Matthew Tye
2015
Personal information
Born (1986-12-27) December 27, 1986
Binghamton, New York, U.S.
SpouseVivienne Wei
YouTube information
Also known as
  • Laowhy86
  • C-Milk
Channels
Years active2012–present
Genres
  • Travel vlogger
  • political commentator about China
Subscribers957,000
Total views165 million
Associated acts
100,000 subscribers2017[1]
Last updated: November 6, 2023

Matthew Tye (born December 27, 1986), also known as Laowhy86 or C-Milk, is an American YouTuber, political commentator, travel and vlogger. He is a commentator about political and social issues in China. According to the Associated Press, Tye is a "vocal critic" of the Chinese government.[2]

Tye grew up in upstate New York and graduated from university in 2008. He received an offer to teach English as a second language in a school in Huizhou in the Chinese province of Guangdong, and promptly moved to China. Tye created a YouTube account in 2012. While working as an English teacher, he made videos about life in China and co-founded a motorcycle building shop (with Winston Sterzel) called Churchill Motorcycles, around 2015. With Sterzel, Tye explored northern and southern China on motorcycle and created two documentaries, Conquering Southern China and Conquering Northern China. While filming the second documentary, they were interrogated for a few hours by the Special Police Unit of the Chinese People's Armed Police Force in Inner Mongolia before being released. The police asked Tye and Sterzel whether they were journalists and had created illegal videos, both of which they denied.

In early 2018, the public security bureau in Huizhou showed Tye's photograph in establishments frequented by foreigners as part of an investigation into his creation of an aerial video that they alleged to have shown a Huizhou military base.[3] He decided to immediately leave China where he had lived for 10 years. Tye traveled to Hong Kong and then to the United States, where he settled down with his family in Los Angeles. His YouTube channel began discussing political and social topics related to China, such as human rights in China, attempts by the government to pay social media influencers to post propaganda videos, and the COVID-19 lab leak theory.

Early and personal life

Matthew Tye was born on December 27, 1986, in Binghamton, New York.[3][4][5][6] He graduated from Maine-Endwell High School in Endwell, New York, on June 25, 2005.[7] After graduating from university in 2008, he wanted to explore the world.[3] Upon learning that he could teach English as a second language, he sent out job applications on the Internet.[8] Tye immediately booked a flight to China after being offered a job to teach English in Huizhou, Guangdong.[8] After spending a year in China, he lived in Taiwan for one and a half years, between 2010 and 2011, before moving back to China for 10 years. In China, he spent several years in Inner Mongolia before returning to Guangdong.[8][9] During his time in Taiwan, he was able to pay off his student loans in a year with the low cost of living and his income being between five and seven times more than what he would have earned in China.[9] In Huizhou, Tye met a Chinese woman, Vivienne Wei, who became his wife.[3][10] They started a family in Huizhou and owned an apartment.[3] The couple has two daughters who seldom are in the YouTube videos on Tye's channel.[11]

Career

Churchill Customs

Tye was an English teacher living in Huizhou who vlogged his experiences in China and had 3,000 subscribers in early 2015.[12] With business partners Winston Sterzel and Marty Schmidt, Tye established Churchill Customs around 2015 with the aim of providing custom motorcycle building services.[12] Churchill Customs was founded in Huizhou, which did not have rules as strict as other localities regarding using motorcycles.[12] The company was housed in an outlet in an alley, and Tye served as its marketing and sales manager.[12] Tye, who had not used a motorcycle before living in China, had met co-founder Sterzel only a few months before establishing the motorcycle company. Their first custom motorcycle was from a rescued motorcycle that cost ¥550 (US$81). Inspired by Winston Churchill, who was called "the British Bulldog", they named the motorcycle the "Churchill", owing to its "small and beastly" appearance.[12]

