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Another Case of Domestic Violence in Public: Man Abuses Pregnant Wife in Chongqing Street

A video that shows how a man beats a pregnant woman on the rainy streets of Chongqing has sparked outrage on Chinese social media. Over recent years, footage showing domestic abuse often surfaces on Weibo – bystanders hardly ever intervene.

Manya Koetse

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A video that shows how a man beats a pregnant woman on the rainy streets of Chongqing has sparked outrage on Chinese social media. Over recent years, footage showing domestic abuse in public often surfaces on Weibo – bystanders hardly ever intervene.

A video that captures a man beating his wife in the middle of a rainy street in a Chongqing neighborhood has triggered controversy on Chinese social media. The woman, who is reportedly pregnant, screams out while her husband drags her by the hair.

The man can also be seen kicking a little dog that is barking and clearly distressed. According to neighbors, the couple is often heard fighting and screaming.

The video was recorded in the district of Bishan, in the Nanhelijing neighborhood, on June 13. According to several sources, the couple already has a 1-year-old child.

Over recent years, public displays of domestic violence have frequently made headlines in China. In 2016, a video of a man slapping his wife and forcing her into the car trunk at a Hebei gas station sparked national outrage – also because bystanders filmed the incident and let the man drive away with the woman in the back of his car.

In April 2016, the assault of a woman in a Beijing hotel lobby also sparked wide discussion. Security cameras captured how bystanders and hotel staff did not help the woman when she was attacked by the man. Many people thought the man and woman were a married couple, which is why they allegedly did not intervene; domestic abuse is often considered a “private matter” that outsiders should not interfere with.

In 2016, another video also surfaced online that showed a man dragging a woman on the street by her hair. A neighborhood guard approached the couple, but just watched the scene and then turned around. Many other bystanders also did not do anything to stop the abuse.

Although there has been increased public attention for domestic violence, especially since China launched its first law against domestic violence in 2016, violence between partners is still a widespread problem in China. In 2008, one study found that approximately 19.7% of women in China had experienced violence perpetrated by their male intimate partners (Tang & Lai 2008, in Cao et al 2014, 684).

In 2013, a survey from the All-China Women’s Federation reported that a quarter of Chinese women have suffered from domestic abuse at some point in their lives, although the actual number might be much higher (The Lancet 2016, 1028).

“No matter the reason, a man should never hit a woman in the first place,” one female Weibo netizen says: “But it’s even worse when it’s a man hitting a pregnant woman, who is his own wife. And then doing so in the pouring rain just makes it more despicable.”

“I also can’t understand any man so cruel to animals. It’s possible not to love animals, but it’s unthinkable to hurt them,” another commenter writes.

Many netizens wonder why the woman does not divorce the man. “It must be Stockholm Syndrome,” one person suggests (“斯德哥尔摩综合征”).

“Hopefully the baby she carries isn’t his,” some people write.

But some people also criticize the media for publishing this video. One Beijing netizen writes: “I always feel like this kind of news is just released by the media to trigger the public’s anger, without any professional ethical base to it. No matter who watches this, whether they’re strong or weak, they will all be angry about this. News that is just released like this, without any background details, often triggers anger and then turns out to have some other truth to it in the end (..), but then people are already on to the next piece of news that they can be angry about.”

When this incident was reported by Chinese media, the newsreader on television did remind people not just to film incidents such as these, but to always first call the police.

“The person who filmed this is truly ruthless,” one commenter said: “If they’d called the police straight away we wouldn’t even need to have seen this violence. If they were just taping this incident in order to hype it, we should strongly condemn it.”

By Manya Koetse

References

Cao, Y., Yang, S., Wang, G., & Zhang, Y. 2014. “Sociodemographic Characteristics of Domestic Violence in China: A Population Case-Control Study.” Journal of Interpersonal Violence 29(4): 683–706.

Tang, C. S., & Lai, B. P. 2008. “A Review of Empirical Literature on the Prevalence and Risk Markers of Male-on-Female Intimate Partner Violence in Contemporary China, 1987-2006.” Aggression and Violent Behavior (13): 10-28.

The Lancet. “Domestic Violence in China.” The Lancet (387), March: 1028.

©2017 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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China Local News

Changsha Restaurant Employee Pays the Price after Protecting Abused Child

A Changsha restaurant employee who intervened when a mother beat her child ended up paying the price for it.

