Thai actor, Saint, shot to popularity all over the world for BL series such as “Love By Chance” and “Why R U?”. At only 23 years old, he has already executive produced his first series, a BL drama, “Secret Crush On You”, in which he has a supporting role. However, in a recent interview, Saint expressed concerns about China’s recent restrictions on BL (danmei) drama adaptations.
The Chinese government has been “cleansing the internet” since August with their “Qinglang” campaign that stemmed from a series of celebrity and entertainment related scandals that culminated over the past 6 months. One of their objectives was pushing for the boycott of danmei drama adaptations. While the ban hasn’t been made official yet, there are a few Chinese BL dramas that have yet to air, namely “Immortality” (aka Hao Yi Xing), “Sha Po Lang” (aka Winner is King), “Chasing the Light”, and more.
Saint recently spoke to reporters at the worship ceremony for “Secret Crush On You” about China’s new “Qinglang” restrictions, which includes BL drama adaptations. He expressed that he knows a bit about the subject, but didn’t know the specific rules of the “Qinglang actions”. He also said he will abide the rules set by the Chinese government. Saint was discussing this with his Chinese team and wants to sell the series to other countries.
Saint also said, “I worry about everything because the affairs of the world are ever changing, but it also depends on how we react to change. No matter if we do well or not, we will try our best to do it. Even if we don’t do it in the end, we won’t have any regrets.”
Thai BL dramas have a huge following in China despite restrictions on actual BL content. Many Thai actors who starred in BL dramas have sizable fanbases in China. So it’s understandable why Saint would express concern about the restrictions on BL content.