Comedian-turned showbiz tycoon Zhao Benshan embroiled in rumours amid anti-graft drive
After a bad year that saw him sidelined by the authorities, his television shows suspended and his club closed, one of China's most prominent entertainment industry figures now finds himself busy fending off rumours that he has been investigated for corruption amid President Xi Jinping's wide-reaching anti-corruption campaign.
After a bad year that saw him sidelined by the authorities, his television shows suspended and his club closed, one of China's most prominent entertainment industry figures now finds himself busy fending off rumours that he has been investigated for corruption amid President Xi Jinping's sweeping anti-corruption campaign.
Zhao Benshan is a household name in mainland China. The 57-year-old farmer-turned comedian’s sketch performances have long been essential viewing on state broadcaster CCTV’s New Year’s Gala, the country's single most-watched television programme every year.
Did you think you'd never see me again because they say I have 20 tonnes of gold in my home? I even believed it myself!
But 2014 saw a downturn in Zhao fortunes, who had spent years building a business empire around his TV comedies, dramas, films and other investments within the entertainment industry.
A number of television programmes and dramas Zhao had produced or participated in over the past few months have been suspended from broadcast by the state censorship organ, without specific reasons being given, state media have reported.
A luxurious Beijing club that Zhao has run since 2011 was also found to have been closed recently. Employees at the club told the state-run China News Service earlier this week that the closure was due to sluggish business as a result of President Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption drive, which has deterred government and state company officials from visiting expensive restaurants and entertainment venues.
The official China Youth Daily said in a commentary on Tuesday that there was "nothing unusual" about the closure of Zhao's club.
"Online photos have shown that [the club's] decoration was extremely extravagant, and its services weere very expensive... Therefore, it is only normal for it to be closed" amid the Communist Party's campaign against corruption, the commentary said.