Transgender star dubbed ‘China’s Oprah’ rocked by show cancellations

Authorities have cancelled a number of shows from a popular transgender dancer and TV host, dubbed ‘China’s Oprah’.

A popular transgender dancer and TV host – dubbed ‘China’s Oprah’ – has had several performances unexpectedly cancelled, sparking fears of a wider LGBTQ+ crackdown.

Jin Xing, 57, has enjoyed a successful decades-long career as a dancer, chorographer and talk show host in China, emerging as a beloved transgender icon in a country where transgender individuals face discrimination.

A former child dance protégé, Xing’s achievements has seen her praised in Chinese state media as one of the “10 legendary figures of Chinese modern dance” and likened to fellow talk show star Oprah Winfrey in international press.

But Xing – who has boasts nearly 14 million followers on the Chinese social media platform Weibo – has faced a string of sudden and unexplained show cancellations.

In October, the Municipal Bureau of Culture, Radio, Television and Tourism in Guangzhou cancelled her show at the city’s opera house set to be held in December. 

Xing’s dance troupe has been performing the play – a stage adaptation of Cao Yu’s classic work Sunrise – around the country for the past four years.

Jin Xing is a beloved transgender icon in China. Picture: Supplied.

Slamming the cancellation, Xing shared a now-deleted post on Weibo, demanding officials offer an explanation. 

“Please don’t abuse your public power!” she wrote. 

Following her post, Xing’s subsequent performances in Foshan, Suzhou and Shanghai were scrapped with no explanation. 

Guangzhou authorities said the rejection was due to incomplete paperwork, The Paper reported, as per CNN.

Xing told France 24 she has been left confused over the cancellations, having been able to perform across China for 40 years without any issues. 

“Even today, I am still questioning why,” she told the outlet.

The move has sparked concerns among some in the transgender community, who are worried Chinese authorities are trying to make a point, CNN reports. 

Jin Xing hosting the Chinese dating show Chinese Dating with the Parents. Picture: Supplied/SBS-TV.

Before finding fame, Xing was the youngest person to join the People’s Liberation Army Song & Dance Academy, receiving dance and military training.

The former colonel went on to find success as a male ballet dancer before undergoing a sex change in 1995. 

“I was the best male dancer of the country …(so when I) started to become the best female dancer, that’s a big topic for the society,” she told Reuters.

“I told myself (in order to) really become myself in such a tough society, environment, I need to make myself special, in some way.”

Xing visited Australia in 2010 when her Shanghai Beauty performance was one of the headlining acts at the Adelaide Arts Festival.

Xing, founder of China's only independent contemporary dance troupe, during rehearsals to perform 'Shanghai Beauty' at the Arts Centre in Melbourne. Picture: News Limited

Struggles for China’s LGBT+ community

Transgender individuals and those in the LGBT+ community continue to face unique challenges in China. 

“In mainland China you feel like a street rat. You can never tell anyone you’re transgender wherever you go,” Cyan, who moved from China to Canada two years after undergoing a gender-affirming mastectomy, told CNN. 

“Both my parents and I agreed that my life as a trans person in China was going to be quite difficult.” 

The nation decriminalised homosexuality it in 1997, however, same-sex unions are not legally recognised. 

It had earlier removed homosexuality from its official list of mental disorders in 2001.

In 2021, China’s longest-running LGBTQ festival, Shanghai Pride was cancelled.

At the time, organisers did not offer an explanation, announcing it was “cancelling all upcoming activities and taking a break from scheduling any future events”.

The event remains cancelled to this day.