Charlie Kirk and Alan Yu: How Two Tragic Deaths Are Turning the Tides
On the day of Kirk's assassination, a famous Chinese star died suspiciously — but calls for a proper investigation were quickly quashed by the authorities.
On September 10 in the United States (the 11th in China), two prominent men of similar age met violent deaths almost simultaneously: Charlie Kirk, the 31-year-old American conservative activist, and Alan Yu (also Yu Menglong, 于朦胧), a 37-year-old Chinese television star.
At first glance, the two appear to share nothing in common. Yet beyond the uncanny timing and age proximity, another parallel emerges: each man's death has provoked an immense and unexpected social reaction. Many commentators already call Kirk's killing a turning point in US history. What, then, does Alan Yu's death signify for China?
A Meteoric Rise: Alan Yu's Path to Stardom
Born on June 15, 1988, Alan Yu first gained national attention at 19 through a televised talent show. He released music albums and starred in numerous television dramas, becoming one of China's most bankable young actors with nearly 30 million social-media followers.
Back in 2023, reports noted that his 58-episode fantasy epic Eternal Love (Three Lives, Three Worlds, Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms) had amassed a staggering 52.2 billion online streams, setting a record in Chinese television history. Since then, the figure has climbed past 60 billion.
Though not the male lead, Yu played the heroine's brother — the drama's "First Handsome Man Under Heaven." As the series rocketed to fame, so did his image as a gentle, unblemished heart-throb.
A Death Too Unlikely
On September 11, news suddenly broke online: Alan Yu had fallen to his death. The official statement, delivered with remarkable speed, classified the event as an "accidental fall after drinking" and dismissed criminal suspicion within 24 hours.
But many Chinese found this implausible. The actor died in his own apartment. The windowsills there were unusually high, the windows opened inward, and screens were in place — hardly the kind of environment in which a drunken stumble would send someone falling out.
Almost immediately, competing but overlapping rumors proliferated online: Yu had been forced to drink at a party, sexually assaulted — some said by multiple attackers — and thrown from a window after resisting. Alleged videos of his screams and of the fall circulated widely.
Then came a list of 17 alleged party attendees. One was rumored to be the illegitimate son of Cai Qi — Xi Jinping's powerful confidant and de facto "number two" within the CCP. Side-by-side photo comparisons fueled speculation.
Others claimed Yu held a USB drive exposing elite money laundering and overseas transfers through the entertainment industry. According to this version, he was killed for refusing to hand it over.
More sensational claims even linked him to Yang Lanlan, rumored to be Xi Jinping's secret daughter, who had stirred controversy online for her lavish lifestyle following a high-profile car accident in Sydney.
None of these claims can be confirmed or disproven. Official action has been to impose strict information blackouts, even censoring Yu's name.
Click here to read the rest.
