Blogger with 6 million fans brings tribal trio to China for lucrative live streams
Online adventure influencer defends ‘use’ of indigenous Indonesians, says money raised will pay for medical treatment of one of them
An adventure blogger has brought three indigenous people from their home on a Pacific island to China to take part in live-streaming events, attracting audiences of millions.
The trio, a man, his mother and his uncle, do not speak Chinese, but occasionally sang their own folk songs and danced during the four live-streaming sessions on September 22, the Shanghai Morning Post reported.
The events were hosted by the blogger Li Yi, who has 6.5 million followers on Douyin and sells a domestic-branded training shoes.
About four million internet users watched the sales, mainly out of curiosity, and revenue from the live streams reached 2.5 million yuan (US$360,000), the report said.
Li, from Heilongjiang province in northeastern China, has spent the past six years living with the indigenous people and their extended family on an island in Papua, the easternmost province of Indonesia.
Besides sharing videos about his experiences on social media, the blogger said he is also preparing a documentary on the ocean environment.