Chinese Public Demands Justice After Actor’s Mysterious Death

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Oct 12, 2025 - 09:51 Updated: Oct 11, 2025 - 21:15
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Chinese Public Demands Justice After Actor’s Mysterious Death

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Hundreds of thousands of people from China and around the world are calling for justice following the death of actor and singer Yu Menglong, 37, whose Sept. 11 passing in Beijing has sparked outrage and a wave of public skepticism.
More than 270,000 people had signed a petition on a U.S.-based website as of Oct. 10 demanding an independent investigation and accountability in accordance with the law.

Authorities said Yu, who had nearly 30 million followers on the social media platform Weibo and a decade-long, scandal-free career, was found dead after falling from a building. They quickly ruled out homicide, describing the incident as an accident.

However, according to the petition, there is widespread doubt over the official narrative of the incident. Chinese authorities launched a sweeping censorship campaign across all social media platforms, removing content related to Yu and restricting discussion of the case within the entertainment industry.

“This level of censorship and suppression further deepens public suspicion regarding the full circumstances of the incident and the credibility of the official narrative,” reads the petition.

Organizers urged international human rights organizations to closely monitor the case and press authorities to take appropriate action. Revised on Sept. 30, the petition aims to reach at least 300,000 signatures.

Chinese police said in a Sept. 21 statement that Yu died from an accidental fall while intoxicated. The statement also noted that three individuals had been punished for spreading false rumors related to his death, but did not clarify who they were.

Public scrutiny has highlighted Yu’s talent agency, which was deregistered two months before his death. The agency initially confirmed Yu’s passing on Sept. 11, and on Sept. 16, it posted a statement attributed to Yu’s mother, saying he died from “an accidental fall while drinking” and calling on the public to stop speculating.

The Chinese edition of NTD, the sister media of The Epoch Times, on Oct. 4 published screenshots of several censored online posts in China that accused authorities of hiding information about Yu’s death.
Independent investigators and online users continue to attempt to analyze the circumstances surrounding Yu’s death, noting patterns that some say resemble previous high-profile celebrity deaths in China. During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2023, a wave of celebrities died in China.

Under the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP’s) strict control of information and public discourse, it is extremely difficult for the average Chinese person to know the truth behind those events. The CCP’s routine tactic of burying such stories only increases public speculation and anger over the regime’s lack of transparency.

The Chinese public’s reaction to Yu’s death could be viewed as problematic for the CCP as the party approaches its Fourth Plenum starting on Oct. 20, which is a closed-door meeting that will set the regime’s economic and social policy agendas in the upcoming years.

The regime prioritizes maintaining the stability of its authoritarian rule and therefore seeks to suppress any news stories that might cast doubt on its conduct.

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