Start of YouTube channel

Before becoming a YouTuber, Tye made rap music and performed at clubs in China including in Guangdong.[13] Shortly after his brief rap career fizzled Tye started his YouTube channel "Laowhy86" on April 20, 2012.[1] Compared to his actual name, he is more widely recognized by the name "Laowhy", which is a homophone for the Chinese term "Laowai", which means "foreigner".[3] His name symbolizes how he is analyzing China from a foreigner's perspective.[3] To foreigners, he was known as "C-milk", and he became well known as a China Hand.[9] At the beginning of his YouTube career, his videos were similar to those of other YouTubers in China in producing positive content about the country.[3] Along with comparing American and Chinese cultures, he covered what it was like to live in and travel through China.[3] Calling his viewers "lao winners", he made videos with titles like "What NOT to do in China: Top 5 things" and "Chinese Girl Tries American Chinese Food", his channel's most popular video in 2017.[1] He answered questions such as his marriage with a woman from a different culture, his daughter, and obesity in China.[1] Tye said the content of the videos grew less positive in 2016 with the rise in Chinese nationalism, spearheaded by Xi Jinping's policies.[3] He had experiences where he was dining out and was shouted or scowled at because he had a Chinese wife.[3] In 2017, Tye crossed the 100,000 YouTube subscriber mark.[1] In an interview with That's PRD in 2017, he said he had become a full-time YouTuber and every week was spending 55 to 60 hours making videos.[14] Around 2017, Tye uploaded a video of him talking about "language rapists" while he was strolling around Huizhou.[15] In the video, which went viral, he said, "They see your white face or they see that you're a foreigner and assume they can learn English for free".[15]

Motorcycle documentaries

Tye frequently rode his motorcycle across China, showcasing the material he filmed for his YouTube channel.[9] He made two documentaries with fellow YouTuber Winston Sterzel while they were riding motorcycles to visit different parts of the country.[16] Voice of America said their first documentary had "gained a good reputation".[3] Titled Conquering Southern China and released in August 2016, the first documentary featured Tye and Sterzel's motorcycle trip across 5,000 kilometres (3,100 mi) of Southern China.[17][18] Filmed over 15 days, it was released in August 2016 in four segments on Vimeo.[17][18] Conquering Southern China was directed by Ricardo Alfonso, who accompanied them in a car that trailed their motorcycles.[19] The duo were on "ramshackle, handmade motorcycles" and taped themselves eating the region's cuisine, such as fried hornets and, in Guizhou, cow dung hot pot. They used their hands in Guangxi to grab fish, talked to locals with hair that reached the ground, and visited Mount Danxia.[17][18] In 2017, they raised money on Kickstarter to film Conquering Northern China, their second documentary. By the end of March 2017, they had raised ¥282,000 (US$41,700) from 1,200 people.[18]

While making their second documentary in Inner Mongolia, their friend connected them with a government employee. According to Tye, the employee initially brought them to film nomads in the region but became unhappy with them after reading negative comments on a Chinese website about their YouTube content. Believing that maligning China was their intention, the employee told the people they were going to visit that the people would be mocked. Tye said that was not their intention. Although Tye and Sterzel were able to film the nomads, Tye said a Special Police Unit entered their hotel rooms at night to detain them for questioning for several hours. According to Tye, the police tried to get them to confess to having created illegal videos or to being journalists, which they denied. Inner Mongolia is several thousand miles from Guangdong, where Tye was based. Feeling disquieted that the police from that far away knew personal details about him like his and his wife's place of employment, his wife's name, and where he purchased goods, he said, "This was one of the many situations we had experienced that year and the year before. It made me realize that the bad omen had come and I felt I was no longer welcome in China."[3]

Leaving China

After he went back to Huizhou, a friend informed him in early 2018, that members of the public security bureau there had shown his photo in bars and establishments frequented by foreigners. Tye determined that he had to exit from China without delay. The first phase of his plan was to travel to Hong Kong and the second phase was to decide what to do next. His aim was not to have the Chinese government bar him from departing. His friend took him to a Shenzhen border crossing, where the border inspector asked him to provide his Chinese name. Tye responded that he had no Chinese name and said in a later interview that he had never previously been asked for his Chinese name. After he finished going through customs, the policewoman mentioned his Chinese name and asked whether he would be returning to China. Thinking that saying "yes" would be the right answer, he responded in the affirmative and was allowed to enter Hong Kong. While Tye was in Hong Kong, his friends told him he was being sought by Huizhou's public security department and transportation department. The government authorities accused Tye of using a drone to create an aerial video that showed a Huizhou military base. Tye stated in an interview that the government had the drone in its registry, Chinese citizens had filmed the area and posted it online, and he would have received a warning if his drone was flying a restricted area.[3]

Under the belief that the Chinese government aimed to take action against him, he decided to move back to the United States. As his wife did not have her passport with her and was waiting for her green card to be approved, she could not leave Hong Kong, so they decided to wait there. One month later, her green card was approved and they and their children boarded a flight to leave the country.[3] Tye sold their apartment in China,[10] and he returned to the United States in 2019 after having lived in China for 10 years.[9][20] They settled in Los Angeles, and in February he began making YouTube videos in the United States.[10] In July 2020, he uploaded a YouTube video about escaping from China and in one year, it attracted over 10,000 comments and over 1.25 million views.[3] According to the conservative Brazilian newspaper Gazeta do Povo, Tye had interviewed Chinese people without securing a required journalist's license, which was why he had to leave the country.[21]

