A few moments ago, an official Beijing police social media account announced the arrest of renowned Chinese pianist Yundi Li, famous for winning the 2000 Chopin International Competition Warsaw.
The original Weibo (the Chinese equivalent of Twitter) by the official Beijing (Chaoyang) Police account did not mention Li’s name in full, however, it was later confirmed by numerous national news outlets that the person arrested was indeed Yundi Li. A woman aged 29 was also arrested in relation to the same incident.
Solicitation of Prostitution in China does not constitute a felony. According to China’s Public Security Administration Punishments Law, those who sell or solicit sex may face up to 15 days’ detention and a fine of up to 5,000 yuan ($750). However, the social consequences could be grave, since celebrities generally lose all their existing and future contracts and engagements after such a scandal occurs.
Prior to this incident, Li was a celebrity in China, with over 20 million fans on his Weibo account.
10/21 update: Chinese Musicians’ Association, China’s largest and most important musical organization, released a statement announcing the revocation of Yundi Li’s membership.
The statement reads: “The Li Yundi’s prostitution incident has had an extremely bad social impact. According to Article 25 of the “Articles of the Chinese Musicians Association”, and after the study and decision of the Secretary-General’s Office of the Chinese Musicians Association, Li Yundi’s membership of the Chinese Musicians Association has been revoked. “
This is a developing story and we will post any updates in this article.
