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Shanghai Plastic Surgery Nightmare: Doctor’s Sexual Abuse Scandal Exposed on Chinese Social Media

The personal account of a young woman’s horrific plastic surgery experience in Shanghai’s Ninth People’s Hospital has gone viral through Chinese social media. Other netizens have also come forward sharing their bad experiences with the hospital and its doctors.

Manya Koetse

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The personal account of a young woman’s horrific plastic surgery experience in Shanghai’s Ninth People’s Hospital has gone viral on Chinese social media. Since the post, many other netizens victimized by the hospital and Dr. Yu Dong have also come forward. The sexual abuse scandal is one of the most talked about topics of the day on Weibo.

The personal account of a 19-year-old woman describing how she was sexually molested and maltreated by her plastic surgeon in Shanghai’s Ninth People’s Hospital has caused a stir on Chinese social media. The girl, who calls herself “Unhappy Bunny 555” (@不开心的兔兔555) posted her story on Weibo on December 9.

Within 42 hours after posting, her post was viewed millions of times, receiving thousands of comments. Because her first post was allegedly removed by Sina Weibo, the young woman had to post it again. The second post was viewed nearly 11 million times by the time of writing.

Image of Dr. Yu dong as shared by 'Tutu' [alias].

Image of Dr. Yu dong as shared by ‘Tutu’ [alias].

The girl, nicknamed ‘Tutu’, has been posting about her experiences earlier this year. In her latest long blog post, which has been making its rounds on Chinese social media, she writes:

I am a 19-year-old girl. In the winter of 2015, I went to Shanghai’s Ninth People’s Hospital’s Dr. Yu Dong (余东) for surgery on my face. The story I am about to tell comes from my own personal experience, and if it contains any inaccuracies I am willing to face potential legal consequences.”

Because the shape of my face is somewhat sharp and not delicate, I started searching for plastic surgery on the internet. I come from a family that is not rich, and my parents are very conservative. I saved up my own Chinese New Year money and worked part-time jobs in my spare time, and after several years of saving, penny by penny, I planned to go to the big city to find a reliable doctor for the big surgery.”

“I told Dr. Yu Dong I only wanted to fix my lower jaw, but he told me it would not be possible without also operating my chin. I trusted in his expertise and agreed.”

Like many other girls, I found Dr. Yu Dong through the internet. Looking at his work and writings on Weibo, I felt he was a very advanced, confident, and competent doctor. Considering he was a specialist at the Shanghai Ninth People’s Hospital, I trusted there would not be any problems. Since I had to register at the hospital in order to get an appointment with him, I already spent a lot of money [arranging this] before I finally got my consultation. I told Dr. Yu Dong I only wanted to fix my lower jaw, but he told me it would not be possible without also operating my chin. I trusted in his expertise and agreed.”

jy_img

I arrived on time on the day of my admittance to the hospital, paid the surgery fee, and waited in line with other girls to take pictures. I met a girl there who had come for a second facial surgery. She told me her first operation was on her cheekbones by Dr. Yu Dong, which did not come out right, and that she would now do a second operation. I immediately felt something was wrong (if the first time was not good, why would you come in a second time? Shouldn’t it be right the first time around?), but this surgery had been my dream for such a long time and I had already paid for it, so I told myself it was okay.”

Until the day of the surgery, I did not see Dr. Yu Dong at all. Right before I would go on the operating table, I met Dr. Yu Dong in his office together with two other girls to briefly discuss our surgeries (he did not address the specifics of our surgeries, nor their medical implications). One of the girls named Hu then told the doctor that she had also had breast surgery. The doctor then suddenly reached out, put his hand inside her hospital gown (which we had to wear without any underwear for the operation) and touched [her breasts]. When I asked Dr. Yu Dong about my own surgery, he just quickly withdrew his hand from Hu’s hospital gown and suddenly touched my breasts. He smiled and half-jokingly told me “they definitely are not fake.” Because I’d never encountered such a thing, I was just dumbfounded and felt very uncomfortable, but since he is a doctor who has seen so many beautiful women, and since the other girls did not react at all, I thought I was just imagining it.

