As a political commentator The Wall Street Journal describes Sima as "one of China's most divisive advocates of neo-Maoist ideology", and is among the best-known advocates of ousted political leader
Bo Xilai's "
Chongqing Model". Bo's top lieutenant,
Wang Lijun, was an admirer of Sima. In June 2011, Wang invited Sima to give a lecture on "ideological media voice" to 1800 policemen in
Chongqing. During their meeting, Wang claimed he read Sima's writings "everyday". During the
general secretaryship of Xi Jinping, Sima's radical views have become part of the mainstream of Chinese politics. In August 2022, he admitted that back in 2010, his family had brought a house in
California for . For unknown reasons, he was blocked in Chinese social media in August 2022. On 4 July 2023, he attended the
American Independence Day dinner hosted by the
US Embassy in China where also met with
US Ambassador to China R. Nicholas Burns. Sima's attendance of the dinner was mocked by Chinese social media users who accused him of being hypocritical, as the day before the event he had criticized the US proposal to provide
Ukraine with
cluster bombs during the
Russian invasion as "an act against humanity." On 9 November 2024,
South China Morning Post reported that Sima was banned from Chinese social media platforms for a year. In March 2025, the Chinese
State Taxation Administration fined him for
tax evasion. Although Sima said he would accept responsibility, he also suggested that his
Multi-channel network (MCN) firm had failed to
withheld taxes for him, a claim denied by his MCN firm.
War on liberal Western ideas In 2008, Sima waged an Internet war against Chinese commentators and intellectuals he says have hijacked this year's national dramas to undermine CCP rule and patriotic values. Sima said that the group disseminates material that is blatantly "anti-China" in nature and that the Chinese public has long grown irritated with "Falun Gong rhetoric." In another interview with
The Daily Telegraph, Sima says that China is not ready for personal freedom, nor suited to one man, one vote. Liberals, he claims, want to do away with "Chineseness" and turn the country into a pale imitation of the West. After
Charter 08 came out, Sima wrote on his blog that the charter was a dangerous attempt to promote a Chinese "
color revolution", referring to pro-democracy movements in Ukraine and Georgia. In April 2011, days after
Ai Weiwei was arrested by the Chinese government, Sima attended a web show denouncing him. Sima claimed that Ai's fame was due to his anti-China stance, and Ai received foreign funding to subvert China. Sima warned that if "Ai had his way, China will be worse". Upon learning Sima's accusations, Ai's mother challenged Sima to show evidence backing his claims.
Incidents On 20 January 2012, Sima boarded a plane to Washington, DC, United States. At some point after arriving at
Dulles International Airport, Sima leaned over the handrail of an escalator and got his head stuck between the rail and an approaching section of wall. He was rushed to hospital and received prompt treatment. The fact that a pundit who made a career out of bashing the United States quietly traveled there on the eve of
Chinese New Year invited suspicions of hypocrisy and a deluge of ridicule on Chinese social networking sites. In October 2012, when giving a lecture at
Hainan University, Sima Nan had a shoe thrown at him by a student. The episode occurred during the Q & A period. Arguing that Sima's Maoist views were a threat to freedom, the student quoted Socrates before hurling his sneaker to Sima, to the cheers of a packed auditorium. As a result, he became involved in the
Chinese Human Body Science Association, through which he had an opportunity to witness demonstrations of the prominent masters of the time, for whom he used to run errands. Sima says this included transferring title of property the masters received from grateful followers. Sima says he is motivated only by the satisfaction of unmasking cheats who he says prey on uneducated Chinese. Demand for Sima's consulting services increased following the ban of Falun Gong; In 2000,
The Globe and Mail reported that Sima had been asked by the Canadian government to assist them in combating illegal immigration from China: faced with many
boat people arriving on Canada's west coast from China who claim persecution as members of Falun Gong in order to gain refugee status, the Canadians are hoping for help in assessing the applications.
Supernatural phenomena Sima referred to
ufologists as "romantics", saying that those who alleged to have seen UFOs or have had extraterrestrial encounters, all lack hard evidence to prove their claims via objective and scientific methods.
Association with others Sima Nan is a friend of
Fang Zhouzi. In 2006, Sima Nan,
He Zuoxiu, Yuan Zhong and Guo Zhengyi established "Anti-Fraud Trust", soliciting donations from the public. The express purpose of the trust was to fund Fang Zhouzi's activities. == See also ==