Chinese officials dropped bombshell at news conference usually held for major policies announcement: Ye (real name Kanye West) will host a listening party for his new album “Vultures” on September 15 in Hainan Island, China.
For Du Ziteng, a 33-year-old Shanghai office worker, and many other Chinese fans, the idea of meeting Ye in China was beyond their imagination. Many fans were stunned when the conservative Communist Party agreed to let one of the world’s most notorious rappers perform.
“Ye is a complete misfit according to China’s conservative social values,” one fan commented on Weibo, China’s equivalent of X.
Now, some are wondering whether tourism dollars and a desire for international recognition were at the heart of the Communist Party’s decision to allow the controversial artist entry.
Hainan goes global
Ye’s last performance in China was 16 years ago. Now he is preparing to return, not to Shanghai or Beijing, but to a place largely unknown to foreign tourists.
“This is Hainan’s effort to build its international tourism destination brand,” said Michael Zhou, founder of Jingjian, a consulting firm specializing in China tourism. Zhou Enlai said that the construction of Hainan as an international tourist destination is a major national strategy of the central government.
However, he said he believed the decision to bring Ye to Hainan was a political gamble for the local government.
Some netizens Before the incident was confirmed, Hainan Province magazine began complaining about Ye’s work appearing on the Hainan provincial government website, with one comment saying Ye’s work “seriously deviates from China’s socialist values.”
But with domestic tourism stagnant, local governments are in desperate need of new growth points, Zhou said.
The tropical island Hainan Island, known as the “Hawaii of China”, has long been the preferred tourist destination for domestic tourists. Last year, its tourism industry pull in 181 billion yuan (US$25.5 billion), accounting for approximately 24% of domestic gross production.
But domestic tourists are now tightening their travel wallets, and international tourists are not filling the gap. According to statistics from the Hainan Provincial Bureau of Statistics, foreign tourists this year Accounted for 0.87% Percentage of total tourist arrivals to the island in the first seven months of 2024.
Domestic spending falls
Tepid domestic demand also poses a threat Island’s ambitious goals Attract tourism revenue of 207 billion yuan, an increase of 14% compared with 2023.
Zhou said most of Hainan’s tourism revenue comes from hotel stays and duty-free shopping.
But shopping revenue will drop sharply in 2024, posing a problem for an economy that vigorously develops duty-free shopping. Hainan has The world’s largest duty-free shopping mallthe government plans to turn the entire island into a duty-free shopping mall as early as next year.
The number of shoppers islandwide has dropped by 11% since 2023, while duty-free sales fell by 30% in the first seven months of 2024. According to Haikou customs officialsthe capital city of Hainan Province.
CTG Duty Free, the island’s main travel retailer Published disappointing first half report Revenue fell 12.8% year-on-year to 31.26 billion yuan ($4.4 billion).
Charlie Chen, head of Asia research at financial institution China Renaissance, said, “Since Hainan is China’s largest duty-free channel, the decline in duty-free sales is inevitable.” He said the decline in shoppers and average spending showed that even wealthy customers are Control spending.
Luxury shopping in China is declining, but the concert economy is experiencing significant improvement — a trend that hasn’t escaped the attention of Hainan officials.
exist official documentst In a document released in May, the Hainan provincial government promised a one-time reward of up to 3 million yuan to companies that bring “world-class music events” to Hainan Island.
one Official media column He then praised Hainan’s efforts to use China’s visa-free policy to attract high-quality foreign music events. The article details the local government’s efforts to make Hainan the first stop on foreign artists’ tours.
The strategy worked well for Du, he said. He said the only reason he went to Hainan was for Ye’s performance.
Ye’s connection with China
Like large-scale concerts, Ye’s “listening sessions” are often held in front of large audiences. But there are differences; these events can include live performances, DJs playing pre-recorded mixes, and audience sing-alongs. Sometimes, Ye and collaborator Ty Dolla Sign don’t rap or dance at all.
Earlier this year, he canceled Multiple listening parties in Florida, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Washington, D.C. An event was also held in Taiwan on August 25 Cancel It took place days earlier than originally planned, leaving chaos in its wake.
However, on August 23, despite arriving 70 minutes late, a listening session proceed as planned In Seoul, South Korea.
In an interview, Ye said that China holds a special place in his heart. During the epidemic, he defended China and expressed his love for the motherland 2020 New York Post interview.
「我愛中國。它改變了我的生活。它改變了我的觀點；它給了我如此廣闊的視野。我五年級時，我媽媽作為一名英語教授，在中國教英語，」他告訴該publication.
Ye faced backlash in many parts of the world after making anti-Semitic remarks in 2022, leading to the termination of a lucrative partnership with Adidas in October 2022.
CDF Haikou International Duty Free City is one of the many duty free shopping malls in Hainan Island, China.
Luo Yunfei|China News Service|Getty Images
But he may face less resistance in China because gushing Anti-Semitic and anti-Israel sentiment has swept social media since the Israel-Hamas war broke out.
The German embassy in China begins filtering vitriolic comments on its Weibo account call user Their profile photos linked Nazi symbols to the Israeli flag.
“In my opinion, the party does not care about anti-Semitism,” Du said. “I don’t care either. I’m not Jewish.”
“Their bottom line is Tibet,” he said.
Artists include Björk, oasisand Bon JoviSupporters of the region’s independence have skipped China on past tours.
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