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Chinese People Attacked with Milk Powder in Amsterdam

Pictures and a video of Dutch men emptying boxes of milk powder over Chinese tourists in Amsterdam have become trending on Chinese social media networks Weixin and Weibo.

Manya Koetse

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Pictures and a video of Dutch men emptying boxes of milk powder over Chinese tourists in Amsterdam have become trending on Chinese social media networks Weixin and Weibo. Many netizens are angry with the men for insulting Chinese people. A commission has been set up to take legal actions against them.  

Chinese media report that two Dutch young men have recently attacked Chinese people with milk powder on the streets in Amsterdam. According to   Sina Weibo News, a Chinese netizen wrote on January 25 that two men in Amsterdam were looking out for Chinese people to pass by in the streets of Amsterdam, asking them if they wanted milk powder and then emptying a box of milk powder on them.

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According to Sina Weibo News, the attacks took place because Dutch people are not happy with Chinese people buying up milk powder in Amsterdam.

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The attacks occurred at different locations in Amsterdam, amongst others at the beginning of the Zeedijk, which is also known as Amsterdam’s ‘China Town’, and at the Stadhouderskade near the Heineken Brewery, which are both popular tourist places.

In the video, you can hear young men asking Asian-looking tourists if they want to buy some Nutrilon milk powder for twenty euros. They then proceed to throw milk powder over the tourists. “In the Netherlands, they are open about drugs and prostitution, and there is a free market, what’s the problem with buying milk powder?” one Weibo netizen wonders. “Only losers would take out their own frustration on other people like that,” another user responds. “They are only wasting milk powder like this!” one other Weibo netizen writes.

The two boys, who are named Rome Terbeek en Kenzo Hanter, have apologized for their actions in another video after their ‘prank’ caused controversy on social media in the Netherlands. In the video they say: “Hereby we would like to apologize for the prank we did in Amsterdam. We don’t have anything against Chinese or foreigners, but that is what it is made to look like now. We thought it would be a funny video and never thought it would turn out this way.” Their apology was also covered by Chinese media.

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Although the prank allegedly had no connection with Chinese buying up milk powder, Chinese media do connect this issue to earlier incidents where the ‘panic buying’ of milk powder has led to aggression, such as in last November in Rotterdam, where two Chinese got into a fight over milk powder (screenshot below).

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The boys have apologized, but the video and pictures have already become a much-discussed trending topic on Weibo under different hashtags, one being “Chinese splashed with milk powder” (#华人被泼奶粉#). Most Chinese netizens think the news has a direct connection to China’s milk powder problem, and many people are angry at the young men for insulting and bullying Chinese people this way and scold them on Weibo: “You fuckers really have a problem!” or “These fuckers really deserve a beating”, and “We should spill something over these son-of-a-bitches!” and “I only have a middle finger for you two!”

Chinese state media Xinhua and Tencent News report that the Chinese embassy hopes that legal measures will be taken against the two boys. The Chinese embassy in The Hague has stated on 27 January: “We are shocked that this nasty incident has happened in the Netherlands. We hope that the Dutch side will legally deal with this incident and that they will take the necessary measures to avoid such a thing happening again” (“我们对在荷兰发生这样的恶劣事件感到震惊,希望荷方依法处理并采取必要措施,避免此类事件再次发生”).

According to Xinhua News, Chinese media has been in touch with Dutch criminal lawyers, who think that the conduct of the two Dutch men could be classified as slander, discrimination, and bringing intentional harm to others. The Chinese community in the Netherlands has held a meeting and has decided to set up the “Dutch Overseas Chinese Rights Commission” (“荷兰华侨华人维权委员会”). They have asked the victims of the incident to come forward, as the Commission will help them in taking legal action against the men.

“This might have been just a street prank,” one netizen says: “but the issue of milk powder is a very sensitive one for Chinese people. It is just as insulting as it would be for a Muslim to be confronted with a pig’s head.”

Some examples of Chinese (state) media covering this news:
Global Times
Phoenix News
Epoch Times
China Youth
China Bridge
Sina News
China News Service
Sohu News

Screen Shot 2016-01-28 at 11.38.56

Screenshot of China Bridge News, naming the two boys and quoting a social media comment of a netizen who calls himself Geert Wilders (a well-known Dutch politician) and who says: “Guys guys, why would you do this? You know Nutrilon doesn’t care about this, they make loads of money.”  He also says: “Why would you bully Chinese people? They are very well integrated in the Netherlands! They are always very calm, why don’t you dare to bully people of other nationalities?” 