Manya Koetse

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The story of a restaurant employee who had to pay the price for sharing a video of a mother beating her child has triggered anger on Chinese social media.

The incident happened on September 14, when Mr. Jiang (江), an employee at the ‘Peng Shu’ Western-style restaurant in Changsha, stopped a mother from beating her young daughter at the shopping mall where the restaurant is located.

As reported by the Guizhou media channel People’s Focus (@百姓关注), a mother and daughter at the restaurant drew the staff’s attention when the mother began physically assaulting her daughter.

The mother, clearly overwhelmed by her emotions, resorted to kicking, hitting, yelling, and even attempting to strike her child with a chair, allegedly in response to the child accidentally spilling ice cream on her clothing.

During this distressing incident, which was captured on video, Mr. Jiang and another colleague intervened to protect the child and immediately alerted the police to the situation.

But the one who was punished in the end was not the mother.

The video of this incident was shared online, leading the woman to repeatedly visit the restaurant in frustration over her unblurred face in the video. The police had to mediate in this dispute.

To the dismay of many netizens, the employee ended up being forced to pay the woman 10,000 yuan ($1369) in compensation for “moral damages.” He has since resigned from his job and has left Changsha. A related hashtag was viewed over 110 million times on Weibo (#餐厅员工发顾客打娃视频后赔1万离职#) and also became a hot topic on Douyin.

The majority of commenters expressed their anger at the unjust outcome where a restaurant employee, who had attempted to protect the child, faced repercussions while the mother appeared to avoid any legal consequences for her actions.

“Where is the All-China Women’s Federation when you need them?” some wondered, while others wanted to know why the incident was not followed up with an immediate investigation into the child abuse. Others suggested that if it were a man who had beaten his child, authorities would have been quicker to intervene.

The issue of corporal punishment for children often comes up in Chinese social media discussions. While many people find it unacceptable to beat children, using violence to discipline children is also commonplace in many families.

When China’s first national law against domestic violence came into effect on 1 March 2016, article 5 and 12 specifically addressed the special legal protection of children and made family violence against children against the law.

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 Local News

Chinese Man Wants to Marry Deaf-Mute Girlfriend, Marriage License Application Gets Denied

The marriage was denied after a local official found the woman did not learn sign language and could not write.

Manya Koetse

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WEIBO SHORTS

A man from Gongyi, Zhengzhou, Henan, recently became a trending topic on Chinese social media due to the denial of his marriage license application with his girlfriend, who is deaf and mute.

According to Chinese media reports, both sets of parents had consented to the marriage, and the couple had already taken their wedding photos. However, the local Bureau of Civil Affairs rejected their application, citing the requirement for both parties to independently declare their intention to marry.

The woman, who had never attended a school for the Deaf, lacked the ability to use sign language, write, or communicate effectively. The Bureau advised the couple to return once she had completed her education and could express her desire to marry.

The potential future mother-in-law of the young woman spoke to Chinese media, explaining that her daughter-in-law’s situation was unique, as she had not attended a specialized school and therefore could not meet the marriage requirements.

The man’s mother expressed disappointment about the marriage being denied in an online interview.

As news of this incident circulated on Chinese social media, many people praised the “responsible decision” of the local Bureau of Civil Affairs.

Last year, one human trafficking case gained national prominence after a TikTok vlogger exposed the horrific living conditions of a woman in Xuzhou who appeared to be unable to communicate. She was married with eight children and kept in a shed next to the house, tied to a chain.

It later turned out that local officials made errors in properly checking and verifying when approving the marriage certificate.

While many people believe that cases like the one in Xuzhou should never occur again, some also feel that the situation in Gongyi is unfair to the girl. Given that both sets of parents had already consented to the marriage, and the couple had even taken wedding photos, some argue that it is unreasonable to expect the girl to learn sign language before proceeding with the marriage.

One commenter from Sichuan points out: “Ordinary people who are facing infidelity and domestic violence during their marriages already struggle with divorce. For a deaf and mute person who cannot communicate through sign language and who has no way of communicating, we can’t be sure about their marriage intentions. However, we can be sure that if they need a divorce, it might be a nearly insurmountable challenge.”

Also read: Twists and Turns in the Tragic Story of the Xuzhou Chained Mother

By Manya Koetse

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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