Last year's net gains
Ranging from the absurd to the serious, online personalities presented some precious moments, Xing Wen reports.
The lip-service man
Li Jiaqi was arguably the most sensational livestreaming anchorman in China last year.
The 27-year-old, hailed as the No 1 lipstick salesman, once sold 15,000 lipsticks in five minutes during a one-on-one selling competition where he faced off against Alibaba founder Jack Ma during a Singles Day shopping gala in 2018.
Li, once a salesman at an offline makeup store, has taken his sales prowess far beyond the realm of cosmetic products to almost all aspects of people's daily lives.
On Nov 11, 2019, the salesman attracted more than 37 million consumers to his livestreaming show and reportedly captured product sales totaling 1 billion yuan.
Like all good performers he has a catchphrase: "Oh my God, ladies, buy it, buy it, buy it".
However, he also became a controversial figure after he recommended and tested a nonstick pan. One small problem, the eggs stuck to the pan during a demonstration. A month later, he was accused of misrepresenting the origin of crabs he promoted.
A violence reaction
He Yuhong, better known as Yuya, is a vlogger who used to impress viewers with her uncanny step-bystep transformation into celebrities, including Johnny Depp, Robert Downey Jr. and Lily Collins.
On Nov 25, a video she posted on Sina Weibo was widely discussed by online users. However, this time, the focus was not on her consummate makeup skills, but on her courage in revealing the fact that she was a victim of domestic violence.
In the video, she recounts how her boyfriend allegedly abused her, with tears streaming down her cheeks. The accused abuser once, allegedly, punched her face so violently that she could not even wear makeup, vital for her online work, for a whole week.
A clip recorded by the security camera shows the man grasping her foot to drag her off an elevator in their apartment building. The man's two ex-wives, who allegedly also suffered violent abuse, are interviewed in the video. The video has gained more than 400,000 reposts.
Shortly afterward, the alleged abuser was detained by the police.
The three women hope that their speaking out will encourage other victims, or potential victims, of domestic violence to tell someone, seek help and protect themselves from physical and mental harm.