“I was all alone in that hospital, without my family or friends, and I would be the next one on the operation table.”

The girl then goes on to tell that before the operation, Dr. Yu Dong also made pictures of her in a small separate room without windows, where he again touched her breasts while making small talk. “At this point,” she writes: “He must have thought I was very naive and he said he wanted my WeChat and my number to contact me.”

In a text message, the doctor then told Tutu to come to his office. “I thought it was to discuss my surgery,” Tutu writes. She describes how, once in his office, the doctor held her in a strong embrace. Tutu writes:

My mind was muddled, and before I could respond he had already locked the office, pinned me to the bed and had sex with me. It all happened within seconds and afterward Dr. Yu Dong quickly got up, pulled up his pants and told me he was being too crazy and begged me not to say, that he had never done this before and just really liked me. (..) He told me my surgery would be okay. To me, it was all a blur and happened so fast. I was all alone in that hospital, without my family or friends, and I would be the next one on the operation table. I was afraid to offend him out of fear it would affect my operation – I admit I was also at fault for attaching so much importance to my appearances – but I had saved up for so long and had already paid, this operation was something I’d dreamed about for so long. I did not think about how bad I actually felt and was afraid to tell anyone. In a complete daze, I got on the operation table.

Tutu goes on and describes the period after the operation:

Within three days after the surgery, the hospital urged me to leave because of a shortage of beds. I had lost a lot of blood during my operation and my face was still very swollen and very painful. Unfortunately, I started getting a fever and after a week the swelling only got more serious. I did not want to face Dr. Yu Dong again and wanted to avoid his medical treatment. So I went to find the surgery assistant Dr. Xu Liang (徐梁), who gave me medication through IV but it didn’t help. The doctor told me he had never seen anything like this, and that I should go and see the main doctor Yu Dong to have it checked out.”

With Tutu’s fever getting higher, and the pain getting worse, she went back to Dr. Yu Dong, who used a needle to puncture her cheek to let out the fluids. When the situation only got worse, he had her hospitalized to clean out her surgical wounds.

“This whole affair has brought tremendous injuries to my body and soul. The pain in my chin reminds me that there is no way to escape this nightmare.”

In her blog post, Tutu described that during her second hospitalization she was crying with pain, had not eaten proper food for over two weeks, was weakened and dizzy. When she went for her appointment with Dr. Yu Dong, he had sex with her again:

He suddenly locked the door, barbarously pushed my head against the office desk, tore my clothes and entered me. I was weak and light-headed, and could not even speak because of the tube in my mouth (…) After it had happened, he repeatedly warned me not to speak out about it and said that the expenses of my second hospitalization would not be charged. (..) I felt horrible, but I was in bad shape and had no money left. Being a girl from a simple background all alone in Shanghai, I was also afraid to offend a man with the position of associate professor of a top hospital, and thought nobody would probably believe me.

Tutu’s account continues, as her wounds do not get better and she needs her stitches to be removed. When she returns to Dr. Yu Dong to be helped, she writes that he tells her he can only help her if she satisfies his needs and forces her to receive oral rape.

Six months after the operation, Tutu still suffers from intolerable pains and feels as if there are holes in her chin. Although Dr. Yu tells her there is no problem, a new facial scan points out her chin has broken bones and two big holes. Tutu also shared her CT scan on Weibo (see image).

plasticsurgery2

Tutu writes that it was not until the day of her CT scan that she discovered the doctor had actually performed a V-Line operation on her – a controversial surgery where the jaw is cut in a V-shape that is not even allowed to be performed in many hospitals.

South Korean clinic's representation of the V-line operation.

South Korean clinic’s representation of the V-line operation.

With no relevant department to turn to within the hospital, and Dr. Yu having blocked her out as a patient, Tutu decided to share her story on social media:

This whole affair has brought tremendous injuries to my body and soul. I cannot sleep and every time the pain in my chin reminds me that there is no way to escape this nightmare. I’ve thought about suicide countless times. I’ve sought medical help everywhere, but this cannot be fixed, it’s irreversible damage. My pain goes with me everywhere, I can no longer go out with my friends, although I should just be able to live a happy life like other young girls. I don’t want to be weak anymore, I want to get my story out there. I know I will receive a lot of backlash, but I have to share this to make sure other girls won’t end up in the same nightmare.”

