2026-10-28
After Mbappé, La Liga and La Liga President Javier each apologized over the “Chinese dictator” incident, the X platform added the note “Mao Zedong was indeed a dictator” beneath each apology post.
2026-10-28
On October 28, as the controversy surrounding Mbappe's remarks continues to escalate, major Chinese e-commerce platforms have begun removing Mbappe-related products.
2026-10-28
On October 28, netizens discovered that following the controversy over China-related remarks by Real Madrid star Mbappé, the official Weibo comment section of Real Madrid sponsor Hisense was flooded by large numbers of netizens demanding that it terminate its contract with Real Madrid. Hisense TV's official Weibo subsequently activated comment selection and one-click protection features.
2026-10-28
After the controversy over Mbappé's remarks, a netizen posted on WeChat Moments a photo of a "Hydrate" drink printed with Mbappé's face along with a doctored image captioned "Party enemy Mbappé," with the caption "has become a swan song." After the post went up, friends could not see it; 22 minutes later the user reposted a screenshot, and it was blocked again more than two hours later.
2026-10-27
A spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry stated at a press conference that the relevant remarks hurt the feelings of the Chinese people and would naturally be jointly boycotted by all sectors of Chinese society.
2026-10-27
On the morning of the 27th, Dongpeng Beverage announced the full termination of its contract with Mbappé, followed by Mengniu Dairy, Milkground, and other Chinese enterprises as well as Xiaohongshu (RedNote), which also moved to cut ties.
2026-10-27
On the evening of the 27th, Mbappé issued an apology to the public in French, English, and Simplified Chinese, stating that he respects the Chinese people and their history.
2026-10-27
Chengdu Yuefa Business Information Consulting Co., Ltd. issued a statement supporting Mbappé and decided to purchase ten boxes of the endorsed products to give away free to the public; the company's legal representative posted the business license.
2026-10-27
On October 27, Mbappé posted a statement in French, Chinese and English on his personal account, saying his comments were "inappropriate," that he now understood they had hurt many people in China, apologizing to everyone hurt by his remarks, and expressing "deep respect" for the Chinese people and Chinese history. The statement garnered over 10 million views within about two hours of being posted on X, and many Chinese netizens said in the comments that he had no need to apologize.
2026-10-27
After Mbappé's remarks prompted netizens to urge brands to state their position and terminate contracts, as of 1 a.m. on October 27, Mengniu and Dongpeng had deleted all Weibo posts related to Mbappé.
2026-10-27
On October 27, Mbappé's remarks calling Mao Zedong "China's dictator" sparked controversy. Milkground took down his endorsement promotional content, and Swiss sportswear brand On's official Weibo account in China also deleted related content, but On's overseas official website still retains the collaboration feature.
2026-10-27
On the morning of October 27, Eastroc Beverage Group and its brand 'Bushuila' issued identical statements on their official Weibo accounts, stating that they 'firmly oppose and have zero tolerance for actions that hurt national sentiment,' and have terminated all cooperation with Kylian Mbappé effective immediately. Eastroc had only just announced Mbappé as the brand ambassador for 'Bushuila' in April; Eastroc's A-shares fell by more than 4% during the day.
2026-10-27
On October 27, Mengniu Dairy and its subsidiary Milkground were reported to have issued a statement on their official Weibo accounts saying they "resolutely oppose and have zero tolerance for any words or actions that hurt the feelings of the Chinese people," terminating all cooperation with Mbappé effective immediately. The two companies had already cleared out promotional materials related to Mbappé on the night of the 26th.
2026-10-27
On the afternoon of October 27, Mbappé's Weibo and Xiaohongshu accounts were banned, and Xiaohongshu also prevented other users from following his account; the Xiaohongshu account showed "violating community rules" and could not post.
2026-10-27
At around 16:00 on October 27, the Global Times published a quick commentary titled "Mbappé Is Done For, and He Deserves It," saying it believes the list of terminated contracts will gradually grow longer until all of Mbappé's cooperation related to China is completely zeroed out, and warning that anyone who "disrespects China" should not expect to earn a single cent from the Chinese market. The full text did not restate Mbappé's specific remarks, nor did it contain the words "Mao Zedong" or "dictator."
2026-10-27
On October 27, the Party media Guangming Daily posted a video on Douyin criticizing Mbappé, saying “insulting China’s late great leader will not be tolerated,” with the caption “Eating China’s food, smashing China’s pot? Mbappé, unworthy!” In the comments section, some netizens threatened to “offer 1 million to buy his legs” and to “issue a global wanted notice right away.”
