Users catch lifetime bans over Namewee tune

INTERNET users in China are finding themselves banned for life on social media for mistakenly sharing Malaysian rapper Namewee’s (pic) new parody song People of the Dragon, reported China Press.

Users on Douyin, China’s equivalent of TikTok, found their accounts permanently banned after sharing the tune, which they mistook for a harmless Chinese New Year song.

People of the Dragon is a satirical piece taking aim at the Chinese Communist Party and China President Xi Jinping.

“As a ‘descendant of the dragon,’ we must always remember ... love the party, love the country, love the chairman!” Namewee sings.

Namewee’s songs have been banned in China since 2021.

Following a slew of permanent bans after sharing, Internet users began highlighting the innuendo in the lyrics and warned others not to repeat their mistake on social media.

“I was helping my company share (details) about a Chinese New Year event.

“However, my account was banned after I uploaded the video on Douyin.

“Everyone, please take heed ... People of the Dragon is an anti-China song. Even though I am unsure what the issue is with the lyrics, my account has been permanently banned,” one user wrote.

Namewee, whose real name is Wee Meng Chee, has courted dozens of controversies in his 16-year career in the entertainment industry due to his use of provocative themes in his work.

People of the Dragon is Namewee’s latest tune, which garnered more than eight million views on YouTube just two weeks after it was released.

> Taiwanese influencer Goodnight Chicken appeared to have escaped from a scam call centre after being captured while sneaking in, reported China Press.

The online celebrity livestreamed himself infiltrating the centre’s compound in Cambodia’s notorious Sihanoukville on Feb 12.

However, the stream was cut short after he was believed to have been attacked and captured by a man in military uniform.

His wife issued an emergency statement online, saying that family members were worried about Goodnight Chicken, whose real name is Chen Neng Chuan.

She also said his family had not been able to get in touch with him.

On Feb 13, the influencer managed to go on a livestream again to give viewers an update.

In the video, Chen appears to be bruised in several places and his clothes are in tatters.

He claimed that he was captured by several armed men who tasered him, shaved his head and robbed him of around US$3,500 (RM16,750) that he had on him.

● 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.