Celebs swarming flood-hit areas, disrupting rescue

THE plight of residents displaced by major floods in Zhengzhou, the capital of China’s Henan province, has moved the hearts of many Chinese celebrities who not only donated money but also headed there to provide aid.

However, Nanyang Siang Pau reported that the authorities are worried that the heavy traffic caused by the celebrities’ convoys of trucks and followers will disrupt the ongoing rescue operation.

Netizens flooded social media, criticising singer Wang Yibo’s return to his home state to participate in relief efforts.

They hit out at the 23-year-old member of the South Korean-Chinese boy band Uniq, saying that photographers had followed him around and his trip was more of a “show”.

Many influencers had also caused problems by forcing their way into the affected areas despite being blocked by the authorities.

Chinese Communist Party’s Central Commission for Discipline Inspection has issued a notice calling for a stop to the celebrities’ entourages showing up.

“There are groups of celebrities heading to the affected areas at all costs and they are accompanied by photographers and videographers filming them and doing live streams. This has caused problems for rescue teams entering the areas.

“Do not use flood zones as the stage for your ‘show’ to boost your popularity,” the commission warned.

> Malaysian award-winning actor Melvin Sia received his Covid-19 jab on July 25 but experienced bad after-effects for over 24 hours, Guang Ming Daily reported.

The 42-year-old said he started feeling the effects 12 hours after the injection.

“I felt lethargic and chilly. I also had a bad headache, slept fitfully and vomited six times,” he said.

> Malaysian actress Lin Min Chen has no plans to get married yet as she wants to focus on her career and make money before settling down, China Press reported.

The 31-year-old showbiz goddess with an angelic voice said she loves children and would definitely be a homely wife and mother.

“If I want to have babies, then I would not be working anymore. I want to fully focus on raising and educating my children.”

● The above article is compiled from the vernacular newspapers (Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil dailies). As such, stories are grouped according to the respective language/medium. Where a paragraph begins with this ' >'sign, it denotes a separate news item.