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Altercation between LGBT Supporters and Guards at Beijing’s 798 Art District

A ten-second video is causing commotion on Weibo and WeChat.

Manya Koetse

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Local guards turned violent on Sunday when people wearing and giving out rainbow badges at Beijing’s trendy 798 art district were reported as holding an “illegal gathering.” The badges were meant to raise awareness for the International Day Against Homophobia.

This article was updated on Monday, May 14, 17:30 (Beijing time).

On Sunday, May 13, an altercation between people wearing rainbow badges and local guards at the Beijing 798 art district caused much commotion on Chinese social media after footage leaked online, showing at least one female being knocked to the ground.

According to sources on Weibo, there were people giving out rainbow buttons for free to celebrate International Day Against Homophobia (May 17/国际不再恐同日) before the altercation occurred, but there are no official media sources reporting on the incident at time of writing. (Update 05/14: Global Times has now reported that “security staff at Beijing’s 798 Art Zone who roughed up two women for wearing rainbow badges on their clothing have been harshly criticized by LGBT groups and other netizens on Chinese social media on Sunday.”)

Buttons in support of the LGBT community at 798 art district.

WeChat lifestyle blogger Zakki (@zakki吉吉), however, did report on the issue, saying that Weibo netizen Piao Quan Jun (@票圈君) was one of the initiators behind the idea to give out badges in support of May 17 at the 798 art park.

Via Wechat / @zakki吉吉

Other people on Weibo also posted photos of the event, which showed that besides giving out badges, Piao Quan Jun also gave out free hugs to people.

On Sunday late afternoon, police cars allegedly came to monitor the area where the people were giving out the badges, and the activity was marked as an “illegal gathering.” Local guards started to surveil the area and denied entrance to the park to those wearing rainbow badges.

The 798 art zone is a relatively large area that used to be an old factory complex, and has now turned into an artistic community area full of exposition spaces, restaurants, and shops. It previously was the main venue for the annual Beijing Queer Film Festival.

According to Zakki, things turned violent when two females and guards clashed over the rainbow badges, which is the moment of the video that is going viral.

Although the topic was discussed by many on Weibo and WeChat, articles and videos of the incident were soon taken offline.

“Today we won’t be silent,” one Weibo user wrote: “We will raise our voice for love. Although it scares us what happened today at 798, we cannot give up our right to love and be loved.”

By Sunday late night (Beijing time) the hashtag “798 Beating” (#798打人#) received more than 250,000 views. Hours later, the page and hashtag were taken offline.

“Are public security guards allowed to beat people?” a typical comment read.

“Today, for now, I won’t discuss homosexuality or LGBT, I just want to discuss why you beat someone at all. What gives you the right?”, one commenter said.

Censorship on gay-related issues and content in China has recently gained more attention on social media sites such as Weibo. Last month, Weibo administration issued a notice saying it would no longer allow “gay content” on the site, which was reversed within days after an online uproar against the ban.

This week, China broadcast of the Eurovision Contest was revoked after Chinese broadcaster Mango TV edited out rainbow flags and other gay-related footage of the semi-final on its channel.

“I have difficulties understanding why our country would prohibit homosexuality,” one Weibo user writes: “Isn’t it a normal thing? Is it because it is not in line with your family planning program?”

By Chauncey Jung and Manya Koetse

Spotted a mistake or want to add something? Please let us know in comments below or email us.

©2018 Whatsonweibo. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce our content without permission – you can contact us at info@whatsonweibo.com.

Manya Koetse is the founder and editor-in-chief of whatsonweibo.com. She is a writer, public speaker, and researcher (Sinologist, MPhil) on social trends, digital developments, and new media in an ever-changing China, with a focus on Chinese society, pop culture, and gender issues. She shares her love for hotpot on hotpotambassador.com. Contact at manya@whatsonweibo.com, or follow on Twitter.

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3 Comments

3 Comments

  1. Avatar

    nolgbt

    May 14, 2018 at 4:46 am

    good. give the Lbgt a good beating. Chinese lgbt are western idolising degenerates. they don’t care about Chinese culture, they only care about copying western culture.

    • Avatar

      Lee

      May 14, 2018 at 10:22 am

      What a stupid uneducated comment. As if anybody would show his preference for a culture through sexual orientation ?. In this way of thinking, eating hamburgers or wearing addidas is a sign of western idolizing too. But back to reality: homosexuality was seen as normal in Chinese history. Opposition to homosexuality started in China through the Westernization efforts of the Qing dynasty. So the contrary is right: homosexuality is a part of Chinese culture, homophobia is copying western cultures and religion.

