China Local News

Domestic Violence Victim Speaks Out on Weibo: “He Cut Off My Nose”

“My name is Li Yun, I am 30 years old, and am a victim of long-term abuse by my husband” – a female victim of domestic abuse has taken her gruesome story online. Her husband has cut off her nose, she says – she now needs money to complete her surgery. Li Yun’s story, that went viral on Weibo, raises public awareness on domestic abuse in China.

Published

6 years ago

April 20, 2016

Manya Koetse

The topic ‘Woman suffers domestic violence: nose was cut off’ (#女子遭家暴割鼻#) became trending on Sina Weibo on April 20, when netizens collectively responded to how netizen Li Yun (李云), a citizen from Taizhou in Zhejiang province, told her followers how she has been a victim of severe domestic abuse for years. The woman told her shocking story on her Weibo account on April 19, 2016:

“My name is Lu Yun, and I am 30 years old. I’ve been married for 8 years and have suffered long-term abuse by my husband. I’ve suffered in silence for the sake of my daughter. I would’ve never expected him to get more and more extreme; to the point of him cutting off my nose.

That day, my husband had too much to drink, and we had an argument in the living room. My child was already asleep and he wanted to go to his native village in the middle of the night and I did not agree. I didn’t argue with him as I was lying on the bed sleeping with my back towards him. He took my razor blade and cut my nose. He said my nose was my best-looking feature, so he’d better cut it off. At that time, I had no idea and thought he’d used his fingers to scrape my nose. But later I felt the blood rushing out, and I stood up and asked him how he could do this to me. He grabbed a towel and strapped it around my neck; I could do nothing but try and pull the towel away with my hands when he heartlessly tore my nose down – I could do nothing but cry out. It woke up my child and she came crying. It wasn’t until then that he let go of the towel. Without my child, I probably wouldn’t be here today.”

Li Yun proceeds to explain how she called the emergency number 120 with the last strength she had. Doctors at the hospital could do little to save her nose, so Li later had to see a specialist in Wenzhou. Constructing her (partially artificial) nose would cost over 300,000 RMB (46,000 US$), she was told. Li proceeded with the first surgery, which she could afford with the 60,000 RMB she borrowed from friends. For her second surgery, and to be able to send her daughter to school, she calls on the help of China’s netizens to help her so she can get the surgery she needs to make her nose look normal enough to find a job and take care of her daughter.

The photos that Li posted of her nose, and her little daughter who, she says, asks her mum daily when she can go to school.

Over 480.000 netizens had read about this story by April 20, responding to it in great numbers and condemning the husband’s “beastly behavior”. Many commented to wish Li Yun a speedy recovery.

Several Chinese media have followed up on the story and spoke to Li Yun. Sina Zhejiang writes that since the attack took place in April of last year, Li can only breathe through her nose.

Some netizens also put Li’s story in a bigger context, linking it to China’s overall problem of domestic abuse: “The punishment for this kind of maltreatment of women is too light,” one netizen says: “The law is hopeless this way – women really have to look out for themselves and be very cautious when getting married.”

China’s first anti-domestic abuse law just came into effect on March 1st of this year. According to state media estimation, one in four married women in China have experienced some form of domestic violence, although the real figure may be much higher, since many women do not report cases of abuse.

Due to the new law, victims of domestic abuse can go to court to seek a restraining order, which could potentially force the abuser out of the home. But, as Asia Times reports, critics say the legislation still doesn’t go far enough.

News outlet China.org reported that local police have placed Li’s husband on their “wanted list” since last June, but that the man still remains at large.

After today’s trending topic, more people will undoubtedly be on the lookout for him. “If they catch him, let them first cut off his nose, too!”, one netizen writes.

– By Manya Koetse
Follow @WhatsOnWeibo

China Local News

Disgruntled Woman Cuts Up 32 Wedding Dresses in Chongqing Bridal Salon

The woman ruined 32 wedding dresses – worth at least $11,000 – because she wanted her $550 deposit back.

Published

4 days ago

January 13, 2022

Manya Koetse

On January 9, an argument between a female customer and a bridal store staff member escalated when the angry customer took out scissors and ruined more a total of 32 wedding dresses by cutting them up.

A video of the incident went viral on Chinese social media, showing the woman taking out wedding gown after wedding gown and cutting them with scissors. The person filming can be heard saying “Think clearly, these dresses cost thousands [yuan],” with the woman responding: “Thousands? Even it’s ten-thousands, it doesn’t matter.”

This angry customer at a Chongqing bridal salon took out scissors and cut up wedding dress after wedding dress. The video has since gone viral on social media. pic.twitter.com/LSRXoI0OAa

— What's on Weibo (@WhatsOnWeibo) January 13, 2022

The incident happened in the city’s Jiangjin District at a store that sells bridal gowns and also offers wedding services. According to Chinese media site Sohu.com, the wedding store manager told reporters that the woman named Jiang first made arrangements with the bridal salon in April 2021 for her October 5th wedding – she booked a wedding package for 8000 yuan ($1260).

Four months later, in August, the woman asked the bridal shop if her wedding arrangements could be postponed. When the woman came to the shop again in November, saying she wanted to cancel all arrangements and get her down payment of 3500 yuan ($550) back, the shop refused due to their policy of not refunding advanced payments. They did offer to instead provide some arrangements for a child’s 100th-day celebration, as the woman was allegedly expecting a baby.

Although the woman initially agreed with this, she suddenly returned to the shop on January 9th and started acting out. In her anger, she proceeded to ruin 32 wedding dresses. The woman was taken away by the police after the shop assistant alerted them and was detained. She has since said she is sorry for her behavior.

