Top Chinese actress Zheng Shuang was hit with a $46 million tax evasion fine Friday while references to film star Zhao Wei were wiped from video streaming sites as Beijing steps up its campaign against celebrity culture.

Beijing is on a mission to rein in what it calls "chaotic fan culture" and celebrity excess, after a spate of scandals in recent months that have taken down China's biggest entertainers including singer Kris Wu, who was arrested on suspicion of rape earlier this month.

Shanghai tax authorities on Friday fined Zheng 299 million yuan ($46.1 million) for tax evasion and undeclared income between 2019 and 2020 while filming a TV series, according to an online statement.

Zheng, 30, became a household name in China after starring in the hit 2009 remake of Taiwanese drama "Meteor Shower", and a string of successful series and movies afterwards.

China's state broadcasting regulator also pulled Zheng's offending TV drama and ordered producers not to hire her for future shows.

The State Administration of Radio, Film and Television added it had "zero tolerance" for tax evasion, "sky-high pay" and "yin-yang contracts", referring to the shady contracts commonly used in Chinese showbiz to obscure actors' real pay.

State media has gone into overdrive urging changes to China's entertainment culture.

"For some time now, artists' moral failures and legal violations, the cultivation of younger idols, and 'chaotic' fandoms have attracted widespread attention in society," state broadcaster CCTV said Tuesday.

"We must restore a clean and upright literary and artistic environment to the public."

On Thursday evening, search results for Zhao, an enormously popular actress also known as Vicky Zhao, were censored from major Chinese video streaming sites.

Her name was suddenly removed from the credits of major TV series, while a forum dedicated to the actress on social media platform Weibo was also mysteriously shut down, as the hashtag "Zhao Wei super-topic closed" gained 850 million views.

No official reason was given.

But Zhao and her husband were banned from trading on the Shanghai Stock Exchange earlier this year, owing to a failed 2016 takeover bid that authorities ruled had "disrupted market order".

China's cyber regulator released new regulations Friday that ban celebrity ranking lists and tighten control over "chaotic" celebrity fan clubs and management agencies.

Video streaming site iQiyi said it halted all idol talent programmes Thursday, while a Chinese boy band made up of primary school children disbanded earlier this week after performers' ages sparked a public backlash.

China sets rules on computer codes that guide consumers
Beijing (AFP) Aug 27, 2021 - China on Friday announced new rules to limit the power of computer programmes used to drive the choices of the country's consumers, who must instead be encouraged to use online culture to "spread positive energy".

The measures are part of a broader crackdown by Beijing on the tech sector and mega-apps including gaming, personal finance and ride-hailing.

Algorithms must not promote content "endangering national security, disrupting economic and social order or infringing on the legitimate rights and interests of others", according to the rules published by China's Cyberspace Administration.

Users must not be shown discriminatory prices based on their past behaviour and must have the option to turn off recommendations, the rules say.

Algorithms drive the success of the most popular e-commerce, social media and news apps used in China, including TikTok's Chinese twin Douyin and top online shopping platforms Taobao and JD.com.

They detect patterns in users' past purchases and viewing behaviour to push them toward new products and content tailored to their preferences.

But app firms have faced criticism for allowing their algorithms to promote content that is illegal or deemed by state censors to be inappropriate.

The programmes should not induce "bad habits" in minors and must not push them to be "addicted to the internet:".

Instead they should "actively spread positive energy" and "adhere to mainstream values", the new rules say.

While China's largest social media platforms are often subject to censorship of politically sensitive posts, other undesirable content including gambling-related and sexual posts has been able to slip under the radar.

China has cracked down in recent years on online services deemed to pose a danger to its social fabric, implementing curfews for underage phone gamers and pushing video streaming sites to cancel "unhealthy" idol shows.

Beijing has also in the past few months stepped up controls on its tech sector, ordering tightened protections for delivery app drivers and fining its largest shopping and music streaming apps for monopolistic behaviour.

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