      • Avatar

        LGBTZYZxxxdsyzaaa

        May 15, 2018 at 7:43 am

        @Lee the problem is homosexuality is only interested in ugly activism and ugly visibility, and yes expressing your sexuality is no point of pride, or individual accomplishment, no contest, just exhibitionism at it’s worst, poluting the scenery with all sorts of gender bending concepts, disreputable exhibitionism, and zombie like conduct. You see the worst aspect of homosexual activism exactly from Western Cultures, and not following it in part because of the way LGBT groups conduct themselves in Western cultures, if they were something like Japan where they act honorably and cultured, then you might see better perception for homosexual visibility in the future. As from the video, I notice the woman threw the first punch and that is another ugly sight of this sort of activism, these people just do not respect the law or civility until they face the consequences, the same can be said with LGBT activism, they are just creating their own separate identity, and expect others to subvert their own culture and national identity to include the LGBT into the mainstream. This is not going to work, LGBT movement of the Western activism concept seems nothing more than a tool to destroy social cohesion within a country and community and in the end leads to no good path forward.

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China Local News

Chinese Female Homeowner Slapped in Altercation with Nanchang Office Worker

This viral video has exposed the violent actions of Yang, an office worker who initially provoked the anger of local residents and has now ignited fury on Chinese social media as well.

Manya Koetse

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An incident that happened on September 27th in Jiangxi’s Nanchang has become a major topic of discussion on Chinese social media over the past two days, and all revolves around a viral video that shows a man suddenly striking a Chinese female homeowner across the face.

The backstory of the video revolves around a dispute between the local homeowners and the man, who holds a higher position at the office building situated within the residential area’s property.

Upon discovering that an iron fence, which separated the residential area from the office area, had been cut open without notifying the local homeowners, the woman entered the office building to seek an explanation for why the fence was damaged and breached without the consent of the residential area’s residents. Apparently, employees at the company wanted to create a shortcut.

During the confrontation, the man told the woman: “If you want to talk, go to the community meeting room.” Just as the woman asked him why the fence was cut open with a cutting machine, the man suddenly and forcefully slapped her in the face.

After the incident, the woman was taken to a local hospital for a medical examination, and the police initially intervened in the case as mediators. However, the latest updates on the case reveal that the man is now detained for ten days. Apart from slapping the female homeowner, a 32-year-old woman named Wang, the 43-year-old office worker Mr. Yang reportedly also struck another woman, a 37-year-old local named Cheng.

The video has captured the attention of netizens not just because of the man’s actions towards a woman but also because it seemed to occur out of nowhere. One moment, the man was engaged in conversation with the woman, and the next moment, he suddenly slapped her across the face.

Recently, there have also been other ‘slapping moments’ that went viral on Chinese social media. Earlier this year, the “high-speed train slapping incident”, involving two women arguing on a train and slapping each other in the face, garnering widespread attention (read here). Another recent incident involves the ‘Subway Judge,’ a young man who intervened in a subway argument and suddenly slapped an older man in the face (read here).

As is often the case, a short video may not capture the full context of a situation, and some Chinese netizens who claim to have more information about the incident suggest that multiple office workers were actually involved in the confrontation with the women.

Another video provides additional footage of the altercation, revealing that Yang threatened one of the women with a cutting machine. It also shows how he brought Ms. Wang to the ground after the initial slapping incident.

Local residents and Yang, who is believed to oversee the office department, have been in a longstanding conflict. According to a homeowner’s post on Weibo, when the residents bought their apartments, they were not informed about the nearby office building. They only discovered it when they received their keys.

Initially, Evergrande, the property developer, had promised separate management for the residential and office areas, but due to apparent financial difficulties, this plan was never finalized. The homeowners therefore erected the iron fence to separate the residential and commercial areas, leading to continuous arguments and intimidation between the office workers and the residents.

Mr. Yang on the office side of the fence. He has now reportedly been detained for ten days.

Some Weibo commenters are suggesting that the man’s behavior makes him seem more like a gang member than a typical office worker. In addition to the legal consequences that Yang is facing from local authorities, his reputation is undoubtedly taking a hit.

As of now, Chinese netizens have already exposed his identity, and the internet is never forgiving when it comes to these kinds of incidents, leaving a lasting mark on one’s public image.

