Jiao Maiqi Canceled | Wang Jianlin Falls | Peng’s Faction Collapses | Xi’s Power Base Explodes?

Outrage grows. Suspect Jiao Maiqi's Shanghai concert cancelled. Today's broadcast opens with an update on Jiao Maiqi, one of the 17 individuals suspected of involvement in the death of Chinese actor Yu Menglong. According to the latest report from NTDTV, Jiao's Shanghai concert scheduled for January 2026 has officially been cancelled. His alleged connection to Yu Menglong's death has triggered massive online backlash, with netizens boycotting all of his concerts, film projects, and endorsements. Mainland netizens uncovered a selfie Jiao once posted, a photo that quickly went viral. In the reflection of his sunglasses, viewers claimed to see a thin man with his hands tied, believed to be Yu Menglong, while two or three others nearby appeared to be assaulting him. The image ignited public fury. Social media is filled with demands. All artists connected to this case must be completely banned online. Despite the outrage, Jiao was recently spotted filming for CCTV's Spring Festival Gala in Luliang, Shaanxi, and was scheduled to perform at Shanghai Haicheng Ocean Park on January 2, 2026. That plan collapsed after mainland fans filed formal complaints to authorities, accusing him of violently attacking artist Yin Yuke, an incident publicly condemned by state media. Jiao admitted to the assault, which caused a serious negative social impact, labeling him a disgraced artist. One complaint warned, allowing such an artist to perform at CCTV's Shanghai show would pose a potential safety risk to the audience. Authorities were urged to launch an investigation and immediately revoke his performance qualification. On December 25, Shanghai Haicheng Ocean Park issued a statement. Due to force majeure and after friendly consultation between both parties, the planned performance by artist Jiao Maiqi as part of the Duyan Life New Year Festival has been cancelled. Ticket holders may request refunds through the original purchase channel at any time. The announcement went viral overnight. Many netizens celebrated, calling it the first slap of 2026. Domestic supporters of Jiao Maiqi just got struck down. The fallout extended beyond Jiao. As we've reported recently, all artists suspected of ties to the Yu Menglong case have faced nationwide boycotts. Actress Song Yiren was replaced in her new drama. Singers Jiao Maiqi and Fan Xici had multiple concerts cancelled. Yu Menglong's agency Tianyou Media, under parent company Mango Supermedia, saw its stock price plummet. Actress Tian Hairong's films were completely boycotted. Red-haired Cheng Qingsong and Du Zhang are also facing a wave of intense public boycotts, while the search for Du Zhang's whereabouts has drawn widespread attention. Rumors are circulating that the two are hiding in Taiwan, though no evidence has surfaced to confirm this. I wonder if it may simply be a tactic to divert public attention toward Taiwan, while the suspects themselves may still be living in mainland China. Meanwhile, the global movement Justice for Yu Menglong continues to grow, with the petition now garnering more than 734,000 signatures worldwide. We'll keep you informed with further updates on this developing case. Before we move on, I just want to share something real quick. YouTube hasn't been recommending our channel much lately, so if you've made it this far, drop this icon in the comments. It really helps us beat the algorithm. You can also find it in the description below if you want to copy it easily. Together, we can get past the censorship and let more people see the truth. As we reported in our October 6th episode, Retribution now appears to be closing in on those suspected of committing some of the most shocking crimes ever to shake public opinion across mainland China. RETRIBUTION – FROM FAME AND FORTUNE TO RUIN – THE FALL OF THE WONG JANLIN FAMILY You may recall actor Chao Renliang, who died tragically in 2016. Allegations later surfaced that Wong Sikong, heir to the Wanda Empire and son of billionaire Wong Janlin, was behind his death. Witnesses, including top celebrities like Zhao Wei, Wang Xiaoming, and Chris Wu, were allegedly threatened or silenced. Once symbols of China's billionaire class, Wong Janlin and his son, Wong Sikong, are now drowning in debt and struggling to survive. Several of their companies are set to go under the hammer in early 2026, marking a dramatic fall from grace for the Wanda dynasty. According to NTDTV, court filings show Beijing Pusi Investment, owned by Wong Sikong, will auction 8% of its stake in Meiji Culture on January 24-25, 2026, valued at a negative 1.66 million yuan, with a starting bid of just 107,500 yuan, a humiliating end for what was once a billion-dollar fund. Pusi Investment, founded in 2009, once