The famous Chinese YouTuber, Li Ziqi, has been missing for a long time and has not made video content on his YouTube channel. Various speculations circulated accompanying Li Ziqi's disappearance, ranging from news of hiatus, legal cases, to Chinese government censorship. Which one is true?
It was already revealed that what happened to Li Ziqi was a legal case. Ziqi's company, Sichuan Ziqi Culture Communication, has officially sued Hangzhou Weinian Brand Management and its attorney and owner, Liu Tongming.
Hangzhou Weinian Brand Management is based on an agreement to own shares and rights to Li Ziqi's image. The lawsuit was filed in the court of Mianyang city in Sichuan province.
Hangzhou Weinian Brand Management owns 51% stake in Sichuan Ziqi Culture Communication and the remaining 49% is owned by Li Ziqi. Meanwhile, the main owner of the agency is Liu Tongming.
It is not clear what is behind this legal problem. Maybe Li Ziqi was dissatisfied with the contract, felt exploited or some other business dispute.
On August 30, Li Ziqi did post a photo on Weibo showing himself filing a report at the police station. In reply to the comments on the post, Li Ziqi seemed to be venting his frustration.
"I always ask the lawyer to record everything. This is terrible! A business must have a good trick!," wrote Li Ziqi.
Li Ziqi is a very famous YouTuber where currently the number of subscribers has crossed 16 million. He mainly broadcasts everyday life in a quiet village, where he lives with his grandmother and often shows traditional cooking moments.
In February, Li Ziqi set a Guinness World Records world record for gaining the most subscribers for a Chinese-language channel on YouTube.