By Manya Koetse

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©2023 Whatsonweibo. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce our content without permission – you can contact us at info@whatsonweibo.com.

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China Brands, Marketing & Consumers

China’s ‘Chanel’? Chinese Beauty Brand Florasis Is Raising Eyebrows on Weibo

Some netizens wonder if the Florasis PR team might have lost their marbles, as their strategy appears to have taken an unusual turn, featuring emotionally charged replies on Weibo.

Manya Koetse

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Lost Marbles or marketing logic? Following its involvement in the Li Jiaqi ‘eyebrow pencil gate,’ Chinese beauty brand Florasis’ social media strategy has taken an unconventional turn. The domestic brand recently went trending after declaring its ambition to win over the global luxury cosmetic market, and its plans to challenge established giants like Louis Vuitton and Chanel.

In the world of Chinese cosmetic brands, all eyes are on Florasis (花西子) recently. This Chinese make-up brand gained significant attention earlier this month when the popular beauty influencer ‘Lipstick King’ Li Jiaqi promoted one of their eyebrow pencils during a livestream.

After some viewers questioned whether a single eyebrow pencil costing 79 yuan ($10.8) was perhaps too expensive, Li lashed out and suggested viewers should instead ask themselves if they worked hard enough to deserve a raise.

That moment triggered a social media storm (read here), and suddenly everyone knew about Florasis, which is known as Huāxīzǐ (花西子) in China.

 
“Huaxi Coins” and Public Mockery
 

The incident sparked a series of memes and discussions, and among them, the question of what one can buy with 79 yuan in China today was a big one.

While some suggested they could feed an entire family for one day with 79 yuan, others said that it would buy their office lunches for a week. This humorous situation gave rise to the term ‘Huaxi Coins’ or ‘Floracash’ (花西币), with netizens playfully using the price of one Florasis eyebrow pencil’s price as a new currency unit (one ‘Huaxi Coin’ equals 79 yuan/$10.8).

Although Li Jiaqi apologized to his viewers soon after his controversy, it took some time for Florasis to respond the controversy the brand found itself embroiled in.

Florasis, a brand established in Hangzhou in 2017, is deeply connected to Li Jiaqi, as he has been the chief brand ambassador since 2019 and has actively participated in their product development.

Li Jiaqi x Huaxizi/Florasis.

The entire social media storm prompted a heightened focus on why Florasis products are perceived as relatively expensive.

As reported by Qing Na at Dao Insights, one post that gained significant traction on September 12 revealed that a five-piece Jade Makeup Brush set from Florasis, priced at 919 RMB ($126.28), was, in fact, made by using synthetic fiber bristles, considered cheap and of lower quality. This revelation garnered over 240 million views in just a few hours, adding to the public mockery of the national beauty brand.

 
The Florasis Dream: Becoming a Leading International Luxury Brand
 

On September 19, Florasis/Huaxizi finally apologized on social media for its late response to the controversy, and the brand stated that the incident provided an opportunity for them to listen to “the voice of their consumers,” although they did not delve deeper into the price of their products.

Florasis apology on Weibo, screenshot.

Although people criticized the letter posted by Florasis and the words they used in it, their decision to release a statement initially seemed fruitful: they gained 20,000 new followers in a single night.

Chinese netizens picking apart the apology letter posted by Huaxizi/Florasis. Via Xiaohongshu user @边际平衡術.

While the entire situation drew more attention to the Chinese make-up brand, it also seems to have prompted Florasis to reconsider its own position in the cosmetics industry, both in China and globally. Because on September 26th, the brand publicly and somewhat suddenly declared its ambition of becoming a leading international luxury cosmetics brand.

“Me, Florasis, I’m 6,5 years old,” the post read: “I have a dream: to be a high-end brand, rooted in China, going global.”

Florasis announces its ambition to become a globally recognized make-up brand.

In their post, Florasis used a quote saying “A Positive Mindset Shapes Huaxizi’s Lifetime,” which is derived from the title of a well-known Chinese self-help book from 2012 called “A Positive Mindset Shapes a Woman’s Lifetime” (好心态决定女人一生).

One of the main ideas presented in this book, authored by Li Jin (李津), is that success can never come from a negative or pessimistic mindset; if you see yourself as a failure, you’re likely to fail, but if you envision success, you’re more likely to achieve it.