– By Manya Koetse

©2016 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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27 Comments

27 Comments

  1. Avatar

    Ed Sander

    January 28, 2016 at 11:13 am

    What makes you assume these were tourists?

    Ed

  2. Avatar

    Pepsi

    January 28, 2016 at 11:26 am

    I was so angry when I saw this I was shaking. If any country knew anything about China, the Chinese, their traditions and culture, they would not even consider such a childish move. I, myself, have had 20+ years experience of the country itself.
    Baby milk is valuable in China, the powder on their shelves holds no nutrition, not their fault, but their governments fault. The country doesn’t have such luxuries which is why milk powder is bought abroad by many parents.
    I’m surprised the Chinese tolerate us westerners still and wouldn’t blame the Chinese if they rebelled. Which they won’t because they don’t like confrontation or debate.
    The Chinese are peaceful people. For all who are from outside of China…treat the Chinese with respect and how you yourselves wish to be treated. Otherwise, LEAVE THEM ALONE AND IN PEACE!

    • Avatar

      Sander from Holland

      January 28, 2016 at 4:33 pm

      Hmmm… I think you missed that communist part of their culture. I had to work together with a Chinese girl for a few months and I noticed her enormous shyness and she was also afraid to tell about her country. She even was afraid for repercussions, even in Holland/Netherlands for the slightest critics onto her country. For me unimaginable that this is still possible in 2016

    • Avatar

      laowai

      January 30, 2016 at 6:03 am

      @Pepsi
      This was a tasteless joke and not funny at all. But you’re really a little whiner, my god.
      I live in Shanghai and I can tell you that there are a lot of Chinese who are not peaceful. So stop crying and get a life

    • Avatar

      Jason

      May 25, 2016 at 12:40 pm

      Thank you for your understanding, as an exchange student in Barcelona, I am feeling shocked to see that as well. We buy the milk powder because we want our babies to grow up safely.

  3. Avatar

    LOL

    January 28, 2016 at 2:56 pm

    Haha don’t get your panties in a bunch, it’s a tasteless joke but still pretty funny. Realize this is funny to some Dutch people as Chinese people literally fight each other over baby powder in our stores and more often then not baby powder milk is not available to Dutch people because Chinese people buy it all to resell it to China 😉

    The world would be a better place if folks wouldn’t get insulted so fast..

    • Avatar

      Sander from Holland

      January 28, 2016 at 4:10 pm

      It is literally a matter of life and dead for the Chinese, because they poison all their milk in China

    • Avatar

      A. from Groningen

      March 14, 2016 at 5:28 pm

      If this was the other way… Chinese adults throwing dirty water on Dutch tourists / Dutch students in China, you wouldn’t find it so funny. This is worse when baby milk-powder is actually a very sensitive topic in China.
      I am a Korean-Brit in the netherlands, I’ve gotten pushed off my bike while riding at times while being called a Shanghai c*nt wh*re. 🙂 I’ve had people chasing me around telling me they want to rape me :)….. because I am an asian looking woman.
      It’s not nice. It’s not funny.
      It IS insulting. And its frightening.

    • Avatar

      Bjorn

      March 15, 2016 at 5:43 am

      It’s tasteless, not funny, and uncalled for. Besides, powdered milk is scarce because factories don’t produce enough, you can’t blame Chinese people. What people do with products bought in supermarkets (use it themselves or resell) is up to themselves.

  4. Avatar

    Really?

    January 28, 2016 at 3:17 pm

    @Pepsi:

    The chinese people are peaceful people?
    Maybe, but tell that to the people in Tibet. They have a different experience with the Chinese.

    • Avatar

      Jason

      May 25, 2016 at 12:46 pm

      Don’t mix up Chinese citizens with Chinese governments, and you do not understand the real situation on What Tibet is going through. Just like Catalonia wants independence, some people in Tibet wants independence but they could not represent the whole population of a region, what you hear and see is simply what those people wants to show.

