Road to 5**：''Rational idolization'' of celebrities on mainland
【明報專訊】◆News summary
The Cyberspace Administration of China has recently issued the ''Notice on Further Strengthening the Management of Irregularities in Fan Circles'', proposing ten measures including a ban on the rankings of celebrities and artists, the improvement and adjustment of ranking rules, and the strict control of celebrity agencies. As reported by the Xinhua news outlet, under the new measures, only the rankings of the music, film, television and other works can be maintained, but personal details such as the names of the relevant artists or celebrities must not be published.
The notice also requires the strict management of celebrity agencies, the regulation of the accounts of fan groups, a ban on verbal attacks on the fans of other artists or celebrities, the removal of web pages that violate the rules, a ban on encouraging fans to spend money, the strengthening of programme setup management, a ban on participation of teenagers, and the regulation of fund-raising behaviours.
As reported by the media, the agencies of celebrities Zhao Liying, Wang Yibo, Yang Mi, Dilraba Dilmurat, Angelababy and others have issued a ''Rational Idolization of Celebrities Proposal'', calling on fans to calm down and not to abuse each other.
In addition, the Cyberspace Administration of China has also laid new laws against the promotion of gossip about celebrities and bloodthirsty and vulgar content. The media is also prohibited from focusing on indecent and controversial acts by artists. ——Source: Ming Pao
Translated by Odyssey Lang
●Mock examination question
Explain two social impacts, one positive and one negative, of the idolization of celebrities.
◆Positive Impact
The idolization of celebrities can help raise awareness of social issues. The positive acts of celebrities, such as environmental protection and COVID-19 precaution, can raise fans' and even other citizens' awareness of these issues.
For example, during the COVID-19 pandemic, celebrities shared pandemic prevention information on social network. There are also idols from the mainland who act as public welfare ambassadors to encourage citizens to get vaccinated against COVID-19. This shows that celebrities can share positive information that is beneficial to society via different channels such as social networking sites. They can help increase public access to relevant information, thus improving the quality of life of citizens.
◆Negative Impact
The idolization of celebrities may cause fans to spend money irrationally. To support their idols, fans might spend a lot of money, which harms their personal finances. In recent years, there has been a phenomenon of audiences ''voting'' to determine who should be the members of a new pop group. They get their voting power by purchasing the products of programme sponsors. Therefore, fans might spend excessively and irrationally. Once, there were people on the mainland who bought and dumped huge quantities of milk. Furthermore, with the endorsement of celebrities, many companies promote goods and services such as health care products and financial loans. Fans may lose money without understanding these products.
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