A Taiwanese singer has sparked controversy for performing a “vacuum belly” workout routine at a concert in northwestern China.Videos of Ella Chen Jiahua showing her contracted belly, with her ribs prominently protruding, at her concert in Xian, Shaanxi province on March 7 have gone viral on social media, China-youth-daily" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="45388" data-entity-type="organization">China Youth Daily reported.Chen, 44, tells her audiences: “I would like to perform a stunt for you. Please look at me carefully. Cameramen, please zoom in on me.”She begins the movement while explaining: “First breathe in air deeply. Then exhale and let out all the air slowly.”Ella Chen Jiahua shows the controversial movement on stage during a concert. Photo: QQ.comAt this point, Chen holds her breath and shrinks her belly and holds the position for about 10 seconds, triggering roars from the audience.
SRCSouth China Morning Post
LANGEN
LEANCenter-Right
WORDS131
ENT6
TUE · 2026-03-17 · 06:00 GMTBRIEF NSR-2026-0317-25189
NSR-2026-0317-25189News Report·EN·Human Interest
Taiwan singer ignites debate by showing popular ‘vacuum belly’ technique to lose weight
Taiwanese singer Ella Chen Jiahua ignited debate after demonstrating the "vacuum belly" technique at a concert in Xian, Shaanxi province, China on March 7. Videos circulating online show Chen performing the exercise, which involves contracting the abdomen while holding one's breath, causing her ribs to protrude.
Alice YanSouth China Morning PostFiled 2026-03-17 · 06:00 GMTLean · Center-RightRead · 1 min
South China Morning PostFIG 01
Reading time
1min
Word count
131words
Sources cited
1cited
Entities identified
6entities
Quality score
100%
§ 01
Briefing Summary
AI-generatedNEWSAR · AI
Taiwanese singer Ella Chen Jiahua ignited debate after demonstrating the "vacuum belly" technique at a concert in Xian, Shaanxi province, China on March 7. Videos circulating online show Chen performing the exercise, which involves contracting the abdomen while holding one's breath, causing her ribs to protrude. The 44-year-old singer explained and performed the routine for the audience, encouraging them to observe closely. The demonstration, intended as a "stunt," triggered a strong reaction from the audience and has since gone viral on Chinese social media. The incident has sparked controversy regarding the promotion of potentially unhealthy body image ideals.
Confidence 0.85Sources 1Claims 5Entities 6
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Article analysis
Model · rule-basedFraming
Human Interest
Public Health
Tone
Measured
AI-assessed
CalmNeutralAlarmist
Factuality
0.80 / 1.00
Factual
LowHigh
Sources cited
1
Limited
FewMany
§ 03
Key claims
5 extracted01
Chen, 44, tells her audiences: “I would like to perform a stunt for you...Cameramen, please zoom in on me.”
quoteElla Chen Jiahua
Confidence
1.00
02
Ella Chen Jiahua showed her contracted belly at a concert in Xian, Shaanxi province on March 7.
factual
Confidence
1.00
03
Chen holds her breath and shrinks her belly and holds the position for about 10 seconds.
factual
Confidence
0.90
04
Videos of Ella Chen Jiahua showing her contracted belly have gone viral on social media.
factualChina Youth Daily
Confidence
0.90
05
A Taiwanese singer has sparked controversy for performing a “vacuum belly” workout routine.
factual
Confidence
0.90
§ 04
Full report
1 min read · 131 words§ 05
Entities
6 identifiedKey playerOppositionContextPositiveNeutralNegative
Organizations1
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Keywords & salience
9 termsvacuum belly
1.00
ella chen jiahua
0.90
taiwan singer
0.70
workout routine
0.70
concert
0.70
weight loss
0.60
controversy
0.60
shaanxi province
0.50
xian
0.50
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Topic connections
Interactive graph No topic relationship data available yet. This graph will appear once topic relationships have been computed.