The Party Silences Hu Chenfeng, Buffett Dumps BYD

The video series filmed by Hu Chenfeng — “The 100 Yuan Purchasing Power Challenge” and “1 Hour Wage 9 Yuan / 15 Yuan Purchasing Power Challenge” — once caused quite a stir online. He didn’t cross the red line, but couldn’t withstand the red line coming after him! Because the Party-State is full of red lines. (Illustration by Qingyu / People News)

[People News] Hu Chenfeng’s account permanently banned

Just a few days ago, we mentioned that Hu Chenfeng had been banned, but not completely. Within two days, “Huzi” was completely shut down! On Sina, Weibo, Bilibili, Xiaohongshu, Douyin — all of his video works were taken down. It is also clearly shown that he is “muted.”

It seems the Party wants Huzi completely silenced.

Let’s first take a look at what’s circulating on Twitter — his farewell video:

**[Video: Friends! I am HCF (Hu Chenfeng). If one day you can no longer see my content, please remember: this is not the end, but another kind of beginning for us.

Perhaps some people will never understand why I chose to use the sharpest language, the most extreme metaphors, and the most merciless manner of expression. Today I want to tell you seriously: those attacks that made you feel offended were never aimed at each individual, but at an entire rigid cognitive system.

When I saw countless young people shackled by “diploma determinism”; when I saw talent buried under “labels”; when I saw effort denied because of birth — gentle reminders were no longer enough to pierce through this thick wall of prejudice, so I chose to be the one to ring the bell. Even if the sound was harsh, I’d rather make you angry with seemingly cruel contrasts than watch you become numb in the boiling-frog dilemma.

Those extreme comparisons of “Android diplomas” or “junior college doesn’t count as university student” were never meant to belittle anyone, but to tear apart the absurd rule of defining people by labels. What is truly worth angering is never my words, but this reality that devalues effort and lets prejudice run rampant. If I must use the strongest medicine to awaken a person’s recognition of their own value, I am willing to bear the cost.

Now it is the moment of farewell, but please remember: behind all my harsh words lies one truth — your value should never be defined by diplomas, birth, or any label. Don’t miss me; become a better version of yourself. Prove your value with skills, break prejudice with action, rewrite the rules with success. The day when you no longer need any HCF to ring the bell, that will be the true victory.]**

In fact, Hu Chenfeng always said he made videos just to earn money. But he also said if his works made people think, that was good too! So his series “100 Yuan Purchasing Power Challenge” and “1 Hour Wage 9 Yuan / 15 Yuan Purchasing Power Challenge” did attract attention online — drawing focus to issues like prices, wages, and livelihood.

But that displeased the Party.

After he bluntly showed the impoverished life of a 78-year-old widowed woman living on only 170 yuan a month of new rural pension, Huzi was banned for the first time. Although he knew where the red lines were and was cautious, sometimes he still couldn’t hold back from speaking the truth or common sense.

For example, he publicly opposed the vagueness of the Public Security Administration Punishment Law and gave clear opinions, saying: a prosperous society needs explicit, clear legal provisions.

Another example: not long ago he advised netizens not to travel to Russia, reasoning that “going to Russia makes it easy to be refused visas by other developed countries.”

In the Party’s eyes, all these fall into “maliciously spreading facts,” which already put him in the category of a troublemaker. He may have faced significant pressure because of this. Afterwards, Hu Chenfeng avoided some sensitive topics. Faced with red lines, he basically chose to retreat. But — there’s no way! He didn’t cross the red line, but the red line came after him! Because the Party-State is full of red lines.

What controversial content did he recently post? Actually just things like supporting privatization; favoring Tesla, Apple, Sam’s Club and other overseas brands; Apple versus Android comparisons, and so on. But, if you think about it, at most it was just stating the plain truth in an exaggerated way. Whether it was truth or not, the Party didn’t care. What it cared about was “something the Cyberspace Administration could seize upon”! The big hat of “maliciously inciting division” was much better than “maliciously spreading facts.” It gave justification to silence Huzi.

But nowadays, netizens aren’t so easy to fool. Look! “Hu Chenfeng banned across multiple platforms” hit the Weibo hot search list again on September 21. One netizen lamented: “This is the cost of telling the truth! A beggar picking up scraps sponsoring a girl who couldn’t afford school — that’s indeed called positive energy. But you can’t question why he’s scavenging, or why the girl can’t afford school. If you ask, that’s negative energy.”

Another netizen said: “Solving problems is hard, solving Huzi is easy.”

Others pointed out directly that Huzi was banned because he told the truth. In the Party-Mom’s eyes, fools are “state assets.” Once they are awakened and no longer fools, it essentially means “loss of state assets.” So, strict crackdown!

As for “Apple people, Android people binary opposition” — if he didn’t say it, would this society have no oppositions? Doesn’t the Party-State already have “urban-rural dual opposition”? Doesn’t it have the dual opposition of inside-the-system and outside-the-system? Doesn’t it have the three-way opposition of “Heavenly Dragons, urban residents, and farmers’ social security”? Doesn’t it have the three-way opposition of “high-ranking cadres’ wards, ordinary wards, and no wards at all”?

If you really list them out, you couldn’t finish. What the Party fears most is the cattle, horses, and chives listening, listening, and learning to ask: “Who created these oppositions in the first place?” That would be a disaster!

Ban! Hurry up, silence them all.

Shorting China

Speaking of foreign forces shorting China, stock god Buffett recently voted with his feet. The once “long bull myth” of China’s EV giant BYD has finally been fully dumped by Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway. After 17 years of holding, with the stock multiplying 39 times, he quietly walked away. Looks like China’s economy really is cold!

Berkshire invested about $230 million in BYD in 2008, buying about 10% of the shares. Then, over the next 14 years, it held steadily. But starting in 2022, it began reducing. From nearly 20% holdings it gradually dropped, and by mid-2024 its stake was below 5%.

The latest disclosed documents show that by the end of March this year, the investment had already been recorded in the books as “valued at zero.” This means Buffett had completely cleared out his BYD shares. Alongside Buffett’s exit, BYD indeed ran into trouble! Quarterly profit fell for the first time in three years, domestic sales declined for consecutive months, and after lowering its annual sales target, BYD’s stock price dropped more than 30% from its May all-time high, evaporating $45 billion in market value.

It seems the saying “BYD is the Evergrande of the auto industry” is not groundless!

Buffett, a heavyweight investor known for long-term value investing — if even he chose to exit BYD, it shows the risk-return balance has tilted. Buffett’s liquidation is precisely the most realistic response to the Chinese EV industry, and even to China’s overall economic slowdown and severe market involution. It also delivered a resounding slap in the face to the CCP’s so-called “economic optimism.”

(Excerpted from self-media “Old Beijing Teahouse”) △