managed over 1 billion USD, backing nearly 80 startups from Hero Entertainment to Xiaoguo Culture. But as Beijing cracked down on streaming and esports, the firm collapsed under debt and court orders. Its partner, Meiji Culture, once a rising star in China's live-action drama scene, has also fallen, closing studios and defaulting on debts by 2024. In June 2025, Wong Sikong sold more assets, including his shares in Huanju Business, to Mario Ho, son of Macau tycoon Stanley Ho. His biggest venture, Panda TV, once worth 5 billion yuan, went bankrupt by 2020, leaving Wong blacklisted and banned from luxury spending. As the son's empire fell, so did the father's. Wang Zhenlin's Wanda Group, once China's real estate giant, now faces over 1.2 billion USD in liabilities. Dalian Wanda Group will auction 70% of its stake in Shanghai Wanda Microfinance from January 29 to February 1, 2026, starting at 73 million USD. From billionaire glory to bankruptcy auctions, the fall of the Wang family underscores the unraveling of a dynasty once seen as untouchable in China's economic empire. Next, we turn to another case in China's art world, one that strikes directly at the power center of CCP leader Xi Jinping. Top drama school ball rest hits Xi Jinping's weakest point, Peng Liyuan. In our episode on December 22nd, we've reported that Hao Rong, the high-profile president of China's Central Academy of Drama, is under investigation for serious violations of discipline and law. He turned himself in on December 19th and is now under disciplinary review by the Ministry of Education's supervisory team. But this case is no ordinary probe. It strikes directly at Xi Jinping's most sensitive point, the face of First Lady Peng Liyuan. Commentator Zhang Fen unraveled the web behind it. He said, If you think Hao Rong is just an acting professor or a stage director, you're gravely underestimating the CCP's cultural power structure. In China's art world, the heads of the three elite academies, the Central Academy of Drama, the Beijing Film Academy, and the Shanghai Theatre Academy, don't rise by talent alone. Each has a powerful political patron behind them. Hao Rong's ascent was meteoric. Vice President in 2016, President by 2018, the same period Xi abolished term limits and crowned himself the One Supreme. It was also when Peng Liyuan stepped into the limelight as professor, artistic advisor, and WHO ambassador, dominating China's cultural and educational scene. According to Zhang, two labels define Hao Rong's political downfall. Label 1. Mentor to actor Jin Dong. Jin Dong became a household name after portraying Xi Zhongshun, Xi Jinping's father, in the state-backed drama Northwest Years. In the CCP's propaganda system, anyone allowed to play a top leader or his father must pass rigorous political vetting. It's not about acting, it's about loyalty. That trust runs deep. Jin Dong was Hao Rong's student and advisee at the Central Academy of Drama. Their bond was close. Now, as Zhang noted, the disciple builds monuments to the Supreme Emperor, while the master is dragged away by party investigators. The message is clear. Xi Jinping can't even protect the teacher of the actor who played his own father. Label 2. Hao Rong belonged to the First Lady's faction. He was promoted by Lin Huiqing, former vice minister of education, a close ally of Peng Weiyuan. In public photos from Tsinghua University to WHO anti-AIDS events, Lin Huiqing often stood right beside Peng. Their connection was an open secret. During her tenure, Lin elevated loyal, politically adept cadres, and Hao Rong was among her star proteges. According to commentator Jiang Feng, the Central Academy of Drama is often called the Wampoa Military Academy of China's Entertainment Industry, a reference to the 1924 military school in Guangzhou that trained modern China's first generation of elite officers. Today, the term symbolizes a power center where talent pipelines, influence, and vast interests converge. And that's what the academy became. A command post controlling China's entertainment talent and a lucrative money laundering channel. Jiang said, to please his superiors, Hao Rong spared no effort in flattery. At the 2023 Two Sessions, as a CPPCC member, he proposed a motion that stunned artists across the country. Digital drama to empower a digital China. For an art built on human presence and emotion, the idea was absurd. But politically, it aligned perfectly with Xi Jinping and China Vice Premier Ding Cuixiang's drive for digital authoritarianism, expanding big data surveillance under the banner of new productive forces. Now, however, the political current has turned. Zhang Youxia, vice chairman of the Central Military Commission, and the Party elders' faction have launched a counter-strategy. They're not striking at Penn