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“Black Man Causing Trouble in Hefei” Incident Triggers Waves of Racist Remarks on Weibo

Photos of the arrest of a black man in Hefei triggered waves of racist remarks on Weibo this weekend.

Manya Koetse

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Photos of the arrest of a black man in Hefei triggered waves of racist remarks on Weibo this weekend. Online racism against Africans has been an ongoing issue on Weibo ever since the platform was first launched.

On August 4, police in Hefei, Anhui, arrested a black man in the city for “causing trouble” and “picking quarrels.” The man reportedly injured another person on the street.

Photos of the incident made their rounds on Chinese social media on August 5. Hefei Headlines (@头条合肥) was one of the accounts sharing the news on Weibo with the headline “Black Man Causing Trouble in Hefei” (“黑人男子合肥寻衅滋事”).

The incident occurred around 4 pm on Fanhua Street, right before the Foreign Languages College. In the photos that are making their rounds on Weibo, the man can be seen running from the police, wearing nothing but underpants and sneakers.

It is not clear what triggered the incident and what the man exactly did, nor are there any reports on where the man comes from or whether he is a student at the college.

The photos triggered two types of responses on Weibo: on the one hand, there were those people who just praised the police for the work they are doing and risks they are taking, and on the other hand, there were large numbers of netizens who made racist remarks about the black man.

“Black monkey go back to Africa,” or “black trash” were typical comments amongst the thousands of reactions on Weibo.

“There are so many black devils in Guangzhou, and they bring AIDS with them, it’s disgusting,” one person said. Guangzhou has the largest black community in China.

Online racism against Africans has been an ongoing issue on Weibo ever since the platform was first launched in 2009. At the time, an essay about the racism against Chinese in Africa drew much attention. In 2013, Weibo was flooded by news of Chinese being killed in Ghana.

The existing idea that Chinese are looked down upon in Africa has allegedly worsened anti-African sentiments in China, although there are also those who already warned in 2013 that “the denigration and discrimination of black people [in Africa by the Chinese] is spreading like an epidemic.”

Throughout the years, multiple news stories concerning Africans have triggered waves of racist remarks.

In “From Campus Racism to Cyber Racism”1, scholar Cheng (2011) argues that anti-black racism in China has re-emerged with China’s deeper economic involvement in Africa, due to which large numbers of Chinese and Africans have come to work in each other’s countries.

Cheng writes that although there already were waves of racism against Africans in the early post-Mao era, it has resurfaced over the last decade with the rise of China as a global power. Given that there are still many regarding Africans as “racially inferior,” “these people think it is wrong for Africans to create social problems in Chinese cities and impede China’s actions in Africa” (561)1.

But on Weibo, there are many who take the issue of racism in China lightly, comparing it to other countries: “If this were America, this guy would have already have been shot and killed.”

“We have no racism in China,” one commenter says: “We just have a distinction of good versus evil.” Others had similar jokes, saying: “There are only two types of people I can’t stand: 1. racists and 2. black people.”

Despite all racist slurs and racist jokes, there were also those who had a serious message for all foreigners: “There are many foreigners from wherever who don’t take Chinese law seriously. I don’t care where you are from, but you have to abide by the Chinese law if you’re in China.”

It is unknown how long the man will be detained.

By Manya Koetse

1 Cheng, Yinghong. 2011. “From Campus Racism to Cyber Racism: Discourse of Race and Chinese Nationalism.” The China Quarterly (207): 561-579.

©2017 Whatsonweibo. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce our content without permission – you can contact us at info@whatsonweibo.com.

Manya is the founder and editor-in-chief of What's on Weibo, offering independent analysis of social trends, online media, and digital culture in China for over a decade. Subscribe to gain access to content, including the Weibo Watch newsletter, which provides deeper insights into the China trends that matter. More about Manya at manyakoetse.com or follow on X.

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6 Comments

6 Comments

  1. Truthspeaker

    August 8, 2017 at 5:27 pm

    Tiny nationalists of the internet never miss the occasion to remind us all how pathetically small their manhood is.

    • Joe

      August 10, 2017 at 2:41 am

      You must know from sucking their manhood .

      • Adolf Hitler

        October 14, 2017 at 1:46 am

        This guy knows. I love getting my dick sucked by these pussy ass leftists. Every time there’s a black blocc protest in the tristate area I make sure to swing by, fully erect and ready to party. I just make sure to bring protection, both from all the bike locks and all the rampant AIDS spread by these racemixing faggots.

        14/88 y’all, jet fuels don’t melt steel beams.
        Ya boy A.H.

  2. SpeakTheTruth

    August 11, 2017 at 8:52 am

    Better question is why are there so many black African sexpats in China who pump and dump Chinese women and project their desire for racial supremacy over Asian men and anti-Asian racism?

  3. garrett

    October 12, 2017 at 7:55 am

    Chinese and Asian citizens are nothing but suspected white supremacists. No different from white americans who they stupidly call “good”.

  4. Moshe Shekelsteinberg

    October 14, 2017 at 1:38 am

    Oy vey, just reading this article made me remember all the racist remarks those nazi’s made against me in the death camps, we better start helping china in rooting out all those racists and accept the ways of multiculturalism.
    No jew will rest until all chinese women have accepted progress, diversity and a beautiful black man in their lives.

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China Local News

The Liaoyang Restaurant Fire That Killed 22 People

Manya Koetse

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🔥 Quick Take: Trending in China – Week 18
This is a brief update from our curated roundup of what’s trending in China this week. A version of this story also appears in the Weibo Watch newsletter. Subscribe to stay in the loop.


