost irrefutable evidence supporting those claims. A living person, right in front of the camera, being controlled to such an extent, one can only imagine what he may have endured off-camera, in places no one could see. Four months have now passed, and the case is still unresolved, yet netizens remain persistent. A petition on Ava's has gathered nearly 750,000 signatures. Some supporters have printed Yu Menglong's photo onto plastic bags and placed them on tables in restaurants, even taping them next to reminder signs on walls. Across the strait in Taiwan, support has been even stronger. Taiwanese citizens have not only rented large LED screens to display messages, but have also taken to the streets to actively campaign for the petition demanding justice for Yu Menglong. In Tainan, one warm-hearted fried chicken shop owner even launched a special promotion. Customers who signed in support of Yu Menglong could buy fried chicken at a discounted price. As you can see, a sense of justice knows no boundaries of region or social class. Hong Kong Star exposes the industry's unspoken rules. Well-known Hong Kong entertainer and wealthy second-generation heir Tang Tzu-Chun has largely stepped away from the film and television industry in recent years. However, thanks to his outspoken and blunt personality, he remains a frequent guest on interview programs, and almost every appearance stirs public discussion. Recently, during one such show, Tang dropped another bombshell, revealing that he had once been approached with an offer He openly admitted that the relationships within show business have long been complicated, and that the common narrative of male tycoons financially supporting female stars is far from the whole story. In reality, there are also cases where wealthy men seek to keep male artists, and he himself had once been a target. Tang recalled that not long after he entered the industry, he was called aside for a private conversation after finishing a film shoot. The person who approached him was not the tycoon in question, but an intermediary. The broker conveyed that a wealthy man was offering HKD 15 million to financially support Tang for three months, while clearly implying conditions related to sexual orientation. Faced with the amount of money and the nature of the request, Tang said he was utterly shocked. Although he briefly felt curious about the identity of the other party, he rejected the proposal outright. He emphasized that he comes from a wealthy family and has never lacked money, so there was no reason for him to accept such a transaction. Beyond being propositioned by a male tycoon, Tang also revealed that in the past, some female stars had actively pursued him for financial reasons, using every means possible to seduce him. On one occasion after filming, a female actress told him that something in her home was broken and asked if he could come over to help fix it. Tang didn't think much of it and readily agreed. Once there, the actress went into the bedroom and returned wearing a rather revealing set of pajamas, an almost blatant provocation. Tang said he was immediately repulsed. After fixing the issue, he left without hesitation. Over the years, Tang Sicheng has often been described as someone who has enjoyed all of life's blessings. Netizens joke that while he isn't particularly handsome and isn't tall, he is extraordinarily popular in romantic matters. Still, people note that those who can firmly refuse the industry's unspoken rules, as he did, are truly rare. Is Hong Kong cinema still holding on to hope? If what Yu Menglong endured can be called a personal tragedy, then what unfolded at this year's Hong Kong Film Awards was nothing short of a requiem for an entire industry. As soon as the first round of voting for the 44th Hong Kong Film Awards began, sharp-eyed netizens noticed something deeply amiss. Four films that had clearly been released last year, received decent audience responses, and fully met the eligibility requirements for nomination had inexplicably vanished from the shortlist. Those four films were Mother Boo Me, starring Fan Bingbing, Valley of the Shadow of Death and Finch in Midland, both starring Anthony Wong, and Ambulance, starring Him Law. This was no minor incident. In the more than 40-year history of the Hong Kong Film Awards, this was almost an unprecedented mass purge. In the past, content censorship might have existed, such as films being denied theatrical release, but this time it was something else entirely. Administrative censorship. Even if a film had obtained screening approval and been widely released, it could still be erased from award consideration through internal maneuvering. Let's first look at what taboo these vanished films supposedly violated. The most obvious case is Anthony Wong. Since the Umbrella Movement, he has been labeled by the Chinese Communist Party as the number one dissenting artist. Although he has repeatedly clarified that he does not support Hong Kong independence, in their eyes, failing to kneel in praise is enough to mark someone as an enemy. The film Valley of the Shadow of Death, which he headlined, performed