why some say the government let him in

A Chinese official dropped a bombshell in a news briefing usually reserved for major policy announcements: Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, was set to hold a “listening party” for his new “Vultures” studio album on the Chinese island of Hainan on Sept. 15.

To 33-year-old Ziteng Du, a Shanghai-based office worker, and many other Chinese fans, the idea of seeing Ye in China is beyond their wildest imagination. Many fans were dumbfounded when the straitlaced Communist Party agreed to allow one of the world’s most notorious rappers to perform.

“By China’s conservative social values, Ye is an outright misfit,” one fan commented on Weibo, China’s equivalent to X.

Now, some are wondering if tourism revenue and a desire for international recognition are at the heart of the Communist Party’s decision to allow the controversial artist in.

Ye’s last show in China was 16 years ago. Now he is set to return, not to Shanghai or Beijing, but to a place largely unknown to foreign visitors.

“This is Hainan trying hard to forge its branding as an international destination,” said Michael Zhou, founder of Jingjian, a consultancy specializing in China tourism. Zhou said transforming Hainan into an international destination is a crucial national strategy of the central government. 

Still, he said, he believes the decision to bring Ye to Hainan is a political gamble for the local government.

Some netizens started complaining about Ye’s appearance on the Hainan government’s website, before the event had even been confirmed, with one comment calling Ye’s works a “severe departure from Chinese socialist values.”

But the local government is desperate for new growth points as domestic travel plateaus, said Zhou.

The tropical island of Hainan, dubbed the “Hawaii of China,” has long been a top travel destination for domestic tourists. Last year, its tourism sector pulled in 181 billion yuan ($25.5 billion), representing roughly 24% of its total gross domestic product.

But domestic tourists are now tightening their travel purse strings, and international travelers aren’t filling the gap. According to Hainan’s Provincial Bureau of Statistics, foreign visitors accounted for 0.87% of the island’s total tourists in the first seven months of 2024.

Tepid domestic demand also threatens the island’s ambitious goal of attracting 207 billion yuan in tourism revenue, a 14% increase from 2023.

According to Zhou, the bulk of Hainan’s tourism income comes from hotel stays and duty-free shopping.

But shopping plunged in 2024, spelling trouble for the economy which is betting big on revenue from duty-free stores. Hainan has the world’s largest duty-free shopping mall, and the government plans to turn the entire island into a duty-free hub as early as next year.

From 2023, the number of shoppers decreased 11% across the island, while duty-free sales dropped by 30% during the first seven months of 2024, according to customs officials for Haikou, the capital city…