  5. Avatar

    Maaike

    January 28, 2016 at 3:20 pm

    This just makes me so sad in many ways. Personally, I don’t think how anyone above the age of, let’s say, 5, could find this funny. But there’s no accounting for taste. Still, it angers me that people out of boredom spill good food, while others are starving, while at the same time being a real nuisance to the people they poke fun at. Shame on you, boys, shame on you…

  6. Avatar

    Simon

    January 28, 2016 at 3:24 pm

    Reactions on a Dutch blog where this was published were all very negative. These guys have the brains of a shrimp and are not funny at all.

  7. Avatar

    Sander from Holland

    January 28, 2016 at 4:08 pm

    I sincerely hope for this guys the Chinese laws don’t apply here in the Netherlands. I can imagine the Dutch government will be held under pressure by the CCP to punish these guys, because of the economic dependency of Holland to China. They probably won’t survive it and their families can buy their organs back…

  8. Avatar

    Peppi

    January 28, 2016 at 4:46 pm

    I had to laugh at the Chinese Embassy in the Netherlands in this article, they are notorious for refusing to pay their rental fee of the building, and they don’t care. But now they want justice?

  9. Avatar

    Henk

    January 28, 2016 at 5:57 pm

    I am Dutch and there is absolutely no excuse for such behavior. Hell nobody cares if Chinese buy the milk powder especially not those two boys. They are plain and simple just morons trying to be funny to get attention. If I saw them do it I would punch them in the face until they apologized. I feel really bad for their victims. Let’s hunt them down, and hand them over to the authorities.

  10. Avatar

    Dutch J

    January 28, 2016 at 6:38 pm

    =January 28, 2016 at 5:57 pm
    Hell nobody cares if Chinese buy the milk powder especially not those two boys.=

    Oh hell yes we care. More often than not, Dutch nationals stand for an empty shelf because the milkpowder has been hamstered by the Chinese.

    The fact that babies die in China because of bad powdered milk is not our problem to begin with but becomes so because our product gets bought up in wholesale to ship it to China.

    • Avatar

      Ting

      September 20, 2016 at 5:48 pm

      I’m chinese, but I’m absolutely against the chinese people buying up milk powder in europe, no matter they’re tourists or residents. Those people have very good excuses to cover themselves up, such as: we care about our own people, or we’re doing it in legal way, not robbing or stealing, we’re buying with money! The hell they care, it’s money they are making out of, living in another country but causing problems to the local people, not trying to integrate into the country but doing such business, robbers with money. At the same time they show off on Weibo about their “happy” lives in Europe, I see these people as real losers.
      Now that I’m living in Germany myself, I’ve always planned to write one article about this phenomenon, instead of focusing on the milk powder scandle or food safety in China, I’ll write about the people who are doing this. It’s not only about milk powder, but also other baby stuff.
      I want to say to those chinese people: fingers off! (in real life I would say that in Chinese though)

  11. Avatar

    Ed Sander

    January 28, 2016 at 9:53 pm

    True, this punks could not care less about milk powder themselves. But the fact that they came up with this ‘prank’ does prove that the issue of milk powder and Chinese is a sensitive and controversial one.
    This recent Dutch article gives a very thorough analysis of the problem: http://www.deondernemer.nl/nieuwsbericht/38064/babymelkmaffia-deinst-nergens-voor-terug

    To me, the biggest Chinese mystery has always been that Chinese government can employ 2 million people to police the internet, but they can’t clean up an essential sector like the dairy industry.

  12. Avatar

    Sjaak

    January 29, 2016 at 12:50 am

    Ok it might have been stupid prank like most pranks are.
    Dont take it so hard, nobody got hurt and if China wants more Nutrilon than ask the producer to produce more.
    I think not long ago they decided to produce it in Germany specially for Chinese market.
    Give it some time.
    Oh and they’re €10-12 here 😉

  13. Avatar

    Richard Woltz

    January 29, 2016 at 1:22 am

    I am Dutch and think these two stupid boys are very confused about the concept of humour.

  14. Avatar

    T

    January 29, 2016 at 1:36 pm

    What a stupid behavior. In Holland and Amsterdam especially, we don’t have any problems with Asians and/or Chinese people. As a Dutchman living in Amsterdam I feel really embarrassed by this ‘joke’.

  15. Avatar

    Jan

    January 29, 2016 at 5:42 pm

    L.s.

    In any country you have scum.
    This is a Dutch guy – scum
    and an Maroccon guy – scum.

    Most people in Amsterdam are nice.
    Too bad they have not been beaten up.

    I am a 4th generation man from
    Amsterdam.

