Arctic Catfish scandal

Arctic Catfish scandal is an online scandal in China in March 2023. A female netizen with a user ID named "Arctic Catfish" on Sina Weibo flaunted her wealth and claimed her family had 9-figure savings due to her grandfather's embezzlement of public funds. She also used racist terms to attack Chinese netizens who had argued with her. "Arctic Catfish"'s remarks led to an online uproar in China. On October 10, the Shenzhen government, which her grandfather used to work for, announced that "Arctic Catfish"'s grandfather was punished due to his previous improper behavior.

The uproar lasted for over 200 days with other users eventually concluding the woman's grandfather was Zhong Gengci who was once transport bureau official in Shenzhen who retired in around 2007. Zhong Gengci was investigated in October 2023 and was expelled from the Communist Party, had any illicit gains confiscated and had his pension reduced.