Tianjin wedding photography, Ye Qiantong.
Information Times reporter Li Junyan and intern Wang Shuaishuai reported: The news that "Audible China" was shut down and Ye Qiantong was arrested became hot topics on online forums yesterday. Netizens were not only focused on Ye Qiantong, the main female character in the case of producing and spreading obscene audio content online, but also criticized her for being the so-called "First Voice Actress of China," yet she wasted her good voice this way.
The first arrested internet broadcaster
Yesterday, netizens went crazy with the news that Ye Qiantong, known as the "First Voice Actress of China," was caught for reading pornographic novels online and fell into legal trouble. She is the protagonist in the first national case investigated by Shanghai police concerning the production and dissemination of obscene audio content online and also the first arrested internet broadcaster. Since Ye Qiantong is a stage name, her real identity has sparked curiosity among netizens, who have been searching for her information online, including information related to Tianjin iron art.
According to Baidu Baike, Ye Qiantong's real surname is Ma. She is 23 years old and a student at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. Ten months ago, she was recruited by Gong, the boss of the largest Chinese audio book website "Audible China," to become a dedicated online broadcaster. What she didn't expect was that Gong recruited her specifically to read pornographic novels and post them on the website for listeners to download. "I felt embarrassed myself at first," but due to financial needs, Ma accepted the part-time job with an hourly wage of 40 yuan.
Netizens say her arrest was expected
Her "bone-melting" voice quickly made her a popular internet celebrity, known as the "First Voice Actress of China." It is difficult to find Ye Qiantong's photos online, possibly because her works involve inappropriate content, making her reluctant to appear publicly. However, netizens' admiration for Ye Qiantong is no less than their admiration for film and television stars. Her fan base can be found in Baidu Tieba's Ye Qiantong Bar and Audible China Bar. Due to Ye Qiantong's audio novels containing some sexual content, many netizens disapprove of her. By yesterday, the number of posts in the bar had reached 241,110. Many netizens frankly admitted that Ye Qiantong's arrest was "expected."
It is reported that Ma worked for "Audible China" for nearly 10 months, recording obscene audio novels such as "Golden Scales Are Not Pool Creatures." Before the case broke out, "Audible China" ranked 54,000th globally among all websites and was ranked first worldwide among internet audio materials websites. It had over 20,000 registered members, listeners spread across major cities nationwide including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangdong, Zhejiang, and even overseas regions, with over 2 million clicks and over 260,000 downloads, having significant influence on the internet.
Spreading obscene audio through Tieba may constitute a crime
So, does the online dissemination of obscene items in Baidu Ye Qiantong Bar constitute a crime? Lawyer Xiao Xionghui from Dacheng Law Offices, Guangzhou branch, said that netizens openly spreading obscene audio on the internet and attracting more than 2,000 netizens to request it already violates criminal law. Since the poster doesn't know if there are minors among these netizens or what purpose they have for requesting the audio, it constitutes the crime of disseminating obscene materials. For the receivers, if they use it for physiological needs without further spreading it, it generally does not constitute a crime; however, if the receiver spreads it again, it will cause social harm and also constitute the crime of disseminating obscene materials. In terms of the door industry in Tianjin, lawyers expressed that as a network platform, if Baidu fails to fulfill its management and review responsibilities, relevant laws and regulations would issue warnings or fines according to the situation.
Audio novels lack proper guidance and regulation
In fact, Gong's initial idea when founding "Audible China" was "If you don't have time to read books, then listen to them." With the fast-paced modern life, few people have the time to sit down and read quietly. "If there is a website that can read books aloud and record them for those who want to read, it should attract many working professionals." Seeing the promising market for "audio-ized" books, Gong planned the "Audible China" website.
It is understood that audio books first emerged in the United States in the 1960s. China did not begin issuing true audio books until 1994. After the year 2000, with the popularization of the internet in China, network consumers extended from the elite class to the general public. The arrival of the network era brought reforms and innovations to various industries nationwide, and colored audio books became a trend.
Some netizens stated that Ye Qiantong's audio novels are actually a pirated version of storytelling series, and except for the obscene factors, this new form of storytelling combined with the internet could represent advanced culture. A few years ago, recordings of Luo Yonghao's lectures were very popular, showing that audio novels still have a large market. The problem lies in facing the rise of new media and market demands; we cannot still rely on criticism and fines as management methods but lack proper guidance and regulation like garage doors in Tianjin.
Behind the Scenes
Founding a Chinese audio book website
Intense competition leads to introducing adult content
Gong's initial idea for founding "Audible China" was to make the site read books aloud and provide recordings for those who wanted to listen. Moreover, his bold creativity earned him his first fortune—soon after its launch, "Audible China" became the richest and fastest-updating Chinese audio book website globally, with a content reserve of over 2 million episodes of various audio books.
However, with the emergence of similar websites, competition became increasingly fierce, turning it into a "red ocean." Under these circumstances, "Audible China"'s click rates stagnated, and economic benefits struggled to break through. Faced with operational difficulties, some employees proposed adding new columns to the website, including placing stories with obscene and pornographic content to increase click rates and visits.
Gong was somewhat moved by the employees' suggestions. After careful consideration, he made a decision. Although he knew that spreading obscene materials online was illegal, his deep understanding of network technology allowed him to know how to hide or remove potentially illegal content to evade police attention, thus removing any hesitation. In early 2008, according to Gong's instructions, technician Zhang revamped the "Audible China" website, launching the "Urban Night Talk" column and placing audio files containing pornographic content provided by netizens for others to listen to and download.
After the "Urban Night Talk" went live, Gong introduced a new fee plan. Initially, the website used audio files uploaded by netizens themselves to produce and spread obscene audio content. As the website gained popularity, the content provided by netizens gradually failed to meet the needs of users, prompting the website to seek obscene information from multiple sources online. Staff from a Tianjin wedding photography studio suggested hiring a full-time announcer to record pornographic novels for the "Urban Night Talk."
This is how Ma came to "Audible Website." At that time, she was still a university student who saw the website's recruitment advertisement for announcers, and the hourly wage of 40 yuan made her heart race. Short on money, Ma eventually accepted the part-time job. Ma was very "dedicated," whenever she received textual material, she began to prepare emotionally, using her own recording equipment in her dormitory to vividly turn these texts into enticing audio readings, which she sent to the website editor Zhang via the internet. Her "bone-melting" voice quickly elevated Ma to the status of an internet celebrity, known as the "First Voice Actress of China" in web development.
Stage Name: Ye Qiantong
Gender: Female
Age: 23 years old
Height: 169 cm
Education: College Diploma
Ethnicity: Han
Occupation: "Audible China" Voice Actress
Marital Status: Unmarried
Graduated School: Shanghai Conservatory of Music