Who is LanLan Yang? How a crash in Sydney's ritzy Rose Bay involving Kyle Sandilands' chauffeur sent Chinese social media into overdrive

Sky News AU

10 hours ago

From dinner tables in Box Hill, to bars in Beijing, the July 27 crash in Sydney's Rose Bay that left Kyle Sandilands' chauffeur seriously injured has made LanLan Yang a viral name.
Headlines like 'Young woman totals her luxury vehicle' can become ragebait anywhere, but when it's a Chinese woman with a posh address and no digital records, the internet community is much more curious than usual.
In this age of ubiquitous online tracks, the digital veil of privacy is perhaps the ultimate badge of privilege that points towards great power, not just wealth.
Unlike in the West, in China you can be rich and not powerful, but you can't be powerful and not rich.
China's masses have long known of the excesses of officialdom.
From birth to death, they are in an elevated realm mere mortals cannot see, let alone hope to penetrate.
The granddaughter of a former Chinese leader who went to school in Australia said her birth stopped Beijing traffic – with roads closing so her grandfather could visit her in hospital.
Food for officials comes from "tegong" or "special supply" farms, produced with care the ordinary Chinese don't deserve.
The Beijing compound where Chinese leaders live and work – Zhongnanhai, is heavily guarded and access extremely restricted.
When officials get sick, they go to cadre hospitals with the best doctors and treatment that would bankrupt ordinary taxpayers.
Officials enjoy privacy about their families and assets that western celebrities could never hope to get.
Number plates of officials' cars can be of a special category that police will know not to trouble.
When China's leaders depart this world, they go to the exclusive Babaoshan cemetery.
How appropriate for a party with proletariat roots and a slogan of "serve the people".
In Yang's case, the intrigue grew wings and turned into certain untruths - like her having $300 billion in wealth and that her bail was $70 million.
The fact that some people are expected to believe that is telling.
Her given name has been said to fit into the "double characters" pattern of Chinese princelings, which denotes they will not go into politics and are off-limits for political infighting.
One netizen named 'Jonathan' supposedly experienced police pressure after answering a question about her identity on China's version of Quora.
He had said that she was rich from selling iron ore quotas and involved with Western Australian miner Sinosteel.
I haven't been able to find 'Jonathan' – which could mean the account was fake or has been made private.
Yang's few photos outside Rose Bay Police Station have been pored over for any resemblance to Chinese leaders.
She was said to have been wearing a Chanel jacket which costs upwards of $30,000, with a bodyguard who gossip artists claim was a prize-winning martial arts fighter.
The official Chinese response has been limited, only one newspaper has dared to report it.
The last big story that had Chinese people in arms was the protests that broke out after perceived unfair handling of a teenager bullying case in southwest China's Jiangyou.
The comments online have been brutally self-aware, saying Yang is a "farmer" because she has "$1.4 billion in livestock", referring to Chinese people as cattle of the elite.
Beneath the anger at gross inequality, there is also resigned helplessness.
The cycle of injustice then anger then censorship/crackdown is familiar and seemingly unstoppable.
It has been decades since China's elites' families have found shelter in countries like Australia and Canada for the relative anonymity and easy lifestyle.
But in recent years, under Xi's tougher crackdowns on corruption and overseas influence, it has got harder for officials to transfer assets abroad and to find "white gloves" to hold them as proxies.
The scandal-hungry public helped by the ease of internet searches has necessitated extra layers of protection and low-key living.
Three weeks on, there has been no further information about the mysterious Yang.
At least in Australia, the press can cover the story freely.
The existence or activities of the families of the powerful are strictly hidden – those who make them publish are punished for "revealing state secrets".
LanLan Yang appears before Downing Centre Local Court this Friday 15 August.
But even when the internet gossip feast ends, the Chinese distaste for privilege will continue.
Cheng Lei joined Sky News Australia as a TV news presenter and columnist at SkyNews.com.au in December 2023. Prior to her role at Sky News Australia, she was a news anchor for Chinese-owned news channel CGTN and was CNBC's China correspondent. In August 2020, Cheng Lei was detained by Chinese authorities. She was released and returned to Australia in October 2023.