    Now fanatic Muslims are invading Holland/Europe so things will
    become much worse. I hope
    for the Chinese people to be more
    smart than Merkel and keep them out of your country. By the way.
    If YOU like these people please let us know We will be glad to send them over. We will pay the tickets.

    Take care.

    Han..

  16. Avatar

    frank man

    January 30, 2016 at 1:27 am

    We start a group on face book “NIET leuk,NOT amused,不再容忍,for the chinese communities in Holland to show they are not amused and we hope you will sign our petition too. Please support us.

    • Avatar

      laowai

      January 30, 2016 at 6:05 am

      Seriously, Frank man?
      Get a life, loser
      Lol

      • Avatar

        Walao

        July 12, 2016 at 4:26 am

        You live in Shanghai and you get your panties in a bunch over people speaking up for the chinese people? How about you get out of that country, “laowai”?

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China Media

Meanwhile in Panda News: After More Than Two Decades, Yaya Returns to Beijing

From Memphis to Shanghai to Beijing: every step in Yaya’s journey is closely followed by China’s panda fans.

Manya Koetse

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Yaya, the panda, made her way back to Beijing after a residence of more than two decades at the Memphis Zoo and completing her quarantine period in Shanghai. Now, netizens are advocating for the return of three other pandas currently residing in the United States.

It is time for the third ‘Meanwhile in Panda News‘ by What’s on Weibo to keep you updated on the trending panda topics, from the cute to the controversial.

This time, it is all about Yaya (丫丫), the panda that is trending on Weibo in various hashtags these days:

Panda Yaya became one of the most discussed pandas of this year. This female panda resided in the Memphis Zoo in the United States for most of her life and attracted significant attention on Chinese social media platforms after netizens expressed concern about her seemingly thin and unhealthy appearance.

Many netizens were concerned about Yaya due to the condition of her fur. Photo via Weibo user @如皋老猫.

Even though the Memphis care team stated that Yaya’s fur condition is related to her hormones and immune system, these online discussions further intensified in light of escalating tensions between the United States and China.

The concerns surrounding Yaya prompted an online campaign, with netizens advocating for Yaya’s return to China. After residing at the Memphis Zoo in the United States for two decades as part of a conservation and research project, Yaya’s second ten-year term had concluded, and the 23-year-old panda was set to return to Shanghai, China.

Yaya’s return in late April became a true social media spectacle, fuelled by state media outlets that created special posters and videos welcoming Yaya home.

Now, a month later, Yaya is trending again. This time, it is her move from Shanghai to Beijing that is hitting the trending lists. After finishing her quarantaine, Yaya’s new home will be in the Beijing Zoo. Yaya returned to China’s capital, where she was born, by airplane on May 28.

China’s flight home, via Chinese state media on Weibo.

While many people are cheering that Yaya has finally returned home, they are also sad that panda Lele is not with her. Lele (乐乐) was Yaya’s male partner, and the two arrived in Memphis together. Unfortunately, Lele passed away earlier this year due to heart disease.

Around 4 am in the morning on May 29, the official Weibo account of the Beijing Zoo posted a statement about Yaya’s return, confirming that the panda had arrived before 1 am on Monday morning.

A very early morning post by Beijing Zoo confirming the safe arrival of Yaya (screenshot of Weibo, via What’s on Weibo).

Beijing Zoo further wrote that Yaya has her own dedicated enclosure and will need some time to adjust to her new environment and will not be shown to the public for now. They did post a photo and a video of Yaya’s arrival, and promised to give more updates about Yaya via social media.

“Yaya has finally returned home,” some commenters said, “I hope she will have a happy and healthy life there.”

In the meantime, netizens have launched a new online campaign advocating for the repatriation of the pandas Xiao Qiji (小奇迹), Tiantian (添添), and Meixiang (美香), currently residing at the Washington National Zoo.

“They also wanna go home” poster advocating for the return of Chinese pandas Little Miracle, Tiantian, and Meixiang. Source: Weibo.com.

Those advocating for the return of the three pandas are also expressing concerns about their well-being and treatment at the Washington National Zoo. They worry that the pandas may not be receiving adequate food and are particularly concerned about Meixiang’s health.

In 2020, it was reported that the panda couple Meixiang and her partner Tiantian would minimally stay in Washington until December of 2023.

Another poster in the online campaign to advocate for the return home of the three pandas.