 
Next to Chanel: Confusion about Florasis’ Public Relations Tactics
 

The company’s ambition, on its own, may not be particularly surprising. As stated in a report published by Paicaijing (派财经), Florasis’ co-founder, Fei Man (飞慢), had previously questioned in an interview why Chinese brands were always associated with being cheap, expressing Florasis’ wish to break the “price ceiling” (价格天花板) and escape the ongoing “low price competition” (低价竞争) in China’s beauty industry by delivering high-quality products at a premium price.

However, the wording and the timing seemed odd, and the post created both banter and confusion about Florasis’ public relations tactics, especially because they did much more than that post alone.

On September 20th, approximately ten days after the ‘eyebrow pencil gate’ controversy, the company’s founder, Hua Mantian (花满天), made an announcement on his WeChat channel. He revealed that the brand would be distributing their premium eyebrow pencils, originally priced at 119 yuan ($16.3), during a livestream promotional event that night. They planned to give away free pencils to hundreds of viewers every ten minutes. By giving out over 10,000 free eyebrow pencils in total, the company allegedly hoped to gain more feedback on their product in order to further improve it. Over 400,000 people tuned in to that livestream.

Since then, Florasis seems to be doing all it can to catch the public’s attention, and some netizens even wonder if the editors at the Florasis PR team might have lost their marbles, as they keep posting a lot of unusual replies, – some emotional and somewhat unhinged, – to their own threads on their Weibo account.

Throughout September 26, the account posted dozens of texts/replies, responding to many netizens’ comments. Florasis not only declared its wish to be China’s ‘Chanel’ when it comes to beauty products, it also praised its own efforts in contributing to women’s mental health, preserving traditional culture, innovating cosmetics, and much more.

Their social media texts included phrases such as: “I’m super awesome,” or writing:

I’m really becoming a bit emotional. I established my own laboratory at just three years old! We now have over 200 research partners, and their leader is Li Huiliang (李慧良), known as the “Number One in Chinese Cosmetics Research and Development.” He’s like a superstar in the industry. We have five big innovation research and development centers, over 7000 square meters, larger than a football field. Don’t I deserve a gold star sticker for that?

And:

As a Chinese brand, every generation has a mission. Our generation’s mission is to fight in the international market with high-end presence! You can mock and ridicule me, it’s ok [sad face emoji] I’m already neighbors with Louis Vuitton and Gucci at the [Hangzhou] West Lake [shopping street]! And I will be next to Chanel at Japan’s top-notch department store Isetan. Next up is France, Dubai, America, see you there!

Subsequently, the hashtag “Florasis Says It’ll Be Side-to-Side with Chanel” (#花西子称要和香奈儿门对门#) received over 470 million views on Weibo. Another hashtag, “Florasis Wants to Be a High-end Brand” (#花西子称想做高端品牌#), received more than 220 million views.

 
Mad Marketing
 

By now, the hashtag “Huaxizi Lost It” (#花西子发疯#) has also gone trending on Chinese social media platform Weibo, where people have different thoughts on what might have triggered Florasis’ social media behavior.

While some people really think that Florasis has gone crazy, others see the entire ordeal as a social media spectacle meant to distract attention from what happened with Li Jiaqi, or as a cheap marketing stunt.

One poll conducted by Sina News asked people about the situation. The majority of respondents believed that the social media editor must have lost their mind, while others considered it just another version of “bad marketing is still marketing” – suggesting that even if the publicity strategy is cheap or questionable, it is still used as a marketing tactic to gain attention.

Another question is: does it even matter what the reason behind this unusual online media approach is?

If Florasis is really letting its PR team run wild, it is doing so at a crucial moment, shortly after a significant controversy that cast the brand in a negative light. This moment calls for careful control rather than unconventional tactics. Furthermore, the social media strategy appears to be at odds with Florasis’ typical marketing image, which emphasizes tradition, glamour, and perfection.

If Florasis is using this strategy to attract and divert attention, it also appears that this approach is not yielding the desired results, as many people express a common sentiment: “I didn’t purchase Florasis before, and I certainly won’t be buying it now.”

By Manya Koetse

With contributions by Miranda Barnes

Get the story behind the hashtag. Subscribe to What’s on Weibo here to receive our newsletter and get access to our latest articles:

Spotted a mistake or want to add something? Please let us know in comments below or email us. First-time commenters, please be patient – we will have to manually approve your comment before it appears.

©2023 Whatsonweibo. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce our content without permission – you can contact us at info@whatsonweibo.com.

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