'X-Men' Actress Mysteriously Disappears After Troubles With Chinese Authorities

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'X-Men' Actress Mysteriously Disappears After Troubles With Chinese Authorities

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Fans of China's highest-paid actress Fan Bingbing are getting increasingly concerned after the star suddenly dropped off the face of the earth.

The actress first rose to super stardom in her home country, but in 2014, she won hearts in America when she starred alongside Hugh Jackman and Sir Patrick Stewart as Blink in X-Men: Day of Future Past.

The 36-year-old celebrity recently came in last place after receiving a zero out of 100 in the 2017-18 China Film and Television Star Social Responsibility Report, according to The Guardian. The list is compiled annually by Beijing Normal University and the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences Corporate Social Responsibility Research Institute.

The report rates the actors based on whether or not their a "strong role model," and also on their "professional work, charitable actions, and personal integrity."

Now, media outlets and social media users have noticed that Fan hasn't been seen in public in over two months and has not posted on social media in nearly the same amount of time.

Following the government's crack down on the entertainment industry, some of her fans are convinced that she has been detained by Chinese authorities for tax evasion.  

It is speculated that she was involved in what investigators call "yin-yang contracts," where one document reveals the actor's real salary, and another lists a lower figure is submitted to the tax authorities.

Fan's representatives have so far denied the allegations, but the mystery only deepens as a now-deleted article published in the state-affiliated Securities Daily newspaper alleged that Fan had been put "under control" by the state and would "accept the legal judgement."

There are claims that she has been prohibited from making films, but there's nothing to back up that claim. Despite assumptions that she's in legal trouble, Fan hasn't been formally charged with a crime.

After a Hong Kong tabloid, Apple Daily, reported that Fan was in a California immigration office after she was adviced by her fellow actor Jackie Chan to seek asylum in Los Angeles. Chan's reps have since commented on the theory, calling it "nonsense."

Fan's last public appearance was on July 1 at a children's hospital. Prior to that she was seen at the Cannes Film Festival in May, where she promoted an upcoming spy movie titled 355.

Fan was set to star in the thriller with Jessica Chastain, Penelope Cruz, Lupita Nyong'o and Marion Cotillard, but it's unclear if she's still able to play her role.

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