An enormous fire that happened at a restaurant in Liaoning’s Liaoyang on the afternoon of April 29 (see video) has gone top trending on Chinese social media, mainly due to the fact that it caused so many fatalities.

By 7pm, Chinese official media reported that the fire, which happened at 12:25 in the city’s Baita district, had killed 22 people. Three people were injured.

The fire started on the second floor of the restaurant Sanli Chuniang (三里厨娘/Sanli Chef’s Daughter) on Minzhu Road (民主路) and quickly spread throughout the entire two-story brick-concrete structure, which covers an area of about 260 square meters. The windy weather also played a part in how quickly the fire spread. The fire broke out around lunchtime, when there were many customers.

The restaurant before and after the fire.

Some sources on Xiaohongshu report that, according to witnesses, toxic smoke filled the entire building in less than five minutes. The thick smoke, small spaces inside the two-story building, and limited escape routes — some of which were allegedly blocked — all contributed to the high number of fatalities. Some victims were reportedly just ten meters away from the exit, yet still failed to escape.

According to Caixin, the restaurant’s second floor had several private rooms without windows.

To make matters worse, some nearby vehicles were not moved in time, hindering the rescue operations.

Sanli Chuniang was a locally popular restaurant serving various Chinese dishes, snacks, and dumplings. It was in business since 2016.

On social media, many commenters are expressing shock and sadness over the deadly fire. They also want answers into why there seemed to have been little to no fire safety precautions at the establishment.

The last time a restaurant fire with many fatalities made major headlines in China was in 2023, when a gas explosion inside a BBQ restaurant in Yinchuan resulted in 31 deaths. Nine people, including the restaurant owner, were later arrested in connection with the fire and the lack of safety precautions.

Some reports on the Liaoyang restaurant fire have now been removed, but it appears that the restaurant had been operating illegally since 2023 and that its fire safety inspections were not up to date.

Guancha reported that while the cause of the fire is still under investigation, the restaurant owner has been taken into custody.

🔄 Update 1: Chinese leader Xi Jinping issued a statement regarding the devastating fire, calling on local authorities to hold those responsible accountable and to properly handle matters related to the victims and console their families.

Premier Li Qiang also emphasized that local authorities across China should screen for fire hazards and strengthen safety measures to prevent such major accidents from occurring.

🔄 Update 2: Preliminary investigations have ruled out arson or gas leakage as the cause of the fire. The specific cause of the incident is still under investigation, focusing on leftover cigarette butts that might have started the fire or possible electrical faults. The restaurant’s furniture and interior materials were highly flammable, and strong winds outside caused the fire to spread quickly and block the exits. This made it difficult for those trapped inside to escape. Most victims died from asphyxiation after inhaling large amounts of toxic smoke in a short time.

As definite results have not yet been issued at the time of writing (May 6), some netizens are wondering: “When can we expect to hear more?”

 
By Manya Koetse

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China Local News

Aftermath of Suzhou Marathon’s “Pissing Gate”

Manya Koetse

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🔥 Quick Take: Trending in China – Week 17
This is a brief update from our curated roundup of what’s trending in China this week. A version of this story also appears in the Weibo Watch newsletter. Subscribe to stay in the loop.


It has already been over seven weeks since the Suzhou Marathon took place, but it was trending again today in light of a statement that has come out regarding a particular situation.

During the March 2nd Suzhou Marathon, which had over 25,000 participants, images and videos went viral showing how some runners stopped to take a toilet break and urinated against the main sign of the Jiangsu Suzhou Experimental Middle School (江苏省苏州实验中学).


At the time, the Suzhou Marathon soon released an official statement denouncing the “uncivilized” behavior of the runners.

Other images showed that there were portable toilets set up along the route, but even there, there were runners urinating in public.

Portable toilets along the route.

Runner urinating behind the portable toilets.

On April 24, the Chinese Athletics Association (中国田径协会, CAA), the national governing body for athletics in China, issued a statement saying that, according to the association’s disciplinary regulations, ten participants who urinated against the school sign have been banned from participating in any marathon affiliated with the CAA for the next three years, until March 1, 2028.

The Chinese Athletics Association further stated that they have decided to revoke Suzhou Marathon’s eligibility to apply for event certification in 2026.

Although most online commenters agree that the runners should be punished for their behavior, some also note that it seems “unfair” that Suzhou Marathon also cannot apply for organizing its 2026 marathon:

💬 “(..) because of the uncivilized behavior of just 10 people, Suzhou Marathon’s eligibility to apply for certification from the Chinese Athletics Association in 2026 was directly cancelled. Isn’t this kind of penalty a bit unfair to Suzhou? After all, just 20 meters away from where those people were peeing, there were many portable toilets set up.”

Just around the corner from where the runners urinated in public, there were plenty of portable toilets set up.

Where they peed against the wall, and the toilets nearby.

The punishment for the Suzhou Marathon seems to be a classic case of “killing the chicken to scare the monkey” (杀鸡儆猴): a drastic measure that sends a clear message to other marathons. Not only should they provide plenty of portable toilets, but they must also enforce measures or assign staff to ensure that another “pissing gate” doesn’t happen in the future.

 
By Manya Koetse with contributions by Miranda Barnes

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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.

©2025 Whatsonweibo. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce our content without permission – you can contact us at info@whatsonweibo.com.

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