China Local News
Online Outrage After University Professor Brutally Beats up Female Street Cleaner
A high education, but low morals – Chinese netizens are shocked by the violent beating of a female street cleaner.
On October 4th, a netizen from Tianjin (@查派017) posted about a violent incident he witnessed that involved a female street cleaner and two persons, one being a professor from the Shaanxi University of Science and Technology. The two allegedly beat up a female sanitation worker for blocking their way on a road outside the university campus in Xi’an.
The person’s Weibo post about the incident was shared over 93,000 times within 24 hours, attracting ten thousands of comments from angry netizens.
“How much money do I make and how much money do you make?”
This is a full translation of the post*, which was published on Sina Weibo along with several screenshots of a video of the incident.
“On October 4, 2017, around 2 in the afternoon, a male and female college staff member beat up a female sanitation worker. I want to expose these two pieces of scum.”
“I was just resting indoors when I heard a loud weeping coming from outside the window. I initially thought that parents were teaching their child a lesson, but after a few minutes, the crying grew louder and it did not sound like a child. From the window I then saw a female sanitation worker slowly getting up from a pile of garbage, while a woman was pushing her, yelling: ‘How much money do I make and how much money do you make? You’re now keeping me from making money!'”
Blood on the floor at the scene where the beating took place.
“At this time, a man came forward to beat the female cleaner, and I shouted from my window: ‘You are bullying a sanitation worker, you are shameless!’ At this point, they discovered that other people were watching them, and they stopped what they were doing. The man wanted to back up his car and get away, but he was already stopped by some of the neighbors around.”
“As I rushed to the scene, the man shouted at me: ‘She let me beat her herself!’ The woman’s attitude was still bad. Before reporting to the police, I shot a video and told them I would expose them. Again their attitude changed, and at this time there were more and more people who were criticizing them. An older man told me that the man had hit the sanitation worker and that he had kicked her several times.”
The female cleaner, whose identity remains unknown, was beaten, pushed, and kicked.
“While filing a report at the police station, there was a man who said he was the man’s assistant, and he explained to the police that the man originally came from the countryside but that he had lived in Japan and the US for some years before returning home and that he does not understand the situation here and that was why he beat someone.“
The alleged aggressors were filmed by bystanders.
“That infuriated me. As if he could just randomly beat up people in other countries? I also understood from his assistant that the man was a professor working for the Shaanxi University of Science and Technology, that he was a doctor who had just been given a 10 million yuan project, and that he hoped we would not expose him. I heard that the woman works at the human resource department of Shaanxi University. I am writing this after just coming back from the police station – I hope to let everyone know that these kinds of worthless people are not fit to be a teacher.“
Of the thousands of people who commented on the post, the majority mainly criticizes the male professor involved in this incident and is enraged that someone with such a high social status would pick on someone so vulnerable.
“It is the Mid-Autumn Festival and you are having your vacation while this sanitation worker is at work. How can you be so low, you have no humanity in you. As a professor, you are unfit to teach!”, one angry commenter wrote.
“It is clear that educational background and moral standing are not directly connected,” another person said.
“Just suspended? Why not immediately fired?”
Shortly after published, the post triggered the so-called ‘human flesh search engine’ (人肉搜索), meaning that netizens worked together to identify and expose the persons involved in controversial incidents.
One commenter soon came up with personal details of the man involved, stating he was a 38-year-old Shaanxi resident by the name of Ge who was indeed working as a professor and had previously lived and studied abroad, being connected to both the Kyoto Institute of Technology and the University of Oklahoma.
On October 5, Chinese state media also reported the incident and confirmed it indeed involved a certain Dr. Ge who was a teacher at the Shaanxi University. They also wrote that the university has now suspended the man from his post and that local authorities are currently investigating the case.
“Just suspended? Why was he not immediately fired?”, many commenters wondered.
Chinese media have not reported on the status of the woman involved in the violent beating, but Shaanxi University has stated that she does not work at their institution, but is a family member of Ge.
“These kinds of people do not belong in education.”
Since the incident has attracted so much attention within just one day, the professor has apologized to the sanitation worker and her family through a letter.
The letter issued by the involved professor on October 5.
The letter was posted on the official Weibo account of the Shaanxi University of Science and Technology, which wrote that “Mr. Ge has realized that his actions are terribly wrong, and is active in [arranging] medical treatment for the person involved.”
The university also made a public statement that it strongly denounced Mr. Ge’s actions and that they were taking the matter very seriously.
The apology-letter post also received over 25,000 comments within hours. Many people say they do not accept Mr. Ge’s apology, and demand that he immediately gets fired, writing that “these kinds of people do not belong in education.”
This image of the beaten and crying street cleaner is going viral on Chinese social media.
Sanitation workers or street cleaners do not have an easy life in China, and face many difficulties. Although they are nicknamed “angels of the road” (马路天使), their working circumstances are far from heaven.