2026-10-27
At the regular press conference of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on October 27, an AFP reporter asked about Kylian Mbappé having his contracts terminated by several Chinese companies due to a video circulating online. Spokesperson Guo Jiakun replied that "words and deeds that hurt the feelings of the Chinese people will naturally be jointly boycotted by all sectors of Chinese society," without responding to the content of the video.
2026-10-27
On October 27, the Chinese Football Association demanded a formal public apology from the player involved and Real Madrid; elDiario reported that the CFA had contacted Real Madrid, asking the club to issue a formal public apology. As of the writing of multiple reports, Real Madrid had made no public statement.
2026-10-27
On October 27, LaLiga issued a statement saying it "deeply regrets" the offense caused by Mbappé's remarks among Chinese fans, that the words were spoken by him in a personal capacity and do not represent LaLiga; the league apologized on behalf of itself and all its clubs, and said it would establish codes of communication for players and clubs. elDiario said the statement was revised after being published at noon, with Tebas changing the apology's addressee to "Chinese fans."
2026-10-27
On the afternoon of October 27, after Tebas sent a letter to CMG condemning Mbappé and apologizing, the head of China Media Group replied, saying "apologize first, or there is nothing to discuss," demanding that La Liga, Real Madrid, and especially Mbappé himself issue a public apology as soon as possible, calling this a "basic premise."
2026-10-27
On the evening of October 27, relevant personnel from China Media Group (CCTV) responded to Kylian Mbappe's apology, stating they have noted the information and that "we listen to his words but watch his actions." They hope La Liga, Real Madrid, and Mbappe himself will learn a lesson from this, offer a sincere apology, and truly repent. As of press time, there has been no news of CCTV resuming the broadcast of La Liga matches.
2026-10-27
Hours after Mbappé's apology, the US House Select Committee on Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party issued a statement on X, saying that Mbappé should not apologize for calling Mao Zedong a dictator, and stating that "Mao Zedong was indeed a dictator" and that the harm done to the Chinese people was far more serious than the remarks of a football player.
2026-10-27
On October 27, France's TF1 reported on the backlash in China against Mbappé after he called Mao Zedong a dictator, which forced him to apologize. The presenter said this is a fact accepted by historians, citing historians' estimates that Mao Zedong's repression caused at least 40 million deaths.
2026-10-27
On the evening of October 27, the French talk show The Bridge issued a bilingual French-English statement on Instagram, saying that the relevant video was behind-the-scenes footage recorded in April this year and published on October 26, and apologizing to Mbappé, his partners, and institutions that could affect relations with China over the controversy sparked by Mbappé's remarks about memes.
2026-10-27
On the evening of October 27, the eFootball project team announced that Mbappé had made inappropriate remarks concerning China and that all his promotion in and out of the game would be stopped; the Chinese servers of eFootball, eFootball Online, and eFootball: Kings' Rally stopped producing the related characters and cards.
2026-10-27
On the night of October 27, under controversy surrounding Kylian Mbappé and pressure from accusations, Fan Zhendong unfollowed Mbappé on both Weibo and Instagram and deleted his Real Madrid fan bio. Previously, Weibo blogger "Xu's Observation" posted urging him to "make a clear stance and cut ties quickly."
2026-10-27
On October 27, a Weibo blogger posted about Mbappé's Mao Zedong meme, saying it "mocked the great historical figures of other countries" and arguing that humor must not offend the feelings of other peoples. In the comments section, a Hong Kong netizen questioned why Mbappé's original words could not be clearly stated, and was attacked by mainland netizens with remarks such as "what IP do you have, what internet are you using."
2026-10-27
On October 27, netizens said that football blogger Wang Chuqi, who had just held his wedding, deleted multiple videos related to Mbappé across platforms overnight.此前 Mbappé had said in an interview that the meme character photoshopped onto Mao Zedong's face was "the Chinese dictator."
2026-10-27
On October 27, a netizen posted on Weibo discussing “What did Mbappé do? Was he wrong?”, and the AI auto-reply robot “Comment Robert,” which has over 2 million followers, generated a voice message saying “He was just telling the truth — some people simply don’t like hearing it.” Netizens commented “The AI is out of control” and “The AI is not beyond the law.”
