813: Difference between revisions

== Smears and debunks ==

=== 2018 trip to Japan and Yasukuni shrine ===

In March 2018, Zhang Zhehan visited Japan. While there, he walked the Sakura Trail, a well-known tourist attraction, and took several pictures that he posted to his social media. The administrative office of [[Yasukuni Shrine]] appeared in the background of one of the photos. It went unremarked upon by the general public. In 2021, as part of a larger smear campaign, bad actors leveraged those photos to push a narrative that Zhang Zhehan visited Yasukuni Shrine itself (which venerated war criminals) and worshipped there. This claim was false.  

== Rumor Campaign and Subsequent Debunks ==

|There is only one purpose for going to Yasukuni Shrine, that is to worship those war criminals.

|Before 2018, multiple state media agencies recommended Yasukuni Shrine as part of the cherry blossom viewing route.

|He only went to Yasukuni Shrine once, that is to visit Sakura in March 2018.

|Nogi Shrine is a popular wedding venue in Tokyo. A lot of Japanese doesn’t even know the historical significance of the Shrine.

|Dewi Sukarno’s only connection with Zhang Zhehan was attending that same wedding. Her late husband President Sukarno was not involved in Indonesian Mass Killing of 1965-66 or May 1998 Riots of Indonesia.

|Zhang Zhehan did Nazi hand gesture in front of Nanjing War Memorial.

|The picture was posted as a 9 picture assemble on December 15^th, 2019, during the time with Variety Show Actors Please Take Your Place was in the Final Sessions. The hand gesture is a classic hand gesture from the skit Brother which he participated in. The place of the picture was Zhejiang Global Center.

|He landed in Shanghai right after that very post despite the horrible storms that day. He wanted to be in China on the National Day.

|Japanese people can barely understand the Japanese speech he gave on the wedding to congratulate the couple in 2018.

|He purposefully decided to hold concerts on August 15^th and September 18^th . Those 2 days are the dates which mark the end and start of the Sino-Japan War during World War II, respectively.

|He was never able to get concert dates approved due to COVID 19. Concert dates were not announced as of Aug 12^th, 2021.

|Kafka on the Shore and Killing Commandatore, 2 books recommended by Zhang Zhehan to the fans, talked about Yasukuni Shrine.

|Su Xiaoxiao tomb in an empty tomb. It is a famous tourist spot and it’s tradition for the tourists to touch the tomb for wealth and luck. Many tourists play touch it, play on it, and sit on it, which do not mean that they are showing disrespect.