solidly at the box office, earning over HKD 5.3 million. The story follows a pastor torn between revenge and forgiveness when confronting the man who harmed his daughter. On the surface, it is a religious-themed drama, but in today's Hong Kong, it is far too sensitive. Reflections on unforgivable sin inevitably evoke the social scars left after 2019. What the authorities fear is not the film itself, but the symbol that Anthony Wong represents, especially the possibility that he might say something inappropriate. On an award stage, Wong's own response was strikingly calm. He said he had already seen through everything, even remarking bitterly, in the future, if people want to watch films I've acted in, they'll probably have to go overseas. He also stated plainly that he is now an actor, no longer a star. The resignation and dignity behind those words are deeply moving. Next comes Fan Bingbing. The film Mother Bumi is set in the late 1990s along the northern border of Malaysia. It tells the story of a rural woman who, after her husband's mysterious death, farms by day and becomes a spiritual exorcist by night, helping villagers ward off evil while resisting land exploitation and confronting buried family secrets. Thanks to this role, Fan Bingbing recently won Best Actress at the Golden Horse Awards. She is now settled in Hong Kong and holds Hong Kong residency. Under previous Hong Kong Film Awards rules, a film was eligible as long as key creative members held Hong Kong status or the production company met the criteria. Yet she was still excluded. What does this tell us? It shows that Hong Kong has now been fully absorbed into mainland China's system of managing problematic or tainted artists. If Beijing does not give its approval, attempting a comeback by going through Hong Kong is no longer an option. Once again, this drives home the point that Hong Kong's so-called one country, two systems has long since ceased to exist. As for On the Way to the Emergency, starring Him Law, the film centers on the lives of ambulance workers touching on the rigidity of the public service system and the wave of emigration. Him Law himself is also a locally rooted KOL figure with strong grassroots appeal, especially among young people. In today's political climate, all of this is deemed an original sin. The most frightening aspect of this controversy is not that several films failed to receive nominations, but the degeneration of the Hong Kong Film Awards itself. How did the Hong Kong Film Awards Association respond? By playing deaf and dumb. When questioned by the media, they refused to provide any explanation. Some even went so far as to hang up the phone. Why? Although the Hong Kong Film Awards is a non-profit organization, staging the ceremony requires funding, and a large portion of that funding comes from the government's Film Development Fund. Today, this fund has been supplemented with national security clauses. If a funded project is deemed not conducive to national security, the government may immediately cut funding or even demand repayment. This is the most naked form of economic coercion. In order to survive and continue operating, the leadership of the Hong Kong Film Awards has proactively eliminated high-risk films, effectively becoming a white glove for power. Looking back to 2016, then-chairman Derek Yee still dared to stand on stage and quote Franklin D. Roosevelt, the only thing we have to fear is fear itself, before resolutely awarding best film to the independent production 10 years. In less than a decade, those once unyielding figures have been reduced to kneeling. This is not only the tragedy of the Hong Kong Film Awards, but also a microcosm of the shrinking space for civil society in Hong Kong. According to Da Shijiu, after this incident, a stark divide has become clear. On one side stands the Hong Kong Film Awards, accelerating its mainlandization. In the future, it will likely come to resemble mainland China's Golden Rooster Awards and Hundred Flowers Awards, dominated by propaganda-driven films, co-productions, and politically safe but spiritually hollow commercial works. It will no longer serve Hong Kong audiences, but rather the authorities of the Chinese Communist Party. On the other side stands Taiwan's Golden Horse Awards. Despite being boycotted by the CCP, it has become more inclusive and freer than ever. Consider Fan Bingbing, blacklisted in mainland China, excluded in Hong Kong, yet still able to win Best Actress at the Golden Horse Awards on the strength of her performance alone. This shows that the Golden Horse looks only at art, not political labels, and not the mood of those above. Today, the Golden Horse Awards have effectively become a refuge for exiled Chinese-language filmmakers. Whether it is Anthony Wong or films that can no longer be screened in Hong Kong, recognition can now only be found in Taiwan. This is both an irony and a stroke of luck. Luck, at least, that there remains one place capable of sheltering free souls. What do you think of these developments? Leave your thoughts in the comments below. Thank you for watching and see you next time.