Public cleaners in China generally work long hours and receive the national minimum pay. Normally there is no workstation for workers to take a break or recover from the extreme heat or cold. Working safety is also an important issue, as street cleaners are exposed to dangerous situations when cleaning roads with busy traffic. Street cleaners are often get injured or even die due to road accidents.
To increase public awareness and appreciation for the work of street cleaners, October 26 has turned into a special day in China to honor the country’s street cleaners and sanitation workers.
By Manya Koetse
Follow @whatsonweibo
*Original post text:
“2017年10月4日，下午两点左右，一男一女两名大学老师殴打环卫女工。曝光这两个人渣。
我正在屋子准备休息，听见窗外有人大声哭泣，最开始以为是家长在教训小孩，过了几分钟哭声越来越大，而且仔细听不像是小孩。从窗户上看到，一名女环卫工从垃圾堆里慢慢爬起来，一名女的推搡这环卫工，并且叫嚣到：我挣多少钱，你挣多少钱，你挡着我挣钱。此时一男的欲上前殴打环卫女工，这是我从窗户里喊：你欺负环卫工，要不要脸。此时他们发现被别人看到，应该是回过神来了，男的欲倒车逃跑，已被小区里的几名住户制止。赶到现场，男的还和我叫嚣：是她自己让我打的。那女的态度依然恶劣。直到我报了警，并拍摄视频，说要曝光他们。态度才有所转变，此时群众越来越多，都指责他们。有位大爷和我说：男的把环卫工打到了，还上去踹了好几脚。
到了警局做笔录，有一个自称，是男的助手的人，向警察解释：他是农村出身，在美国和日本待了几年才回国，不了解国情才打人的。我真是气愤，原来他在国外是随便打人的？从他助手的话里了解到，那男的是陕西科技大学才聘请回来的教授，是个博士，刚给他投资了个1000万的项目，希望我们不要曝光他。那打人的女，听说是陕西科技大学人事处的。
打这段字刚从警察局昨晚笔录回来。求曝光，这种人渣不配当老师.”
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Last updated
One day after a devastating explosion occurred at a chemical plant in Yancheng city in Jiangsu, at the Xiangshui Eco-chemical Industrial Zone, the number of confirmed casualties and injured has now gone up to 47 dead, 90 critically injured, with around 640 requiring hospital treatment (issued Friday 19.00 local time).
The explosion happened on Thursday around 14.48 local time at the Jiangsu Tianjiayi Chemical Plant (天嘉宜化工厂). Images and videos of the explosion and its aftermath quickly spread on Weibo and other social media, showing the huge impact of the blast.
Site of the explosion.
Footage showed shattered windows from buildings in the area and injured persons lying on the streets. Other videos showed children crying and blood on the pavements. There are residential areas and at least seven schools located in the vicinity of the chemical plant, leading to injuries among residents and students due to glass that was allegedly “flying around.”
Footage published by WeMedia show the impact of the Jiangsu Yancheng chemical plant explosion that occurred around 14.00 local time – https://t.co/pXM7Eg6Jf6 pic.twitter.com/LEL36M30z5
— Manya Koetse (@manyapan) 21 maart 2019
It is reported that there are residential areas and 7 schools in the vicinity of where the Yancheng explosion happened, people have been injured because of glass that was “flying around,” eyewitnesses said. pic.twitter.com/LYYNQgwLl4
— Manya Koetse (@manyapan) 21 maart 2019
According to official sources on Weibo, a total of 930 firefighters worked side by side to control the fire.
Trending photo on Friday: exhausted firefighters.
The hashtag “Lining Up to Donate Blood in Xiangshui” (#响水市民自发排队献血#) also attracted some attention on Weibo, with state media reporting that dozens of local residents have donated blood to help the injured. On Thursday night, there were long lines at a local mobile blood donation bus.
What is quite clear from the Chinese media reports on the incident and the social media posts coming from official (authorities) accounts, is that there is an emphasis on the number of people who are helping out, rather than a focus on the number of people that were killed: there are at least 930 firefighters, 192 fire trucks, 9 heavy construction machinery, 200 police officers, 88 people rescued, 3500 medical staff, 200 people donating blood, etc. – the number of people joining forces to provide assistance in the area is overwhelming.
A man is rescued from the site of the devastating Yancheng explosion, and firefighters give him a phone to call home to let them know he’s come out alive. He’s visibly emotional and shocked, yet the conversation seems so casual: “I was out of battery”, “Where are you going?”.. pic.twitter.com/f4RBU33AbN
— Manya Koetse (@manyapan) 22 maart 2019
Meanwhile, there are desperate family members who are turning to social media in search of loved ones, posting their photos and asking people if they know anything about their whereabouts since the explosion.
While dozens of Weibo users are airing their grievances on what happened, there are also more personal stories coming out. The wife of the local factory worker Jiang is devastated; her husband of four years, father of one son, celebrated his 30th birthday on Thursday. She received a message from her husband twenty minutes before the explosion occurred. He was one of the many people who lost their lives.
