Hollow Comfort

Lonely netizens find a community on the social media profiles of the dead.

Mocha Official， an obscure video blogger with just 200 followers on Bilibili， will never know that his homepage has become a sanctuary for the internets depressed and lonely. Since the 19-year-old was found dead in his rental home on January 19， his videos—which used to only attract comments in the single digits—have been flooded with over six million danmu （彈幕， “bullet screen”） messages that flash across the screen in real time， offering condolence and sympathy to the vlogger who can no longer see them.

Netizens were initially drawn to Mochas page by curiosity and pity： His father had left the family due to debts， and his mother was emotionally abusive. In June 2020， he was diagnosed with a rare form of skin cancer and diabetes. He vlogged candidly about living in poverty， and the fear and loneliness he felt during his illness （as well as his interest in anime and gaming）， even fainting for several minutes while livestreaming in December.

Viewers debates eventually turned to how Mochas life and death changed their own attitudes to life. Bilibili has preserved Mochas content in a “memorial account，” and it has since then become a “tree hollow （树洞），” a term for spaces on the internet where users can make digital pilgrimages to confess their secrets.

Any social media space can potentially become a tree hollow—indeed， what other point is there to having your own social media account？ But the preserved accounts of the dead often attract netizens moved by the life or death of their owner， or else simply wishing to confide in a listener who will always be there and never betray them. The Weibo page of Dr. Li Wenliang， the Wuhan ophthalmologist who died from Covid-19 in February 2020 and was named a national martyr， is now one of the most frequented “tree hollows” in the Chinese cyberspace.

On the microblogging site， users comment under Dr. Lis account with everyday messages about TV， technology， and sports， as well as to wish a good morning and good night to their hero. His last-ever message， about getting diagnosed with Covid-19， has over 1 million comments： “Doctor Li， my father passed away this year. I believe that he must be free and healthy in heaven now， just like you”; “Doctor Li， I am studying for exams. I am exhausted， but life must go on.”

“Leaving a message in an anonymous cyber place has a special effect， especially for patients with mental illnesses， who always feel a strong stigma around their disease. People want to confess their private feelings， and cyber tree hollows can fulfill their requirements，” Huang Zhisheng， a professor of computer science at the Free University Amsterdam， tells TWOC. “Its nice to feel as if someone is listening.”

Huang is the founder of the Tree Hollow Movement， a volunteer organization that uses AI to scan social media comments to detect inclination toward suicide. Volunteers then perform interventions， assisting around 100 netizens a day. “Chinese people have a strong herd mentality. They gather together in tree hollows to let go of their thoughts， or even promise to commit suicide together to prove that they are not alone，” Huang says.

Although 80 percent of online comments are emotionally negative by Huangs estimates， some comments still share fragments of happiness： “Doctor Li， the cherry trees are in full bloom now in Wuhan. Spring is coming. Life is amazing after all.”

– Zhang Wenjie （張文捷）

Bloody Business

In a disused courtyard in central China one evening in February， undercover journalists from The Paper met a human placenta dealer who showed them 20 fresh placentae， some still dripping with blood. He claimed he could get 500 pieces each month from hospitals， medical waste processing plants， and middlemen.

Dried placenta is a traditional Chinese remedy for conditions such as breathing trouble and infertility， which are said to be related to a lack of qi and blood. Though health authorities have forbidden the sale of human placentae since 2005， the business is flourishing due to a lack of relevant national laws and regulations on its use.

Blood-borne diseases such as Hepatitis C and HIV may be spread with this illegal trade—as one processer commented to the journalists， “I can guarantee the products are genuine， but not what they might contain.” A vendor told The Paper they heard that authorities may be cracking down on the trade， but as long as theres demand， “Ill just go to Vietnam [to get the products].” – Tan Yunfei （谭云飞）

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， Im Little Ma Yun. I love you.” – T.Y.

Deadly Move

A 23-year-old woman surnamed Che died in Changsha， Hunan province， after jumping from the window of a moving van she had called through the app Huolala， echoing previous tragedies from ride-sharing app Didi Chuxing several years ago.

The police determined that Che jumped after quarreling with the driver， surnamed Zhou， on why he veered from the apps suggested route three times. Many women sympathized with Che， as the route was isolated and the drive took place at night. Some internet users also commented on how they were forced to pay for extra services during their drive.

Some Huolala drivers， though， sympathized with Zhou， because the suggested route is often impractical due to traffic， and drivers make little money due to the low fares on the app and must charge for extra services. Huolala has promised to improve safety features， including mandatory voice and video recording during the drive， and a “panic button” for calling the police. – T.Y.