"Figurines of the grinning, pointy-eared elf, marketed by a Chinese company called Pop Mart, are so wildly popular that fans around the world go to great lengths to get their hands on them. Many of them come in "blind boxes," meaning that the consumer gets to see the contents only after purchase. At home, however, the Chinese Communist Party is working to dampen the enthusiasm."
"A June article in its main newspaper, the People's Daily, criticized the "out of control spending" on blind boxes and similar products among minors who are "irrational" in their decisions and called for tighter regulation to prevent such objects from becoming "tools to exploit children's wallets." Blind boxes are but one cultural trend to incur the party's ire. In recent years, Chinese authorities have gone after video games and K-pop, comedy clubs and Halloween parties."
Figurines of Labubu from Pop Mart have achieved global popularity, often sold in blind boxes that reveal contents only after purchase. State media framed the craze as evidence of China becoming a cultural center. Domestic officials have warned about excessive spending by minors and urged tighter regulation to prevent exploitation. The Communist Party has targeted many cultural areas, including video games, K-pop, comedy venues, Halloween events, LGBTQ and women's-rights activism, tech entrepreneurs, and financial advisers. Observers describe the political environment as neo-totalitarian, with the state exerting a heavy hand across societal life and consumption.
Read at The Atlantic
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