Shift to political and social commentator

Once Tye moved to the United States, his YouTube channel moved from covering upbeat subject matter to delving into political and social issues in China.[3] He began strongly condemning the Chinese government.[4] Tye commented about human rights in China, which he previously had been unable to talk about.[3] He discussed how he used to think it was free and pleasant to live in China but changed his mind into thinking the freedoms were superficial after having a deeper understanding of the country.[3] Tye said during a September 2019 video that China was encountering increased crime and state persecution.[4] He stated that government officials snatched the property on which he and Sterzel ran their motorcycle business.[4] On November 18, 2020, Tye uploaded a video that made eight points of rebuttal against a Nathan Rich video that said China's territory included Taiwan.[22]

Tye published a YouTube video on April 1, 2020, regarding the COVID-19 lab leak theory and the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV). In the video, he stated that a woman had responded to a WIV job posting shortly prior to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, called her the likely patient zero, and named her as the student Huang Yanling; Tye said she had vanished.[23] In an op-ed for CNBC, Paul Wolfowitz and Bill Drexel said that Tye had "discerning criticism" of the World Health Organization's actions regarding China. In the same op-ed, Wolfowitz and Drexel claimed that Tye was subjected to an endless stream of cyberharassment from "wumao" and Chinese Communist Party supporters. Branding him as a white supremacist, they were able to cut into his income and viewership by "demonetiz[ing]" his YouTube uploads. Tye's sponsorships, which made up most of his revenue, were severely cut after companies became worried about offending China.[24] In 2022, Tye made videos about how China had backed Russia after its invasion of Ukraine.[25]

