China Local News

Bad Mom To Be? Pregnant Woman Intentionally Trips 4-Year-Old Boy in Baoji

Footage of a 7-month-pregnant woman in Baoji tackling a 4-year old boy has triggered waves of discussions on Weibo this weekend.

Published

1 year ago

April 22, 2018

Manya Koetse

This weekend, footage of a pregnant woman intentionally letting a little boy trip in a restaurant in the city of Baoji, Shaanxi province, has stirred controversy on Chinese social media.

The incident occurred on April 19. A surveillance camera in a local malatang (spicy hot pot) restaurant captured how a young boy runs into the establishment, carelessly pushing aside the transparent wind blockers in the door. They hit the face of the pregnant woman sitting by the door, who then spills some food on herself.

The woman, clearly agitated, waits for the boy to run out of the restaurant again. She then deliberately holds out her foot and makes the boy trip and fall.

According to various Chinese news sources, the boy is the 4-year-old son of local shopkeepers, who ran into the restaurant to grab some chopsticks for his mother. Soon after the fall, his mum rushed into the restaurant, asking the woman for an explanation. The pregnant woman then claimed she had a stomach pain and left with her husband before the police, alerted by the boy’s parents, arrived at the scene.

The boy was briefly taken to the hospital for a check-up after his fall, but suffered no serious injuries, as his mother noted on social media (image below).

One witness, who was also at the diner when this happened, told China Business News reporters that the boy’s action made the pregnant woman spill her food all over herself. According to this witness, the boy’s parents stood outside and saw what had happened, but did not apologize.

This incident and its footage have gone viral over Chinese internet since Friday, and has been widely covered by Chinese news outlets over the past 48 hours. On Weibo, the hashtag “Pregnant woman stretches foot to tackle child” (#孕妇伸腿绊倒幼童#) was viewed more than 67 million times by Sunday, attracting thousands of comments.

Although some blame the boy’s parents, most netizens agree that the woman’s reaction was completely inappropriate, and some are even worried about the woman becoming a mother herself.

“The young boy rushed inside and hit the pregnant woman with the wind curtain,” one commenter says: “The pregnant woman has the right to be angry for not getting an apology from the boy’s parents. The parents probably did not see their child hit someone, but all the other people did see it happen. (..) However, how the woman reacts is really childish and exaggerated.”

Another top commenter says: “I think this pregnant woman is overreacting. The child is still young and ignorant. You can tell him off, but you can’t tackle him. He is carrying chopsticks in his hand – what if you’d really hurt him? You’ll be a mother soon, aren’t you afraid of your own children being harmed? Your aggression is not good for you baby. You’re an adult – shame on you!”

“I hate little brats such as this one, but you can’t go further than scolding them – this is immoral.”

This case has become such a big topic this weekend because both children and pregnant women are vulnerable social groups, and mothers-to-be are especially expected to be loving and kind to little children – this behaviour is not in line with social expectations. One female Weibo netizen said: “I can understand that pregnant women can sometimes react with an irrational temperament, but this cannot be justified.” Another person wrote: “Being pregnant

Since the case has blown up on Chinese social media, the pregnant woman has become a target of the so-called ‘human flesh search engine’, with people looking to reveal her identity and personal details online. Some even say they hope something will be wrong with her baby.

The woman has since turned herself in at the police station, and has apologized for what she has done. Although the woman was initially punished with a 10-day prison sentence and a 1000 yuan fine (±$158), she was pardoned from going to prison because she is 7 months pregnant.

The 4-year-old boy’s mother has stepped forward and have asked people not to bother the pregnant woman anymore, and to leave her in peace.

“The boy’s parents are really generous,” some respond: “They return good for evil.”

Check out our latest video on this issue here:

By Manya Koetse, with contribution from Miranda Barnes
Follow @whatsonweibo

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

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Manya Koetse

Manya Koetse is the editor-in-chief of www.whatsonweibo.com. She is a writer and consultant (Sinologist, MPhil) on social trends in China, with a focus on social media and digital developments, popular culture, and gender issues. Contact at manya@whatsonweibo.com, or follow on Twitter.

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China Local News

Online Anger over Inappropriate Toast by Dutch Watch Brand Executive at Chinese Dinner Party

This is how NOT to do a toast in Dutch!

Published

1 month ago

September 13, 2019

Manya Koetse

Instead of teaching guests at a Chinese dinner party how to say “cheers” in Dutch, this viral video shows how the Chinese are told to join in saying “dikke lul,” the Dutch expression for “big d*ck.”

UPDATE: FYI – the videos relating to this incident have been taken offline after the publication of this article. There are no active video links in this article.

The Amsterdam-based watch & jewelry brand Rosefield has recently come under fire within the Chinese community in the Netherlands after a video went viral showing Rosefield’s CEO and its Head of Sourcing proposing an unusual toast at a Chinese dinner party.

The video, that was viewed over 173,000 times on Dutch site Dumpert.nl, shows a woman in a white blouse bringing out a toast, saying:

“In Dutch, we say ‘ganbei’ or ‘cheers’ in this way, and it would be nice if you all can say the same, we say: ‘dikke lul.‘”

The people at the table then proceed to toast saying “Dikke lul” – which, in fact, is not the Dutch word for ‘cheers’ but for ‘big dick,’ something that the Chinese people at the table are seemingly not aware of.

