Popular actress restricted from high spending, ignoring court ruling trends on hot search.

Compiled from The Paper
 
On February 28, the hashtag #Huang TingtingBlacklisted as a Dishonest Judgment Debtor# topped the trending searches. At 8:14 PM that same day, Huang Tingting responded personally, stating that she respects the judicial ruling and will resolve her financial issues as soon as possible. She also apologized for occupying public resources with her personal matters.

 

Case review
Last year, a first-instance civil judgment on a contract dispute published by the Shanghai Hongkou District People's Court showed that Huang Tingting was in a lawsuit to terminate her contract with Siba Culture.

 
 

According to the judgment, the plaintiff Huang Tingting alleged that in August 2013, the parties signed the SNH48 Exclusive Artist Contract, agreeing that the defendant Siba Company would provide agency services to the plaintiff. During the performance of the contract, the defendant failed to provide comprehensive training and planning for the plaintiff's performing arts career development as agreed, and concealed the true circumstances of the remuneration from the plaintiff's event projects. Since July 2019, the plaintiff Huang Tingting negotiated with the defendant Siba Company multiple times, but the defendant made no adjustments, causing the conflict between the parties to deepen. In October 2019, Huang Tingting sent a Lawyer's Letter to Siba Company, demanding that the other party provide relevant materials regarding her participation in various performing arts work projects and pay the undistributed income, and proposed to terminate the contract.
 
The court held that the SNH48 Exclusive Artist Contract mentioned by Huang Tingting was voluntarily signed by both the plaintiff and the defendant, constituted a genuine expression of intent by both parties, and did not violate any mandatory provisions of laws or administrative regulations. It is therefore a lawful and valid contract, and both parties shall fully perform their obligations in accordance with its terms.
 
The court held that since the signing of the contract, Star48 had provided Huang Tingting with numerous performance opportunities, cultivated and packaged her, and paid her various performance incomes. Before the expiration of the contract performance period, Huang Tingting failed to actively perform the contract and should bear liability for breach of contract. Taking into account the circumstances of Huang Tingting’s breach during the performance of the contract, as well as factors such as the contract performance period and the timing of Huang Tingting’s breach, the court found that the liquidated damages of 10 million yuan claimed by Star48 pursuant to the contract was excessively high. The final judgment was that the “SNH48 Exclusive Artist Contract” signed by both parties in 2013 be terminated, and Huang Tingting pay Star48 Media Co., Ltd. liquidated damages of 3.5 million yuan.
 
Recently, information released by Siba Media showed that Huang Tingting refused to pay the amount and has been included in the list of dishonest persons subject to enforcement by the court, with measures such as a high-consumption restriction order imposed.
 
 
The [1] The People's Republic of China Civil Procedure Law
Article 262
If an enforcement obligor fails to perform obligations determined by a legal document, the people's court may take measures against them or notify relevant units to assist in taking measures such as restricting exit, recording in the credit system, publishing information on non-performance through media, and other measures provided by law.
 
 
The Provisions of the Supreme People's Court on Restricting High Consumption and Related Consumption of Persons Subject to Enforcement "
Article 1
If a person subject to enforcement fails to fulfill the payment obligations specified in an effective legal document within the period designated by the enforcement notice, the people's court may adopt measures to restrict consumption, limiting their high consumption and related consumption that is not necessary for daily life or business operations.
For a person subject to enforcement who is included in the list of dishonest persons subject to enforcement, the people's court shall adopt measures to restrict their consumption.
 
Article 3
If the person subject to enforcement is a natural person, after the adoption of consumption restriction measures, they shall not engage in the following high consumption and consumption behaviors not necessary for daily life or work:
(1) When using transportation, choosing aircraft, soft sleeper on trains, or first-class and above cabins on ships;
(2) Engaging in high-consumption activities at star-rated hotels, restaurants, nightclubs, golf courses, and similar venues;
(3) Purchasing real estate or building, expanding, or luxuriously renovating houses;
(4) Renting high-end office buildings, hotels, apartments, or similar premises for business operations;
(5) Buying vehicles not essential for business operations;
(6) Traveling or vacationing;
(7) Enrolling children in high-tuition private schools;
(8) Paying high premiums to purchase insurance financial products;
(9) Taking any seat on G-series high-speed trains, first-class or higher seats on other high-speed trains, or engaging in other consumption activities that are not necessary for daily living or work.
If the person subject to enforcement is an entity, after the consumption restriction measures are imposed, the entity and its legal representative, principal responsible person, directly responsible persons affecting debt performance, and actual controllers shall not engage in the acts specified in the preceding paragraph. If they need to engage in such acts for personal consumption using personal property, they may apply to the enforcement court. If the enforcement court verifies the application as true, it shall grant approval.

 
 

 
[1] The author's perspective
Huang Tingting, as an artist, has the ability to perform her obligations but refuses to comply with the effective legal documents, resulting in her being listed as a dishonest person subject to enforcement by the court. The court has also imposed a high-consumption restriction order on her, which will inevitably affect her normal work and life. However, one does not feel the pain until the whip strikes. Many artists today tend to overlook the authority of the law, partly due to a lack of professional knowledge and partly due to a lack of reverence for the law.
 
For example, in this case, Huang Tingting ignored the judgment even after receiving it, only facing reality and actively fulfilling her obligations when her life was affected and public opinion pressured her. It is hoped that all artists will take this as a warning, as abiding by the law is not only the bottom-line ethics for artists but also a basic prerequisite for setting a good example in society.