2026-10-27
On October 27, Xiaohongshu issued a statement on Weibo regarding the Mbappé controversy, saying that the content collaboration had expired and ended on December 31, 2024, and that the platform is continuously checking and taking down related materials, adding that it firmly opposes acts that hurt national feelings.
2026-10-27
On October 27, Weibo users reported that when they asked what "inappropriate remarks" Mbappé had made, multiple Chinese AI apps, including Doubao, DeepSeek, and Xiaowei AI, all refused to answer.
2026-10-27
In an advertisement at the Xujiahui metro station in Shanghai, Mbappé's face was covered. Netizens photographed and exposed it, suspecting it was related to censorship.
2026-10-27
On the afternoon of October 27, Beijing time, La Liga chairman Tebas replied to the head of CCTV's headquarters, condemning Mbappé's behavior and apologizing, calling it "an unacceptable behavior that does not represent the values of our competition or Spanish football," and saying that appropriate measures are being taken to handle it.
2026-10-27
On October 27, Hupu's "2026 Ballon d'Or Ranking" rating page removed Mbappé's entry, so that directly after first-place Kane came third-place Yamal. Mbappé finished second in the Ballon d'Or that evening.
2026-10-27
On October 27, Dongqiudi released the full 2026 Ballon d'Or ranking, in which second-place finisher Mbappé was labeled "no such person found," sparking heated discussion among netizens. Yahoo Sports said Dongqiudi erased Mbappé's name from its Ballon d'Or ranking.
2026-10-27
Migu removed footage of Mbappé's two goals from its El Clásico page, while footage of Raphinha's goal in the same match remained visible, and Mbappé's player information on Real Madrid's lineup page was also cleared. Migu is La Liga's new media exclusive partner in mainland China, with a contract running through the 2029-30 season.
2026-10-27
On October 27, searches for Mbappé on the official Weibo accounts of Dior, Hublot and Oakley all showed no content; but Oakley's US official website still keeps his feature page, and Dior's English official website still carries the 2026 summer ad video featuring him.
2026-10-27
On October 27, Dahe Daily reported that the CCTV News Weibo account and CCTV.com had taken down coverage related to Mbappé, accusing him of enjoying the dividends of the Chinese market while “biting the hand that feeds him.”
2026-10-27
On October 27, the Mbappé controversy made it onto BFMTV, one of France's highest-rated news channels, which reported that the satirical allusion was not accepted because remarks touching on politics and cultural history are particularly sensitive in China. (The original BFMTV report could not be found; the information comes from a quote by an X account.)
2026-10-27
Around October 27, commentator Li Chengpeng wrote on X, “Mbappé just played a dictator meme; this kind of thing is too common in the US and Europe.”
2026-10-27
On October 27, netizens found that "Bushuila" drink advertisements featuring Mbappé's endorsement image were covered up or urgently taken down in many places across China. Posters at Shanghai metro stations had their headers covered with white paper tape, some merchants peeled off portrait labels from bottles, and officials gave no explanation.
2026-10-27
On October 27, a Hebei netizen purchased a "Buchongla" drink printed with a portrait of Mbappé at a Lawson convenience store. At checkout, the clerk took the product back on the spot and refused to sell it, citing portrait rights issues. The video sparked heated discussion among netizens.
2026-10-27
On October 27, a Chinese netizen posted on X, using Mbappé's joke about the Chinese leader as an example to ask whether one could also joke about Napoleon; a foreign netizen left a highly upvoted reply in the comments saying that anyone can be joked about, and that this is called freedom of speech.
2026-10-27
On October 27, fans of Mbappé announced a collective departure from the fandom and burned his jerseys to express their dissatisfaction.
2026-10-26
During the London Ballon d'Or ceremony, an old interview video of Mbappé resurfaced online. CCTV head Shen Haixiong ordered a halt to La Liga broadcasts and demanded an apology, and several domestic brands subsequently announced the termination of their contracts with him.
2026-10-26
In an interview with The Bridge, Kylian Mbappé discussed memes that mock him as a dictator, which led Chinese netizens to take it personally and criticize him.
2026-10-26
From the evening of October 26, China Media Group halted broadcasts of La Liga matches, all games involving Mbappé, and advertisements featuring him. The trigger was Mbappé saying "Chinese dictator" during an interview when discussing face-swap memes of Mao Zedong.