Concerned that Meixiang might face a similar fate to Yaya’s late partner Lele, panda enthusiasts on Weibo are urging for the prompt repatriation of the entire panda family. “I’m glad to hear good news about Yaya,” expressed one Weibo user, “Now, I hope we can get good news about Meixiang too.”

 

Read more panda news here.

By Manya Koetse 

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China Insight

Why a “High-Speed Train Slapping Incident” Went Viral on Chinese Social Media

An altercation between passengers on a high-speed train to Chengdu has caused a stir on Chinese social media, sparking discussions about some long-standing social issues.

Manya Koetse

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An explosive argument between two female passengers on a high-speed train has gone viral on Chinese social media this week. The fight has triggered widespread discussions on the issue of ‘mutual assault,’ the problem of ‘brat children,’ and why it might be wiser to avoid intervening in these types of disputes altogether.

An argument between two female passengers on a Chinese high-speed train has recently attracted a lot of attention on Chinese social media. (See video, around the 4:10 mark.)

The incident, which has been dubbed “the high-speed rail slapping incident” (“高铁掌掴事件”), happened on the C6276 train on May 2, 2023, between Meishan East Railway Station and Chengdu East Railway station.

Two female passengers seated on the train got into an argument after one woman (Wang 王) got angry over the other woman’s children kicking against the back of her seat. She turned around and scolded them, after which the mother (named Yang 杨) got upset. Both women took their phones and argued while filming each other.

The situation soon escalated from there, and the argument turned physical when Yang first slapped Wang in her face. Several videos of the incident that have since gone viral show that Wang then also slapped Yang in the face, and did it again shortly after.

Train staff and other passengers tried to mediate the situation and calm the women down. One man in specific raised his voice to mediate, while also condemning the parents for not correcting their children’s behavior.

Wang posted about the incident on social media on the night of May 2nd, and it has blown up since then.

Wang was later summoned to the police station and reportedly was fined 200 yuan ($30) by the police for her role in the incident. On the night of May 4th, Wang arrived at the police station at 8 pm, and did not leave until 3.30 am.

In a video posted online, the woman explained that she refused to reconcile with the other party, insisting that they should receive the appropriate punishment for their actions (#高铁上被掌掴女孩坚决不和解#). She said she would accept the fine she received, but stressed that the party that initiated the fight should be punished more harshly.

“To give each one a flogging of fifty strokes” (各打五十大板)

One of the main reasons why the case became so big is because the incident was ruled as “mutual assault” (hù’ǒu 互殴). On Chinese social media, many netizens express that the judgement is not correct since Yang was the first to attack and Wang defended herself (zhèng dàng fáng wèi 正当防卫).

The issue of self-defense being ruled as a ‘mutual assault’ is a recurring one in Chinese social media discussions. A popular opinion is that the police often rule something as ‘mutual assault’ to just settle the matter and be done with it. This is also referred to as gè dǎ wǔshí dà bǎn (各打五十大板), a Chinese idiom that translates to “each person gets a flogging of fifty strokes,” meaning the guilty and innocent are being punished in the same way.

One post about the issue by Sina News received nearly 225,000 likes on Weibo.

Since the slapping incident continued to trigger discussions online, the Chengdu Railway Police issued a statement on May 10, in which they provided exact details on how the incident unfolded. They concluded that both parties were guilty of assault, and that Wang had received the 200 yuan ($30) fine while Yang had received an administrative penalty of 500 yuan ($72).

Still, many people feel that punishing the instigator as well as the person who strikes back is not fair, since it allegedly prevents people from trying to defend themselves.

“The woman who was beaten showed great perseverance,” one person commented: “Hopefully, this case can serve as a milestone event, thoroughly correcting the society’s long-standing habit of taking this approach [of ruling it as ‘mutual assault’] to smooth things over.”

In 2020, Jeremy Daum at China Law Translate published an article about self-defence and on how cases related to the right to protect oneself can evoke passionate public responses. The article describes how then-released guidelines help authorities navigate cases involving the right to protect oneself and the determinations of when such a defense is justified.

As Daum points out, one remarkable feature of the 2020 guidelines is their explicit concern for public opinion. In light of some cases triggering massive public debates, the guidelines call for greater transparency in explaining the law to the public and on how verdicts are reached.

The 2020 guidelines are evident in this specific ‘train slapping incident,’ as it is clear that the reason for penalizing both parties was clearly communicated to the public as the incident went trending online.