On WeChat, Chinese-language newspaper Asian News (华侨新天地) reported about the video and identified the Dutch woman and man at the table as the CPO and CEO of Rosefield Watches, a fast-growing luxury brand that is active in various countries.

Asian News describes the incident as a way of “ridiculing Chinese friends,” and writes it has triggered anger online.

Asian News (华侨新天地) is a Chinese language newspaper founded in 1992. It is mainly distributed in the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany. Its WeChat account has some 120,200 followers, and the post on the ‘cheers’ video was among its most-well read on WeChat this week.

The blog post noted that ever since the ‘dikke lul’ video has gone viral in the Netherlands, it has become one of the first results showing up when searching for the vulgar expression ‘dikke lul’ on Google.

Although it is not clear where the video was filmed and how it ended up on short video site Dumpert, it is rumored in WeChat groups that it was recorded during the Hong Kong Watch and Clock Fair earlier this month, and that the Chinese guests are business relations of the Dutch brand (unconfirmed).

The comment section on the Dumpert site shows that although some Dutch commenters think the video is funny, there are many who find it “vulgar,” “rude,” and “distasteful.”

Although many (overseas) Chinese expressed anger in various WeChat groups – some expressing regret over a Rosefield watch they recently purchased – the Asia News blog does remind readers that we do not know the context of the video, and whether or not there was a certain pretext or common understanding to the joke.

Nevertheless, the blog states, this kind of behavior is not professional and if a company such as Rosefield wants to earn money in China, “it should also respect Chinese culture and people.”

Although there have been ample discussions about the controversial video on Wechat, there are no online discussions about this issue on Weibo at the time of writing.

Over the past year, many foreign brands became a focus for controversy in China.

In November of 2018, Italian fashion house D&G faced consumer outrage and backlash on Chinese social media for a video that was deemed ‘racist’ to China and for insulting remarks about Chinese people allegedly made by designer Stefano Gabbana.

Swiss investment bank UBS sparked controversy in June for a column which mentioned “Chinese pigs.”

Over this summer, various foreign companies apologized to China for listing ‘Hong Kong’ as a separate country or region on its websites and/or t-shirts.

Still curious about how to actually say ‘cheers’ in Dutch? It’s ‘proost’ and this is how you pronounce it correctly.

By Manya Koetse
Follow @whatsonweibo

Spotted a mistake or want to add something? Please let us know in comments below or email us. Please note that your comment below will need to be manually approved if you’re a first-time poster here.

China Food & Drinks

This Is the BBQ Restaurant Jack Ma Visited in Zhengzhou

Jack Ma’s late-night snack means overnight success for this Zhengzhou skewer place.

Published

2 months ago

August 29, 2019

Manya Koetse

Whatever Jack Ma does or says makes headlines in China. The superstar Alibaba founder has especially been a topic of discussion over the past week since his meeting with Tesla’s Elon Musk at the World AI Conference in Shanghai, where the two billionaires had a discussion about the risks and rewards of AI development.

But on social media platform Weibo, Chinese netizens have not just been discussing what Jack Ma has been saying over the past few days – what he has been eating has also become a topic that has attracted thousands of views and comments this week.

A BBQ skewer restaurant in Zhengzhou, Henan Province, gained overnight fame after a visit from the business magnate and his group. The Alibaba delegation visited Zhengzhou for a meeting concerning a strategic partnership between Alibaba and the local government.

Jack Ma visited the barbecue skewer restaurant around one o’clock in the morning, and was photographed and filmed by many people standing around.

Ma visited Dehua Pedestrian Street and Zhengdong New Area before arriving at the Zheng Xiwang restaurant. Ma was with a small group of people and spent a total of 700 yuan (around 100 US dollars).

Grilled skewers are popular all across China, but especially in the Zhengzhou region, which is also nicknamed the “holy land of skewers.”

Image via Dianping.com.

The Zheng Xiwang restaurant visited by Ma was founded in 1991 – although it was just a street stall at the time – and has been thriving ever since.

Besides skewers, Jack Ma allegedly ordered stir-fried Hunan prawns and spicy clams.

As Ma’s visit to Zhengzhou and the restaurant has gone viral, some social media users write that they have also visited the restaurant immediately after, sharing photos and their receipts as proof.

Weibo user Jia Chengjun (@贾成军) from Henan shared photos of people lining up to get a table at the popular restaurant.

According to various reports on Weibo, the restaurant’s owner initially offered Jack Ma the dinner for free, but the billionaire refused and paid anyway. His payment method will not come as a surprise; he paid with Alibaba’s online payment platform Alipay.

“Why would you offer him a free meal anyway?” some netizens wondered: “He surely has more money than you!”

Curious to try the same food as Ma? Zheng Xi Wang is located at the intersection of Fuyuan Street and Yingxie Street in Zhengzhou (福元路与英协路交叉口向西160米路北(银基王朝南门)).

By Manya Koetse
Follow @whatsonweibo