“Dr. Yu Dong is evil and has no medical ethics.”

The Weibo post includes screenshots of WeChat conversations between ‘Tutu’ and Dr. Yu, hospital bills, CT scans, and screenshots of social media posts by other women who say they have become a victim of Dr. Yu’s malpractices.

screenshot

Tutu’s revelations have stirred up much controversy on Weibo and WeChat, with many netizens supporting her and expressing their anger. “How can such a bastard become a doctor anyway?”, many people wonder.

Despite the support, there are also many people who doubt Tutu’s story for lack of evidence of the sexual assaults. Although there are many other women claiming they also had sex with Dr. Yu, some people wonder if it could be considered rape. “He is a doctor who had sexual relations with his patients,” one netizen responds: “Either way, his medical ethics are flawed.”

Other people have also come forward on Chinese social media with stories about the Shanghai Ninth Hospital malpractices. “I don’t know if this story is true or not, but I do know this hospital has many dirty practices,” one netizen says, sharing her own bad experiences with the hospital staff. Another netizen says: “I had a nose job in this hospital in June, and it completely failed. My nose is crooked.”

“I had my eyelids done by Dr. Yu Dong, and he was terribly impatient. It was the first time I had ever had a surgery and I was so scared, but he never consoled me and only ridiculed me. (..) Although I did not experience the same problems as the author after the operation, I do feel like Dr. Yu Dong is evil and has no medical ethics,” netizen ‘Daix‘ writes.

Tutu also shared that she has been receiving many private messages from young women who have been molested by Dr. Yu Dong since she has shared her story on Weibo.

The Shanghai’s Ninth People’s Hospital released a statement through its official Weibo page on Sunday. The hospital has set up a research team to investigate the case, the post says, and will take legal measures depending on the outcome of the investigative report.

“You knew about this long before,” one netizen writes: “But you did not take any action until this case blew up. This is just no good.”

In the meantime. Dr. Yu’s wife has also come forward on Weibo. She has stated that her husband denies all allegations, and that she will stand by him.

– By Manya Koetse
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©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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China Animals

Outrage over Chinese Food Blogger Torturing Cat in Online Video

Chinese food vlogger Xu Zhihui (徐志辉) was part of a cat abuse chat group on QQ.

Manya Koetse

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A shocking and extremely cruel video in which a Chinese wanghong (online influencer) tortures a stolen cat has sparked outrage on Chinese social media.

The person involved is the Anhui-based food blogger/vlogger Xu Zhihui (徐志辉), who runs multiple accounts, including a Bilibili account with more than 400,000 followers and a Weibo account with over 20,000 fans (@杰克辣条). Xu is mostly known for posting videos of himself cooking and eating food.

The cat abuse incident happened on April 15 in Funan County’s Lucheng, Anhui Province, where the 29-year-old Xu filmed his horrific acts, including tying up the cat, binding it to a tree, cutting its paws, and burning it alive. He then uploaded the video and shared it to a QQ group dedicated to cat abuse. It later circulated around social media, triggering outrage.

According to screenshots that leaked online and the very fact Xu was part of a cruel ‘cat abuse chat group,’ this probably was not the first time for him to torture animals.

According to a police statement, authorities received reports about the stolen cat and the abuse video on April 26th, after which they immediately launched an investigation.

On April 27th, Xu posted an apology on his Weibo channel, in which he said he felt ashamed and sorry for what he did and that he was willing to bear “all the consequences” of his actions. He also wrote that he was being criticized and held accountable by both the public security bureau and Internet authorities. “Please give me another chance,” he wrote. The comments on the post were switched off.

A noteworthy part of Xu’s online apology is that it has a dedicated Weibo hashtag page including a ‘topic summary’ in which Xu apologized. The hashtag page was hosted by Toutiao News. The mix of the personal message by Xu on a hashtag page hosted by Chinese media seems to indicate that these parties worked together in spreading Xu’s words about how remorseful he allegedly is (#偷猫拍虐猫视频网红道歉#).

