<p>Fan Bingbing is a Chinese actress you might recognize from appearances in the <em>Iron Man</em> and <em>X-Men</em> ;films. At age 36, she is the Chinese equivalent of someone like Jennifer Lawrence (best known for playing Katniss Everdeen in <em>The Hunger Games</em> movies). ;</p>
<p>In 2015, <em>Times Magazine</em> named Fan as China&#8217;s ;&ldquo;most famous actress.&#8221; Last year, she topped <em>Forbes</em>&rsquo; China celebrity rich list with earnings of more than $43 million.</p>
<p><strong>She has been missing since June, when, according to social media, she traveled to Tibet to visit a children&rsquo;s hospital. ;</strong></p>
<p>Fan was reportedly under investigation for tax evasion, but it is possible she has been detained by the government for &lsquo;bad behavior.&rsquo;</p>
<p>
Fan&rsquo;s disappearing act comes amid a cultural clean-up in China wherein the Communist government is pressuring actors, musicians, and public figures to endorse socialist values. The crackdown has even extended to video games and bloggers. ;</p>
<p>Official Chinese media published a report earlier this month ranking Chinese celebrities in order of social responsibility, including moral conduct. Fan came in dead last with zero points.</p>
<p>&ldquo;It is written in our new movie promotion law that entertainers need to pursue both professional excellence and moral integrity,&rdquo; explains Si Ruo, a researcher at China&rsquo;s Tsinghua University. &ldquo;In the unbridled growth of the industry in the past few years, we might have overlooked the need for positive energy, so the government&rsquo;s intervention is reasonable.&rdquo; ;</p>
<p>A state-run publication reported last week that Fan had been placed &ldquo;under control, and will accept the legal decision&rdquo; of authorities. The story was withdrawn hours after it was published. ;</p>
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<p>The explosion of online media has made it ;even harder ;for China&rsquo;s Communist Government to censor the creative arts, and official bodies are now threatening to ban so-called &ldquo;tainted artists&rdquo; who engage in inappropriate behaviors such as gambling, prostitution, and drug use. ;</p>
<p>&ldquo;Celebrities are seen as a weapon in the Party&rsquo;s idealogical battle, which is fought across all sectors all the time,&rdquo; explains Jonathan Sullivan of the University of Nottingham. ;</p>
<p>In 2011, Chinese artist Ai Weiwei was detained for nearly three months. He was released from an undisclosed location after signing a confession related to tax evasion. ;</p>
<p><strong>Author&#8217;s Note: ;</strong>Celebrities get destroyed by the media all the time in the US. But in China, ;the government has the power to make you disappear. No fighting it; no appeal to the media; no public trial. And the government can do this to anyone, anytime.</p>