According to the shop owner, the woman’s husband offered to compensate the store for over 60,000 yuan ($9420), but he has not paid a penny yet. The woman allegedly ruined 32 dresses with a total worth of at least 70,000 yuan ($11,000).

On Weibo, thousands of commenters have responded to the incident.

“What on earth was she thinking?” some write, with others saying that the woman should be held criminally liable for her acts and deserves a prison sentence. Others argued that pregnancy hormones could be blamed for the woman’s unreasonable behavior, and said the woman should no go to prison but stay home and rest instead. There was one thing virtually all commenters agreed on, which is that the shop should soon be fully compensated for all damages.

By Manya Koetse

Follow @whatsonweibo

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China and Covid19

Online Outrage after Pet Dog Gets Killed by Anti-Epidemic Workers in Shangrao

An official response to the Shangrao incident that called the killing of the dog “harmless disposal” only added fuel to the fire.

Published

2 months ago

November 14, 2021

Manya Koetse

A pet dog was killed by anti-epidemic workers in Shangrao this week while its owner was undergoing quarantine at a nearby hotel. Chinese netizens are outraged, not only about the dog being killed during extreme efforts to contain Covid19, but also about the seemingly cold response of local authorities after it happened.

This weekend, a case in which a pet dog was killed by epidemic prevention workers in the city of Shangrao has sparked outrage on Chinese social media.

The incident occurred in the Golden Phoenix Garden community (金凤花园小区) in the Xinzhou district of Shangrao, a medium-sized prefecture-level city located in the northeast of Jiangxi province. Due to a new confirmed case of Covid19, the community is undergoing a lockdown and its residents are being quarantined while apartments are being disinfected.

On November 12, one of the community residents named Mrs. Fu (傅) shared on Weibo how her pet dog was presumably killed by anti-epidemic workers while she was undergoing quarantine at a local hotel that did not allow pets. She shared security footage recorded inside her residence from Friday around 16:45, showing how two epidemic workers enter her apartment and then begin to beat her pet dog on the head with iron bars.

The story and video sparked anger online, and the official response to the incident only added fuel to the fire.

On Saturday, November 13, Shangrao’s Xinzou district released a statement via its official Weibo channel (@信州发布). The statement, posted as late as 23:37, explained that residents of the community were supposed to leave their doors open while being quarantined, but that the door of this particular resident was closed. Anti-epidemic staff then received police assistance in entering the house to disinfect it, which is when they discovered the dog was at the home. The notice writes that the workers then proceeded to deal with the dog through “harmless disposal” (the literal words “无害化处理” could also be translated as ‘handling [something] to be made harmless’).

The statement also says that the worker has since been removed from his post and has apologized.

Very similar wording can be found in an article addressing the controversy in the English-language version of Chinese state media outlet Global Times, where the incident is described as a staffer who “culled a pet dog during anti-epidemic mission,” and that the staffer “gave harmless disposal on a pet dog without having fully communicated with the pet owner.”

Other reports in Chinese media about the incidents received criticism from netizens for emphasizing anti-epidemic policies and the otherwise “humane” treatment of animals.

“Don’t you think you’re laughable? You have some nerve to report on this like this,” one top comment said.

By now, the incident has attracted the attention of thousands of netizens using various hashtags, with one of them gaining over 170 million on views on Weibo, becoming one of the top trending topics on Sunday (#居民在外隔离期间家中小狗被扑杀#, #上饶正调查隔离人员宠物狗被扑杀#, #上饶回应隔离宠物狗疑似被扑杀#).

“The government of Shangrao leaves me speechless,” one Weibo user (@爱吃火锅的邓邓) writes: “This dog was not even confirmed of having Covid19. Nevertheless, they just beat him to death. How can you be so cruel?!”

In September of this year, three pet cats that tested positive for Covid19 were put down in the Chinese city of Harbin. That incident also led to a social media backlash at what some viewed as overkill in local efforts to contain the virus. This case, however, is still different because the dog involved was allegedly killed before even getting tested for Covid19.

“You just ‘dispose’ of the dog and that’s it? The dog’s life is over! We don’t even know how many dogs were killed like this,” others responded.

“Prying open people’s doors, killing people’s pets, and then pressuring people to delete their posts on the matter, forcing them to settle (..), – Shangrao government is really putting itself on display here,” one commenter said, referring to online rumors that Mrs. Fu was pressured by authorities into deleting her social media post – she posted about being threatened herself.

The dog owner claims she is being threatened and pressured into deleting her social media post.

The dog owner also claims that at least one other cat and dog by residents living in the same community have also been “disposed of.” At the time of writing, this claim has not been confirmed by official sources.

Meanwhile, a poster showing a cat saying “I can’t transmit covid19, please don’t abandon or hurt me” is circulating on social media. The Shanghai Center for Disease Prevention and Control reportedly stated it is unlikely for small pets to get Covid19, and that they therefore should not need to be screened.

I can’t transmit covid19, please don’t abandon or hurt me.”

The terms “harmless disposal” (无害化处置) and “culling” (扑杀) that have been used by some Chinese state media and local authorities in describing the Shangrao incident are also circulating online, with many people expressing disbelief in the seemingly cold and careless way in which the unnecessary killing of pets is being portrayed.

Global Times editor-in-chief Hu Xijin also posted about the issue, writing: “In my opinion, even from the perspective of crisis communication, this was certainly not a successful notice. It is not surprising to see it trigger controversies online.”

At the same time, Hu also called on people not to condemn China’s zero-covid19 approach over this controversy, writing: “We cannot deny the overall hard work of the grassroots pandemic prevention workers because of a specific case.”

By Manya Koetse

Follow @whatsonweibo