“Brat children” (熊孩子)

Another reason why this particular incident received so much attention has to do with the issue of so-called “brat children.” In Chinese, they are referred to as xióng háizi (“熊孩子”), which literally means ‘bear children’ and is used to describe unruly, naughty children (often boys) who are prone to cause trouble.

In The Historical Dictionary of Chinese Culture (Sullivan & Sullivan 2021), it is explained that the rise of the “xióng háizi” phenomenon in China during the 2000s was due to the prevalence of a parenting style known as “soft-touch parenting.”

This approach to parenting was significantly different from previous decades and emphasized gentle and nurturing methods. As a result, many of these children, who are often only children who are pampered by doting grandparents, developed a reputation for their disruptive and self-absorbed behavior in public places (p. 130).

The behaviour of these “little brats” often makes headlines. Like the time when security cameras captured how a young boy urinated in an elevator and broke it, or when a little kid crashed and destroyed a Lego sculpture within an hour after it was displayed in a Chinese mall.

Many commenters on social media say that they have had it with these “little brats” and their parents. In one of her social media posts, Wang argued that there should be designated carriages for passengers traveling with children on high-speed trains to avoid bothering other passengers.

Brat children on the train (via

Regarding the incident, many people believe that the intensity of the argument was due to the fact that people have become increasingly intolerant of unruly children and their parents who fail to discipline them. Although Wang also slapped Yang, many people still side with her, saying they understand her frustrations and supporting her right to criticize the children and their parents.

One commenter (@陌川_MC) writes: “Lots of things are happening every day, yet why do we always see incidents involving ‘brat children’ pop up in the trending lists? The basic reason is that it strikes our travel pain point: we constantly get annoyed by little brats. Behind every ‘bear child’ there is a ‘bear parent.’ People are very disgusted with such parents, but can not do anything about it, which is why they cannot help but feel indignant when they see these types of incidents happening.”

“I was on a high-speed train for three hours yesterday, and all of these three hours a brat child was crying. Didn’t it wear him out? Even I was exhausted by listening to his cries, and the train attendants didn’t do anything about it.”

The hashtag “Should Trains Set Up Special Carriages for Children” (#列车有必要设置携带儿童车厢吗#) received comments from many people who applaud the idea.

“Dongbei Brother” (东北大哥)

One of the other reasons why the train slapping incident has become such a big topic is due to the role played by one of the passengers who stepped in and ‘mediated’ during the fight. As he comes from Northeast China, the man has now come to be known simply as the ‘Dongbei Brother’ or ‘Northeastern big brother’ (东北大哥).

During the incident, the man came up and meddled in the argument. Although ‘Dongbei Brother’ has become an online celebrity, netizens also accuse him of taking sides during the altercation, labeling the child as a troublemaker and completely ignoring the fact that Wang was filming the children and yelling at them.

Others suggest he only intervened to gain attention for himself and increase his social media following.

The man approaching in the yellow jacket is “Dongbei brother.”

In response to these accusations, then man said on a recent livestream that he only stepped in because he saw the two parties arguing and wanted to prevent the altercation getting any worse. The man also stated that he received a call from the child’s mother, thanking him for his intervention. Neverthless, in light of all the negative comments he received, he also stated that he would not intervene in similar situations in the future. That topic also went trending (#东北大哥称不想再管吵架事件#), receiving 180 million views on Friday.

Some people took the backlash against ‘Dongbei Brother’ as a lesson, suggesting that it might be wiser to avoid intervening in these types of disputes altogether.

Lastly, the recent incident not only sparked discussions on the issue of “mutual assault” and “brat children,” as well as the role of those who intervene, but it has also shed light on the issue of cyberbullying. The individuals involved in the incident have all faced online abuse, highlighting the harmful impact of cyberbullying.

Despite all the people who have strong opinions about the incident and the various people involved, there are also those calling on netizens to stay reasonable above all else. After all, the best thing people can do to set the right example for so-called “brat children” is to try and stay civilized online.

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:

References

Daum, Jeremy. 2020. “Standing your ground, China Style.” China Law Translate, October 5 https://www.chinalawtranslate.com/en/standing-your-ground-china-style/ [May 12, 2023].

Sullivan, Lawrence R. and Nancy Sullivan. 2021. Historical Dictionary of Chinese Culture. New York and London: Rowman & Littlefield

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