2026-10-26
On October 26, while China Media Group of China Central Television halted broadcasts of La Liga and matches involving Mbappé, the head of China Media Group sent a letter to La Liga president Tebas, demanding that Real Madrid and Mbappé himself immediately make a public and sincere apology, eliminate the adverse impact, and submit a written apology letter to China Media Group.
2026-10-26
Since October 26, clips of Mbappé's interview on the French online program The Bridge have circulated widely on Reddit, X, and Threads. Voice of America reported that when asked about the funniest meme, he said it was one putting his face on a photo of a "Chinese dictator"; later in the program a composite image of him with Mao Zedong was edited in. Multiple media outlets said the interview was recorded in April, and AFP Fact Check said it could not independently verify the authenticity of the video for now.
2026-10-26
On October 26, Olympic table tennis champion Fan Zhendong shared his experience of watching a Real Madrid match at the Barcelona home stadium on Weibo, without mentioning Kylian Mbappé. Screenshots of a report page posted by netizens show that 45% of users selected the 'insulting martyrs' category.
2026-10-26
After Mbappé's remarks drew attention, Dongqiudi issued a statement saying the relevant comments involved harm to China and the Chinese people and would not be translated, and called on fans to watch matches rationally and avoid crossing the line.
2026-10-26
After the interview sparked controversy, the program The Bridge pulled the video of Mbappé's face-swap meme about Mao Zedong from its social media accounts without explanation. elDiario said the video can still be seen in reposts on Reddit and other media; ABC said the original clip can no longer be found on its YouTube channel.
2026-10-14
On October 14, Taiwan Affairs Office spokesperson Chen Binhua responded to Kevin Tsai's attendance at Puma Shen's campaign event, saying that it respects and safeguards Taiwan compatriots' "legitimate" freedom of speech, but warned that no one can cash in on mainland dividends while colluding with "Taiwan independence" and being "two-faced."
2026-10-07
On October 7, Chapman To recalled on Facebook his experience of being blacklisted in 2014 for supporting the Sunflower Movement, saying that over the past 12 years he has never gone without a meal — now he wears a Patek Philippe, drives a Porsche 911 to buy groceries, and calls out “Long live freedom.”
2026-10-05
In an interview, Shen Bo said that it is perfectly normal in a democratic society for Kevin Tsai to want to hear different voices, and added that if he had the opportunity to be interviewed exclusively by Kevin Tsai, he would be very willing to do so.
2026-10-04
After Kevin Tsai attended a campaign event, Leapmotor stated that it firmly adheres to the One China principle and announced that it would take offline all content related to Kevin Tsai.
2026-10-04
After Kevin Tsai's participation in a Taipei mayoral candidate's event sparked controversy, Harper's Bazaar removed related interview promotions.
2026-10-02
On October 2, Taiwanese singer Hebe Tien said "you have to be very careful what you say now" during a livestream promoting her new album Where to Go, lamenting that it is "so painful."
2026-09-25
During on-site reporting, the reporter was obstructed by suspected CCP personnel, including having their camera lens blocked by umbrellas, being physically blocked from filming, and even receiving threatening gestures. The reporter felt threatened.
2026-09-11
In September 2026, Mbappé addressed the “Dictator Mbappé” meme for the first time in an interview with France Football, saying that such images can sometimes be funny, but that comparing him to rulers responsible for millions of deaths goes too far, and that this sometimes reflects people’s “lack of political and humanitarian awareness.” The figures involved in the memes include Kim Jong-un, Mao Zedong, Stalin, and Mobutu.
2026-09-07
The Economist published an article analyzing the current state of speech censorship in China, pointing out that articles discussing the boundaries of expression are being deleted, society has fallen into a state of high self-censorship, and the CCP is using this to consolidate control.
2026-09-07
After The Economist published an article on September 7, 2026 pointing out that China's speech environment has fallen into a deep freeze, this article exploring cultural censorship and the boundaries of expression was deleted across the entire Chinese internet.
2026-09
Silicon Valley attorney Zhu says his WeChat account, which he had used for more than 10 years, was permanently banned, with the platform citing reports against it and multiple violations as the reason.
2026-08-07
It is alleged that the CCP Central Committee General Office conveyed requirements to Wang Xiaohong through Chen Wenqing, mandating the state security system to conduct political vetting of individuals entering and exiting China.
2026-07-17
On July 17, 2026, after Hong Kong police raided an independent bookstore and seized books, the monograph accused of seditious intent, “Only Red Flowers Bloom,” quickly topped bestseller lists in Taiwan, including Books.com.tw and Kingstone, and an emergency reprint was launched.