Liuan directly, but clipping her wings one by one. Hao Rong's arrest was their first precise strike. First, it sends a warning to China's cultural elite, those directors, actors, and administrators orbiting Penn, chasing fame and fortune through the First Lady's route. No matter how famous you are, no matter how close you are to the First Lady, if the Party wants you, you're gone. Second, it's part of a broader purge in education. Though Lin Huiqing is retired, her network still wields power inside the ministry. By taking down Hao Rong, investigators are pulling the vine to uproot the gourds, removing Lin's loyalists and replacing them with anti-Xi faction appointees. As for Hao Rong, he thought his careful positioning would guarantee smooth success. But when the storm hit, he was nothing more than a disposable pawn, sacrificed without hesitation. This case offers a glimpse into the brutal purges and factional warfare now unfolding inside China's political establishment. Those who still blindly believe in the CCP will, in the end, be used, discarded, and destroyed by the very system they serve. Xi's power base explodes after New Year ban, the movies nearing its end. 2025 is drawing to a close, and the New Year is just days away. Yet across China, a wave of cancellations has swept the nation. New Year's Eve celebrations have vanished from the calendar. In Xi'an, police announced that the Bell and Drum Tower area would host no events of any kind. In Hefei, authorities cancelled the traditional countdown along Huaihe Road and banned fireworks, balloons, and lanterns. Even public parks like Luogang warned residents not to gather that night. Similar restrictions appeared in Suzhou, Guangzhou, and dozens of other cities, turning what should have been a night of joy into one of quiet control. According to the Vision Times, this public outcry exposes a government on edge, nervous, brittle, and increasingly fearful of its own citizens. In Xizhuang, Hebei province, residents reported truckloads of barricades and police being deployed across the city. Yet this heavy-handed show of force did little to dampen public spirit. Some netizens vowed to celebrate regardless. We don't need them to organize anything. Just showing up to count down is an event. Others were even bolder. I'll light fireworks myself and see if they dare arrest me. Their defiance recalls the so-called fireworks revolution of New Year's Eve 2023. While the rest of the world celebrated, Chinese citizens took to the streets, riding motorcycles and cars, firing fireworks into the sky as police chased them through the night. Videos from that evening still circulate online. A black car speeding through the dark streets of Shandong, fireworks bursting from its windows, sirens wailing close behind. The car never stops. Explosions of color fill the night sky, a vivid symbol of resistance against fear. That night, the spark of rebellion lit up China's darkness. Two years later, it still burns. Abroad, one Chinese netizen drew a comparison. In the last decade of Brezhnev's era, the former Soviet leader, everyone was just waiting for the movie to end. Today, many see that same exhaustion setting in across China. Another commenter mocked the mass cancellations. From a stability standpoint, it's brilliant. No crowds, no emotions, no risk. And the safest place in the world is prison. Others listed what they believe the regime fears most. They fear people celebrating. They fear people gathering. They fear people buying knives, buying gasoline, and they even fear people not spending money. The irony, observers noted, was impossible to miss. But the most dramatic moment came on December 31, 2024, in Zhengding, Hebei province, Xi Jinping's old political base, long symbolic of his rise to power. That night, authorities banned all public celebrations and sealed off the South City Gate, the planned site of the countdown. As crowds grew, anger erupted. Thousands surged forward, broke through the barricades, and retook the gate almost effortlessly. Locals called it the Siege of 100,000. When the government denied citizens the right to celebrate, the people tore down the walls themselves. This extraordinary scene in Xi Jinping's birthplace was more than an act of defiance. It was a warning. It served as both a symbolic preview of the CCP's fate and a stark reminder of its fragility. As China steps into 2026 under a climate of silence and control, one truth grows harder to ignore. A government that fears its people's laughter is already trembling from within. What do you think? Share your thoughts in the comments. We'd love to hear your perspective. If you found this analysis valuable, don't forget to like, share, and subscribe so you won't miss what's coming next. Thanks for watching, and we'll see you in the next episode.