The pro-Bolsonaro Brazilian newspaper Gazeta do Povo's Bruan Frascolla said, "If you understand English, I will highly recommend Matthew Tye's channel. By the common news, we end up having a timeless perception of China."[21] The Associated Press called Tye and Sterzel "vocal critics" of the Chinese government.[2] In 2021, the company Hong Kong Pear Technology emailed many YouTubers, including Tye and Sterzel, offering to pay them for posting on their accounts an ad for Hainan province, which is frequented by tourists for its beaches. Pretending to be enticed by the company's proposal, they responded and received another proposal to share a propaganda video.[2] The company offered to pay them US$2,000 to share the video.[26] The first COVID-19 case was identified in China. Claiming that COVID-19 came from a white-tailed deer, the disinformation video asserted that the disease did not begin in China. The company ceased communication after Tye and Sterzel requested sources to validate the company's incorrect assertions. The duo cited their interaction with the company as demonstrating China's ability to spread disinformation by paying off influencers.[2]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Gidge, Sky (June 12, 2017). "5 China-Based Youtubers You Need to Be Following". That's. Archived from the original on June 20, 2022. Retrieved June 20, 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Seitz, Amanda; Tucker, Eric; Catalini, Mike (March 30, 2022). "How China's TikTok, Facebook influencers push propaganda". Associated Press. Archived from the original on June 20, 2022. Retrieved June 20, 2022.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Mo, Yu 莫雨 (July 30, 2021). ""在中國，自由都是表面的"：一位逃離牆國的美國網紅" ["In China, freedom is superficial": An American Internet celebrity who fled the wall country] (in Chinese). Voice of America. Archived from the original on June 20, 2022. Retrieved June 20, 2022.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Paul, Ethan (October 29, 2020). "US-China friction turns into YouTube fame (and laughs) for online influencers". South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on September 20, 2022. Retrieved June 20, 2022.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  5. ↑ Tye, Matthew (December 27, 2015). "What's Up With: Happy Birthday Self Drunk Update. Join me and Prozzie (counterfeit James Franco) as we wish me a happy 29th birthday!!!". Archived from the original on September 23, 2022. Retrieved June 20, 2022 – via Facebook.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  6. ↑ "A Former Expat On China: Grim". Mondaq. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
  7. ↑ "Graduates 2005. Maine-Endwell High School". Press & Sun-Bulletin. June 19, 2005. Archived from the original on June 20, 2022. Retrieved June 20, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. 1 2 3 Yao, Melody (September 14, 2019). "American Youtubers In China: Q&A With Winston Sterzal And Matthew Tye". US-China Today. USC U.S.-China Institute. Archived from the original on June 20, 2022. Retrieved June 20, 2022.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 Liu, Youwei 劉又瑋 (August 26, 2021). "賺的錢比中國多7倍！台灣擁2戰略關鍵 老外讚：一直想搬回去" [Earn 7 times more money than China! Taiwan has 2 strategic keys. Foreigner praises: I always want to move back] (in Chinese). FTV News. Archived from the original on June 20, 2022. Retrieved June 20, 2022.
  10. 1 2 3 Sjöberg, Alexander (July 28, 2019). "'De ville ødelægge os psykisk': Den vilde historie om to vestlige YouTube-stjerner, der forelskede sig i Kina, så deres venner blive anholdt og til sidst måtte stikke af" ['They wanted to destroy us mentally': The wild story of two western YouTube stars who fell in love with China, saw their friends get arrested and had to flee in the end]. Politiken (in Danish). Archived from the original on June 20, 2022. Retrieved June 20, 2022.
  11. ↑ Kan, Michael (February 28, 2019). "YouTube Removes Comments on Videos Featuring Kids". PCMag. Archived from the original on June 20, 2022. Retrieved June 20, 2022.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 Roberts, Stephen O. (January 4, 2015). "Custom Start-Up: Three Expats and a Two-Wheeled Dream". Here! Dongguan. Archived from the original on May 8, 2018. Retrieved June 20, 2022.
  13. ↑ ADVChina (August 9, 2023). "China's Eminem Failed Miserably! - The Embarrassing story of C-milk's Rap Career". YouTube. Archived from the original on August 12, 2023. Retrieved August 12, 2023.
  14. ↑ "15 Tips to Become a Successful YouTube Vlogger in China". That's PRD. June 13, 2017. Archived from the original on June 20, 2022. Retrieved June 20, 2022.
  15. 1 2 Ablaza, Ana (January 7, 2017). "Video of Chinese Portrayed as 'Language Rapists' Goes Viral". Yibada. Archived from the original on June 20, 2022. Retrieved June 20, 2022.
  16. ↑ Mo, Yu 莫雨 (July 18, 2021). "外國的月亮比較圓？中共外宣新武器：外籍網紅" [Is the moon more round in foreign countries? The CCP's new weapon of foreign propaganda: foreign Internet celebrities] (in Chinese). Voice of America. Archived from the original on June 20, 2022. Retrieved June 20, 2022.
  17. 1 2 3 Mullin, Kyle (August 20, 2016). "Watch Two Crazy Vloggers Drive 5,000km Across Southern China on Handmade Motorcycles". The Beijinger. Archived from the original on June 20, 2022. Retrieved June 20, 2022.
  18. 1 2 3 4 Gidge, Sky (March 29, 2017). "YouTube Stars Turn to Kickstarter for China Motorcycle Adventure Series". That's Shenzhen. Archived from the original on June 20, 2022. Retrieved June 20, 2022.
  19. ↑ "Globetrotting Halesowen filmmaker tackled South China's roads for series". Halesowen News. September 9, 2016. Archived from the original on April 22, 2018. Retrieved June 20, 2022.
  20. ↑ "住中國10年終認清逃離！美紀錄片導演：自由都是表面的" [After living in China for 10 years, he recognized and escaped! American documentary director: the freedom is superficial]. Liberty Times (in Chinese). July 31, 2021. Archived from the original on June 20, 2022. Retrieved June 20, 2022.
  21. 1 2 Frascolla, Bruna (September 20, 2021). "Influência chinesa modifica até o conteúdo da enciclopédia da internet" [Chinese influence even modifies the contents of the internet encyclopedia]. Gazeta do Povo (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on June 20, 2022. Retrieved June 20, 2022.
  22. ↑ Everington, Keoni (November 19, 2020). "YouTuber clears up China propagandist's confusion over Taiwan independence". Taiwan News. Archived from the original on June 20, 2022. Retrieved June 20, 2022.
  23. ↑ Dewar, Elaine (2021). On the Origin of the Deadliest Pandemic in 100 Years: An Investigation. Windsor, Ontario: Biblioasis. ISBN 978-1-77196-426-5. Retrieved June 20, 2022 – via Google Books.
  24. ↑ Wolfowitz, Paul; Drexel, Bill (July 13, 2021). "Op-ed: American corporations must stop selling out to China's brutal regime". CNBC. Archived from the original on June 20, 2022. Retrieved June 20, 2022.
  25. ↑ Dearment, Alaric (March 14, 2022). "China's Rulers Show Their Hypocrisy On Ukraine". Above the Law. Archived from the original on June 20, 2022. Retrieved June 20, 2022.
  26. ↑ Sintash, Bahram; Abdureshid, Nuriman (May 1, 2022). "China enlists foreign vloggers to whitewash Uyghur situation in Xinjiang". Radio Free Asia. Archived from the original on June 20, 2022. Retrieved June 20, 2022.

Further reading

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