Unusual Disappearance of Chinese Actress Fan Bingbing Leaves Fans Concerned

Chinese actress Fan Bingbing who appeared in the ‘X Men’ film franchise hasn’t been seen in public since 1st July when she visited a children’s hospital. The actress’ fans are now getting overly concerned about her safety and well being.

Fan Bingbing’s followers have observed her unusual silence on the popular Sina Weibo microblog where she has more than 62 million followers. The actress who is usually active on this blog hasn’t been active on her account since 23 July. It was the same day when she liked a number of posts on the account. Ms. Fan who is also a singer, model, and a TV producer came to limelight when she made an appearance in the ‘X Men’ film franchise. The charming actress is considered to be one of China’s most influential celebrities and is also one the world’s highest paid actors. The actress’ online posts on Weibo Microblog garner numerous comments.

Rumors concerning Tax Evasion

Ms. Fan’s disappearance comes a few months after a TV presenter Cui Yongyuan accused her of tax evasion. Certain celebrities are said to use the ‘Yin Yang’ contracts (dual contracts) for their work. One contract displays the actor’s real earnings while the other contract displays a lower figure. The lower figure contract is the one chosen to be submitted to the tax department to evade tax. The actress’ representatives, however, have denied the allegations and stated that she has never signed dual contracts. They said “The studio and Fan Bingbing will fully cooperate with the relevant authority. We hope the investigation result can be released soon to answer the public doubt."

The actress’ fans are replying to her most recent post and leaving messages asking Ms. Fan to release a statement confirming that she is well. Many of them believe that she has been detained. A financial newspaper, ‘The Economic Observer’ had posted an article on 26 July claiming that the actress was under investigation. It stated that her staff members were being questioned and that her brother Fan Chengcheng will not be allowed to leave the country. Strangely, the same article was immediately removed from the platform. Even the mainstream media are not reporting about her whereabouts.

Making it to the Forbes list

In the year 2015, Forbes released the list of the world’s highest paid actresses revealing their annual ranking. The Chinese actress claimed the fourth position in the list, overtaking top notch actresses like Jennifer Aniston, Julia Roberts, Angelina Jolie and Reese Witherspoon. In the recent 2017 Forbes China Celebrity List, Ms. Fan was the highest earning Chinese celebrity not for one but for the past four years in a row earning $59.5 million a year. The actress also regularly features on Vanity Fair’s International Best Dressed list while her appearances at the Cannes film festival have garnered media attention.

The Chinese star rose to fame with the TV series ‘My Fair Princess’, albeit her ticket to fame was starring in the movie ‘Cell Phone’ which went on to become highest-grossing Chinese film of the year. She bagged the best actress award for the same movie at ‘The Hundreds Flowers Awards’ which is the Chinese equivalent of the Golden Globes. The star who is also a philanthropist has created a project ‘Heart Ali’ to help children suffering from congenital heart disease in Tibet. The high profiled actress will be featuring in Jessica Chastain’s female-led spy movie titled ‘355’, alongside Penelope Cruz, Marion Cotillard, Lupita Nyong’O. The movie is currently under production. Amidst rumors and speculations, it is left to be seen whether the actress will make a surprise appearance. Hopefully, the actress will make a safe comeback soon and clear her name during investigations.