A kidnapping in South Africa has sent shockwaves through China’s internet, not only because a Chinese traveler was violently targeted, but because the scheme appears to have been orchestrated with help from a Chinese national. The victim, a top travel influencer with more than 26 million followers, was abducted inside his Cape Town five-star hotel after openly sharing his South Africa itinerary online.
According to a summary of his posts online, the assailants had been tracking him long before the kidnapping. After allegedly bribing airline crew members, they obtained his exact flight information and attempted to approach him at the airport by posing as enthusiastic fans. When that failed, they tried again by surrounding him with a fake taxi setup — several cars pulling up to block and pressure him toward an unlicensed vehicle — but he managed to avoid them.
Late that night, with help from someone inside the hotel, the suspects reportedly used a room key to enter his suite. Armed with knives, they held him for four to five hours, first demanding a huge ransom. When that didn’t work, they emptied his accounts, forced him to apply for online loans, and documented him in ways designed to enable long-term blackmail. He says they photographed him naked, took videos for identity verification, and collected a wide range of biometric data such as fingerprints, hair samples, saliva, and even semen, threatening to use these to fabricate future “evidence” or debt claims.
Fearing there were additional insiders within the hotel, he didn’t dare call for help. After the kidnappers left, he barricaded himself in the room until security staff from the Chinese Consulate in Cape Town arrived the next morning and transferred him to safety. The case has since been formally filed with South African police, who have launched a task force but warn that the investigation will be challenging.
WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT? The incident has also become a cautionary tale about a booming trend: Chinese traveler influencers venturing into developing countries once seen as distant, risky, or mysterious, and turning that sense of danger into social-media capital. High-stakes destinations make for compelling content, and the rewards for documenting these journeys can be enormous. But this case shows the flip side: when creators script their own narratives around “adventure” and share every detail of their movements, they can end up trapped by the very danger they romanticize.