2026-07-02
Lam Wing-kee, founder of Hong Kong's Causeway Bay Books, passed away in Taiwan on July 2 due to cancer at the age of 70. Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te posted a tribute, praising his witness to the value of freedom of speech.
2026-07
At a book fair in Hangzhou, a member of the public openly said that a book of Xi Jinping's quotations was only fit for use as toilet paper, and was subsequently taken away by security guards.
2026-06
When sharing overseas about shaking hands with Xi Jinping, KMT Chairperson Cheng Li-wun described his hands as "soft as clouds." The related remarks and the word "clouds" were subsequently thoroughly scrubbed (404ed) across the mainland Chinese internet.
2026-04
In an interview on the French web show The Bridge (hosted by his Real Madrid teammate Tchouaméni), Mbappé was asked about the funniest meme of himself. He said it was the one where someone put his face onto a photo of “a Chinese dictator,” adding that he often sends it to friends while playing video games. The show later edited in a composite image of him and Mao Zedong. Multiple media outlets report that the interview was recorded in April this year, and clips spread on platforms such as Reddit and X starting October 26.
2026-03-31
Taiwan's Shilin District Court issued a ruling in the case in which Wang Zhian sued Hu Zhongxin, accusing him of being CCP overseas propaganda and a double agent. The judge dismissed all of Wang Zhian's claims, finding that the statements in question constituted opinion expression and political commentary based on facts, and were protected by freedom of speech.
2026-03-23
On March 23, 2026, TikTok user @life_of_marvel_shocker posted an edit turning Mbappé into a dictator, which drew more than 13.2 million views within about two weeks. Know Your Meme said the video drove the “Dictator Mbappé” meme into wide circulation around April.
2024-11-17
According to Know Your Meme, Reddit user TheSefi76 posted an edited image of Mbappé turned into Mao Zedong in the r/soccercirclejerk subreddit, and the site identifies it as the earliest known "Dictator Mbappé" image. Since then, the practice of face-swapping Mbappé with figures such as Mao Zedong, Kim Jong-un, Stalin, and Mobutu has gradually become a staple gag among football fans.
2024-07-30
In late July 2024, Lao Dongyan, a professor at Tsinghua University's Law School, published an article openly questioning the network number and network certificate system that the Ministry of Public Security and the Cyberspace Administration of China plan to introduce, arguing that it is essentially the normalization of Health Kit surveillance. The article was swiftly wiped out across the entire internet.
2024-03
In March 2024, Kylian Mbappe's lawyer sent a letter to French influencer Mohamed Henni for naming a kebab dish after him. Henni publicly responded, claiming Mbappe had turned his own name into a 'dictatorship.' Both Know Your Meme and Yahoo Sports identified this incident as the starting point for the 'Dictator Mbappe' meme.
2021-08-04
Voice of the Strait published a post stating that Taiwanese people live in a different environment, so their everyday vocabulary cannot be required to be identical to that of mainland China, and said that Little S's use of the term "national player" is perfectly normal in Taiwan.
2021-06-09
On June 9, 2021, Biden signed an executive order revoking Trump’s bans on WeChat and TikTok, instead directing the Commerce Department to conduct security reviews of related Chinese apps.
2020-08-06
On August 6, 2020, Trump signed an executive order banning U.S. companies and individuals from engaging in WeChat-related transactions with Tencent 45 days later.
2017-09-12
After 19 years on air, the program "Qiangqiang Sanrenxing" suddenly announced on its official Weibo without any warning that it was temporarily suspended due to company program adjustments, and subsequent search results were blocked.
2006-01-24
On January 24, 2006, Ice Point Weekly of China Youth Daily was ordered to suspend publication by the Publicity Department of the Communist Youth League Central Committee because it had published an article by Yuan Weishi questioning history textbooks; editor-in-chief Li Datong and deputy editor-in-chief Lu Yuegang were dismissed, and neither of them returned when the publication resumed on March 1.
2004-09-13
Yitaohutu Forum, one of China's largest campus forums, was shut down by Peking University because it was flooded with political commentary and active discussions about the Sun Zhigang case.
1999-01-20
Shanghai software engineer Lin Hai was sentenced to two years in prison for providing 30,000 collected Chinese email addresses to the overseas anti-communist digital journal "VIP Reference," becoming the first person in China to be imprisoned for internet-related activities.