Several fans of former EXO member Kris Wu have rallied on Twitter after a Beijing court sentenced him to 13 years in jail in a closed-door hearing last week.
Wu, whose real name is Wu Yifan, was sentenced to 13 years in jail by the Beijing Chaoyang Court on Friday, with his charges listed as 11 years and six months for rape and one year and 10 months for group licentiousness.
Two hours after his sentencing, the Beijing court also fined the 32-year-old celebrity 600 million yuan (approximately $83.8 million) for tax evasion. The court accused the singer of evading 95 million yuan’s (approximately $13.3 million) worth of taxes in 2019 and 2020 and failing to pay 84 million yuan (approximately $11.7 million) in taxes.
In addition to the jail sentence and fines, the Beijing court also ordered Wu’s deportation after serving his time. He will be barred from entering China for 10 years.
Several fans immediately took to Twitter to voice their support for the Chinese Canadian idol. Commenting under the hashtag #JusticeForKrisWu, some fans defended the former K-pop star and proclaimed his innocence.
“Kidnapping fckin 46 kids=10 years of prison. Organ trafficking=12 years. Yifan, done nothing and the allegations were just based on bunch of liers who were supported by capitalists=13 years,” one Twitter user wrote. “God help.”
“In China, law is a toy,” another Twitter user wrote in part. “They convicted an innocent man without any solid evidence, purely by fake words from malicious liars. In this two year farce, Kris Wu is the only victim in the whole farce.”
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“Wow. Just wow. Gotta give it to the Chinese government,” another Twitter user said. “A man who’s innocent, with all the proof RIGHT IN FRONT of everyone’s eyes, was just sentenced to 13 years in prison for a crime which he didn’t commit, for a crime he was framed for.”
Controversial social media influencer Oli London also defended Wu in a series of tweets, claiming that Wu is innocent and that he was imprisoned “based on false accusations.”
“Just remember when the most famous woman in China went missing Fan Bing Bing. Just remember when one of China’s richest men Jack Ma went missing. Just remember when China’s most famous Tennis Star Peng Shuai went missing,” London wrote in another tweet. “Now Kris Wu, most famous pop star, jailed under false charge.”
Born in Guangzhou, China, the Canadian national was detained on July 31, 2021, after being accused by Chinese influencer Du Meizhu of date rape when she was 17 years old. Wu was officially arrested on Aug. 16, 2021, after the Chaoyang District People’s Procurator in Beijing approved his arrest.
The sentencing on Friday, much like Wu’s previous trials, took place in a closed-door setting without the presence of the media to protect the other victims’ identities. Officials from the Canadian embassy in China reportedly attended Wu’s trial.
While Wu’s fan base defended the artist, other K-pop fans took to Twitter to celebrate the verdict.
“Kris Wu the guy who made me a kpop stan and even cried for when he left is now sentenced to 13 years of prison as he should! Seriously making me feel disgusted af right now smh i feel so sorry for his victims. Justice will be served,” one user wrote.
Although Wu has already been sentenced, China’s Criminal Procedure Law reportedly indicated that the accused could still file an appeal against the court’s decision within 10 days.
Since Wu received a fixed-term imprisonment of more than 10 years for a violent crime, he will not be eligible for parole, according to Article 81 of China’s Criminal Law.
Featured Image via Kris Wu
