DOWNSIDE OF FAME

After shooting to fame in 2014 with his song “My Skating Shoes,” singer Pang Mailang is in the news once again with his hospitalization for schizophrenia this March.

Though Pang has a long history of mental illness, fame only exacerbated his troubles.His company capitalized on his “weird” image and encouraged him to behave in outrageous ways.News commentator Zhang Feng has called Pang a“victim of the internet traffic era”—but not the first or last.

Just two months earlier, Fan Xiaoqin, an intellectually disabled 12-year-old noted for his resemblance to Chinese billionaire “Jack” Ma Yun, was abruptly returned to his family after a “benefactor” took him to another province,promised to educate him, and made him livestream under the handle “Little Ma Yun” for over three years.News reports say Fan rarely went to school in this period, and can only repeat to visitors, “Hello everyone, I’m Little Ma Yun.I love you.” - T.Y.