Even stars ‘disappear’ in the Big Brother state

FILM star Fan Bingbing, left, is the most high-profile victim of China’s merciless version of justice. The actress, best known for playing mutant superhero Blink in the X-Men films, vanished after being accused of tax avoidance in July. The 36-year-old subsequently re-emerged on an official social media account saying: ‘I sincerely apologise to everyone.’ She was ordered to pay around £100 million in fines.

Just days ago, Bingbing was photographed emerging from a Beijing film studio looking decidedly unglamorous.

The unflattering pictures have gone viral on Chinese social media, with one blogger commenting: ‘So she’s no different from us after all.’