20 Aug – With more and more Chinese celebrities facing ban and criminal charges for their wrongdoings, the situation has prompted many of their fellow artistes to go and "educate" themselves more on proper conduct. According to SCMP, as many as 64 mainland entertainers, some of them well-known stars, have recently taken part in a two-day training organised by the National Radio and Television Administration (NRTA) in Beijing titled, "Training Class for Promoting the Production of High-Quality TV Series." The said training included not only a class on morality and professional ethics, but also law and regulations, as well as the Communist Party's history. Among recognisable faces that were spotted at the training session include Zhang Yishan of "The Deer and the Cauldron" and Lei Jiayin, the star of "The First Half of My Life".
The training, however, is drawing mixed reactions from netizens, with mostly questioning why these highly-paid stars are only now learning about basic morals. "It's a useless course," said one netizen. "These people will not behave themselves when they are offered huge money or other temptations." The Chinese entertainment world was recently shaken over the allegations of rape against Kris Wu by multiple women, which led to his official arrest earlier this week. Amid Kris' case, actor Zhang Zhehan received backlash after old photos of him at the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo - a site where some of Japan's worst war criminals are honoured and interred - circulated the internet. On the other hand, Chinese singer Huo Zun also recently declared retirement after his ex-girlfriend accused him of cheating on her throughout their relationship. Prior to that, actress Zheng Shuang found herself being banned and losing multiple endorsement deals after it was alleged by her former partner Zhang Heng that she had abandoned her two children in the US born via surrogacy.