Overview

• In July 2025 the Xianyang Intermediate People’s Court publicly released details of Zhang’s execution by firing squad on December 18, 2024, following the rejection of his appeal.
• Zhang Yiyang’s case is the first instance of a mainland Chinese entertainer receiving and undergoing the death sentence after conviction for intentional homicide.
• Court documents recount that on February 26, 2022, Zhang lured his 16-year-old girlfriend into a forest in Xingping and fatally stabbed her before staging a suicide and attempting to kill himself.
• Online commentators have criticized platforms for continuing to stream or sell Zhang’s films and music despite his conviction and execution.
• The publication of execution records has reignited discussion over China’s use of capital punishment in celebrity cases and the entertainment industry’s post-humous management of works.