On Thursday, Chinese netizens complained that their posts about the Yancheng explosion were being taken offline, suggesting that information flows relating to the incident are being strictly controlled. “This is just too big to conceal,” one commenter said.
This is not the first time such an explosion makes headlines in China. In 2015, an enormous explosion at a petrol storage station in Tianjin killed 173 people and caused hundreds of people to be injured. Two years ago, an explosion at a Shandong petrochemical plant left 13 people dead.
By Manya Koetse
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Last updated
Update: The Day After the Explosion
On March 21st at about 14.48 local time, an explosion occurred at a chemical plant in Yancheng city in Jiangsu.
At time of writing, the news has become a top trending topic on social media site Weibo, where the hashtag “Jiangsu Yancheng Chemical Plant Explosion” (#江苏盐城化工厂爆炸#) has attracted some 100 million views.
The explosion, that occurred at the Xiangshui Eco-chemical Industrial Zone, was followed by a 2.2 earthquake at 14.48 local time in Jiangsu’s Lianyungang.
According to Sixth Tone, people who have been injured during the incident have been sent to a local hospital.
Footage published by WeMedia show the impact of the massive explosion, with shattered windows from buildings in the area, and showing at least one injured person lying on the street.
Other videos on social media show injured people lining up at the hospital, chaos, and wounded people lying on the street (Twitter link here and here).
According to the official account of China’s Fire Control Department (@中国消防), 31 persons were rescued from the scene around 17.00 local time, when a total of 188 firefighters were present at the scene.
Footage published by WeMedia show the impact of the Jiangsu Yancheng chemical plant explosion that occurred around 14.00 local time – https://t.co/pXM7Eg6Jf6 pic.twitter.com/LEL36M30z5
— Manya Koetse (@manyapan) 21 maart 2019
According to various media reports, the chemical plant where the explosion happened is the Jiangsu Tianjiayi Chemical Plant (天嘉宜化工厂). The official website says that the Tianjiayi company was founded in 2007 and has over 280 staff members.
China’s Emergency Management Department (@中华人民共和国应急管理部), that was established in 2018, issued a post on Weibo at the beginning of the evening, stating that expert teams were rushed to the scene to assist local authorities in their rescue operations.
This is not the first time such an explosion makes headlines in China. In 2015, an enormous explosion at a petrol storage station in Tianjin injured hundreds of people. Two years ago, an explosion at a Shandong petrochemical plant left 8 persons dead and 9 people injured.
Chinese state media outlet Xinhua reported that the number of casualties at the Yancheng site are still unknown. Phoenix News reports that as of 19.00 local time, at least 6 people are confirmed to have died, with 30 people being critically injured. (UPDATE MARCH 22 SEE HERE).
On Weibo, people are sharing their concern for the people injured during the explosions, and are also expressing their worries on what exactly caused the explosion and what kind of chemicals people may have been exposed to.
“There are many residential areas and schools near the site of the explosion,” one official account on Weibo writes: “There’s a kindergarten some 1,1 kilometers away, and children have been injured. According to eyewitnesses, residents were injured because of the glass flying around.”
It is reported that there are residential areas and 7 schools in the vicinity of where the Yancheng explosion happened, people have been injured because of glass that was "flying around," eyewitnesses said. pic.twitter.com/LYYNQgwLl4
— Manya Koetse (@manyapan) 21 maart 2019
Sina News reports that there are at least seven schools in the vicinity of the explosion (see image below).
More videos making their rounds showing the impact of today's explosion in Yancheng, Jiangsu. Cannot confirm if this footage indeed is Yancheng, there are also older videos/images resurfacing now. pic.twitter.com/2Rtwvq3Tu9
— Manya Koetse (@manyapan) 21 maart 2019
A live-streaming report by Tencent News, Beijing News, and WeMedia shows that at around 20.00 local time, the fire at the site of the explosion is still blazing, with a strong wind picking up.
Meanwhile, on Weibo, some netizens are complaining that footage of the explosion is being deleted from the social media platform, while others are disgruntled that residential areas and schools would be located so close to a chemical plant.
“I really wish the people there are safe and sound,” dozens of commenters say, posting praying emoji: “It is just so scary, I hope there won’t be any more casualties.”
By Manya Koetse
Spotted a mistake or want to add something? Please email us.
©2019 Whatsonweibo. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce our content without permission – you can contact us at info@whatsonweibo.com.
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AC
October 6, 2017 at 12:37 am
This sort of things also happen in USA http://nypost.com/2017/06/25/couple-viciously-beats-restaurant-owner-her-teen-daughter-over-fast-food-order/
Altyn Sultan
October 8, 2017 at 7:56 pm
Apparently, this happened on Wednesday, and it’s a week of holidays. Hence, suspension is not the final decision, but an operational measure to carry out a disciplinary investigation. Noone fire staff without a proper investigation.
I’m sure a proper and prompt decision will be taken by the University Administration.