Mainland actor Yu Menglong died in a mysterious fall on September 11, sparking widespread concern due to the many suspicious points surrounding the case. (Screenshot from Weibo)
[People News] On September 11, Chinese actor Yu Menglong fell to his death in a residential compound in Beijing. Although police quickly ruled out any criminal case, the circumstances were riddled with doubts and failed to convince the public. Online, various so-called “inside stories” and videos spread, some implicating senior CCP figures. Authorities reacted immediately, censoring related information, conducting a mass “purge” of accounts, and most recently issuing a Police Bulletin, declaring that multiple “rumour-spreading” cases had been handled and several people arrested, which in turn triggered heated discussions at home and abroad.
According to Dajiyuan, in recent days, netizens have used every possible means to demand the truth, “storming” comment sections under CCTV news posts and even flooding police phone lines. The phrase “storming the tower” (衝塔) has come to describe netizens’ defiance of censorship, and has gradually expanded in meaning to signify taking great risks to oppose those in power.
On September 19, the X account News Investigation posted screenshots showing a large number of netizens storming CCTV comment sections, demanding disclosure of the truth about Yu Menglong’s death. Under a CCTV video report, as of the evening of September 20 (Beijing time), there were more than 680,000 comments. On overseas X, the same topic had reached 91,000 views by September 18.
Other screenshots showed Yu Menglong’s fans storming the comment section of Beijing’s Cultural Tourism account under CCTV, with over 600,000 comments before deletion. On overseas X, this had been viewed 554,000 times by the morning of September 19.
Another post showed that many netizens were storming police phone lines demanding that an official case be opened into Yu’s death. As of September 19, that post had over 62,000 views.
On September 20, the X account Today Australia reported: “Early that morning, Yu Menglong’s fans flooded the Douyin account of China National Radio (CNR), nearly all demanding an investigation into Yu Menglong’s fall.” That post had already received 45,000 comments, while on overseas X, it had 14,000 views by the morning of September 19.
Many netizens left strong comments beneath related screenshots and videos on X, demanding a thorough investigation. Some appeared to be Chinese netizens who had jumped the firewall, insisting they were not Yu’s fans, just bystanders. One wrote: “This is truly sensitive. I’ve never been censored before — I’ve even cursed Baozi (Xi Jinping) in veiled terms and wasn’t censored — but this time, I didn’t even say much and still got banned.”
“He died so tragically, tortured and killed, but because of power, no one will touch it. This will spark revolutionary anti-CCP thinking.” “Fan communities are a powerful force. Keep pushing!” “Looks like some powerful red princeling is behind this.” “China is rotten to the core. Elites toy with lives, shield each other, with no bottom line. Ordinary people have no place.” “As soon as people realise there’s no space left to speak or reason inside the wall, tens or hundreds of thousands more will climb the firewall. Privilege creates abuse; abuse sparks resistance. That’s the iron logic of every tyranny’s downfall.” “Storming the tower is risky, but this stinking CCP should’ve been stormed to death long ago.”
Others said, “Why are there rumours? Because there’s no credibility! Why fear rumours? Because they contain sparks of truth!” “This really must involve third- or fourth-generation red families.” “We all knew the truth would never come out. Rumours — some may be false, some not.”
The outpouring of anger clearly unnerved the CCP. Beijing’s Chaoyang District police suddenly issued a Police Bulletin, stressing that “the internet is not beyond the law” and warning netizens not to spread rumours, or else face punishment. Although the bulletin mentioned Yu Menglong’s case only at the end — without any details or response to netizens’ demands for investigation — Chinese netizens bluntly said its true purpose was to warn people not to keep posting revelations.
The bulletin stated that because of the Yu case, three women had already been arrested: Zheng (female, 40), who fabricated claims that “a powerful bigwig wanted to force himself on him, his lackeys set him up, he was drugged and assaulted, and jumped to his death in despair.” Yuan (female, 29), who spread across multiple platforms the story that “Yu was hung from a high-rise, had his fingernails pulled out, was disembowelled alive, and thrown down.” Xu (female, 41), who spread claims that “surveillance footage was destroyed, forces were covering it up, and Yu’s mother and sister had also been controlled,” shared screenshots of these claims online.
According to Taiwan’s Liberty Times, far from calming public anger, the bulletin only fueled more suspicion. Netizens in China remarked: “His backer is too powerful to touch, 666.” “This world is so dark.” “Even with the bulletin, they’ll just say it was an accident, case closed. The drinking buddies get off scot-free. Ridiculous.” “Interesting — a whole warning, but the actual facts are glossed over. Even if it was a drunken accident, usually they’d list the time, place, and who he was drinking with.”
Yu Menglong, 37, rose to fame in hit dramas like Go Princess Go and Eternal Love. His sudden death on September 11 shocked the public. Local police wrapped up the case within 12 hours, ruling out criminal involvement and labelling it an “accidental fall while drunk.” But online rumours claimed he had been targeted for resisting sexual exploitation by industry bigwigs. Many demanded a thorough investigation. Authorities, however, refused to respond — and instead scrubbed all calls for truth from the internet, fueling even greater public suspicion. △
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