2024-04-02 12:49 United News Network 24 Hours Around the Corner. On the left is a promotional photo for the Netflix version of “The Three-Body Problem”, and on the right is Lynch.Picture/Weibo
“Three Body” murder case: Chinese video game tycoon Lynch was poisoned by the company’s CEO, and the murderer was sentenced to death
“The Chinese billionaire who obtained the IP copyright of “The Three-Body Problem” was poisoned and killed by his own CEO…” The Netflix series “The Three-Body Problem” adapted from a Chinese science fiction novel sparked discussion as soon as it was released on March 21. On March 22, the day after the Netflix version of “The Three-Body Problem” was released, the first trial of the murder case of Lin Qi, chairman of the Chinese game company “Yoozu Network”, which sold the English adaptation rights of “The Three-Body Problem” to Netflix and co-produced the series As a result, the defendant Xu Yao was sentenced to death by the Shanghai No. 1 Intermediate People’s Court and deprived of political rights for life.
Lin Qi passed away due to poisoning on December 25, 2020, when rescue efforts failed. The court pointed out that Xu Yao, Yoozoo’s chief risk control officer and CEO of its subsidiary “Trisolaris Universe”, and Lin Qi had conflicts over the company’s operation and management, so they Lin Qi poisoned; in addition to Lin Qi, Xu Yao also poisoned two colleagues who had a work dispute, resulting in the poisoning of four more people.
The deceased Lin Qi was the founder and chairman of Youzu.com. He was born in Wenzhou. His family ran a coal mining company. He was a Chinese video game tycoon and was known as the “post-80s billionaire.” According to China’s Hurun Rich List, Lin Qi’s 2020 Net assets at the time of death were RMB 6.8 billion. In 2009, Lynch founded Youzu Network. Now Youzu has offices in Nanjing, Taipei, Singapore, India and other places. Its most famous work internationally is the online game adapted from the novel and TV series “Game of Thrones” released in 2019. Play the game Game of Thrones: Winter Is Coming.
Xu Yao appeared in court at the Shanghai No. 1 Intermediate People’s Court.Picture/Weibo
Lynch actively wanted to promote the IP of Chinese writer Liu Cixin’s science fiction novel “The Three-Body Problem” to the world. Therefore, he spent a huge amount of money to buy the copyright of the “Three-Body Problem” trilogy and planned to produce “The Three-Body Problem” for global audiences. The film and TV series gave “The Three-Body Problem” a “Star Wars” level of cultural influence and popularity. For many years, the Chinese government and cultural circles have regarded soft power in the cultural field as part of China’s expansion. In part, it hopes to enhance China’s national image in the eyes of global audiences and counter the influence of the United States through pop culture such as Hollywood and music. However, due to the strict censorship of cultural products by the Beijing authorities, the promotion results have been mixed. For example, the Netflix version of “The Three-Body Problem” has attracted some criticism in China for its depiction of the Cultural Revolution.
Cooperating with Netflix to produce the English version of the “Three-Body” series is a major project for Yoozoo, and Lynch has also become the executive producer of the series.
The Chinese version of “The Three-Body Problem” was published in 2008 and translated into English by the Chinese writer Liu Yukun in 2014. It won the Hugo Award for Best Novel in 2015. Former U.S. President Barack Obama highly praised the novel “The Three-Body Problem”. Commenting on the review, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg listed the novel “The Three-Body Problem” as a recommended book; currently, “The Three-Body Problem” has been translated into nearly 30 languages.
In order to operate and develop the “Three-Body” IP, Youzu Networks established a subsidiary, Trisolaris Universe, in 2018. Xu Yao, Youzu’s Chief Risk Control Officer, serves as the CEO. Trisolaris Universe is also the co-production company of the Netflix version of “The Three-Body Problem” one. Xu Yao originally worked as a legal officer at Shanghai Fosun Group (the parent company of Fosun Pharmaceuticals, which obtained the agency rights for BNT vaccine in Greater China). He joined Youzu in 2017. On February 12, 2018, Xu Yao became a director of Youzu.com in 2019. In January 2018, Xu Yao applied to resign as a non-independent director due to personal reasons.
The Shanghai No. 1 Intermediate People’s Court (Shanghai No. 1 Intermediate Court) pointed out that Xu Yao assisted the company in completing the transaction with Netflix in 2020, but was subsequently excluded from the company’s main business by Lynch. Later, on December 17, 2020, the Shanghai Public Security Bureau received a report that a 39-year-old male patient surnamed Lin was found to be suspected of poisoning during diagnosis and treatment in a hospital; on December 23, Youzu issued an announcement stating that the chairman and CEO Manager Lin Qi was hospitalized due to physical discomfort, but his condition improved after treatment. On December 25, Yoozoo issued another announcement, stating that it had received a notice from Lynch’s family office that Lynch died on the same day at the age of 39 due to ineffective treatment for his illness. .
Photo/Associated Press
Youzu’s Weibo account “Youzujun” posted a message to mourn Lynch on December 25, 2020, writing:
“Goodbye young man, you, you have seen through the bad and still believe in the good, you have seen the unkind but you are still kind. We will be together, continue to be kind, continue to believe in the good, and continue to fight against all unkindness. All clan members, December 25, 2020 .”
After receiving the report on December 17, 2020, the Shanghai police immediately launched an investigation and found that Xu Yao was suspected of serious crimes, and then criminally detained him on the 18th. After more than three years of investigation, as of March 22, 2024, the Shanghai police The No. 1 Intermediate People’s Court in Shanghai publicly pronounced Xu Yao guilty of intentional homicide and throwing dangerous substances. Xu Yao was sentenced to death and deprived of political rights for life for intentional homicide. Xu Yao was sentenced to 6 years in prison for throwing dangerous substances. Several crimes were punished simultaneously, and it was decided to execute the death penalty and deprive him of political rights for life.
The Shanghai No. 1 Intermediate Court pointed out that Xu Yao had conflicts with Lynch due to company management matters, and premeditated to poison Lynch between December 14 and 15, 2020. The BBC reported that after Xu Yao obtained the poison, he first Tested on animals, then given to Lynch disguised as probiotic pills.
In addition to Lin Qi, there are two colleagues surnamed Zhao who had disputes with Xu Yao due to work reasons. Xu Yao planned to poison the drinks in the offices of the two colleagues from September to December 2020. As a result, Four people were poisoned, but fortunately all four survived.
Picture/”The Three-Body Problem” Album Version Past 24 Hours China