The comment sections suggest that most people will not forgive Xu for what he did. Many people say the story makes them feel sick to their stomach, and that the idea of ‘cat abuse’ chat groups makes their skin crawl.

“People like this do not change,” one person wrote. “Give you another chance?! Did you give that kitty a chance?!”

“Today he abuses a cat, tomorrow he kills a person. Straight to hell with him,” others wrote: “Go die!”

Xu’s actions are regarded as “negatively impacting society” and he currently is detained in Funan in accordance with the Public Security Administrative Punishments Law. His Bilibili account currently also displays a message that it is getting banned.

Although there are various laws in China regarding wildlife and the protection of animals, there currently is no national law that is explicitly against animal cruelty for all animals. Some legal bloggers explored under which laws Xu could be punished for his actions other than the abuse itself, such as stealing a cat and also uploading such a video to the internet (#虐待无主流浪猫狗或不被处罚#, #公共场合虐待动物并传播视频或犯罪#).

In recent years, voices calling for better laws on animal abuse in China have grown louder. In 2020, after a horrific story of a Chinese security guard pouring scalding water over a cat went viral, Chinese media outlet CCTV called out for a rapid legislation against animal abuse. That same video was shared in light of this incident again.

In 2021, home security cameras captured how anti-epidemic workers beat a pet dog to death in Shangrao. This also caused an online storm over animal abuse during ‘zero Covid.’

“I strongly call for legislation, [we must] defend the bottom line of morality,” some commenters now write: “We will never forgive this.”

By Manya Koetse

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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.

©2023 Whatsonweibo. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce our content without permission – you can contact us at info@whatsonweibo.com.

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China Animals

Meanwhile in Panda News: Panda Talk during Macron’s China Visit, Yaya Set to Return to China in Late April

Panda updates! From Yaya in Memphis to Qiqi in Shanghai, these are the pandas that went trending this month.

Manya Koetse

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Panda news flash! After French President Macron’s China state visit, news of France hoping to lengthen the stay of panda celebrities Huan Huan and Yuan Zi in Beauval went trending on Weibo, along with the news that Memhpis-based Yaya is not coming home to China this week.

It is time for another update on what’s been going on in panda news recently for this second What’s on Weibo ‘meanwhile in panda news’ column to give you more insights into all the trending panda topics, including the controversies and politics surrounding them.

What’s been trending recently? There has been a lot of panda-related news. The following topics have been trending recently.

 

◼︎ PANDA TALK DURING MACRON’S CHINA VISIT

Hashtags: #马克龙想续租大熊猫#, #法国博瓦勒动物园想续租大熊猫#

 

In 1973, Chinese giant pandas Yen Yen and Li Li arrived at Zoo de Vincennes in Paris. The two pandas were gifted to French President Georges Pompidou by Zhou Enlai as part of China’s famous panda diplomacy. (Funny fact: the pair were originally thought to be male and female but were later discovered to be two males.)

Now, exactly fifty years later, President Emmanuel Macron is in China with his delegation. Apart from all the major issues such as EU-China relations and the war in Ukraine, ‘panda politics’ are also on the agenda.

Macron arrived in Beijing on April 5 as part of his state visit to China. Among the delegates and business leaders joining Macron, there is also Rodolphe Delord. Delord is the director of the ZooParc de Beauval, a French zoological park that is one of the largest in Europe.

The pandas Huan Huan (欢欢) and Yuan Zi (圆仔) are currently residing in the park. They arrived in France in 2012 as part of a decade-long research & conservation cooperation project between the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding and ZooParc de Beauval. Their arrival was also seen as a warming of China-France relations.

In 2017, they had a baby cub named Yuan Meng. In 2021, Huan Huan again gave birth to twin cubs Huan Lili and Yuan Dudu.

The park previously indicated it would like to lengthen the duration of their agreement so that Yuan Zi and Huan Huan can stay in France for the time to come. They are also called “the stars of Beauval.”

During Macron’s visit, the hashtags “Macron Wants to Renew Giang Panda Lease” (#马克龙想续租大熊猫#) and “French Beauval Zoo Wants to Renew the Giant Panda Lease” went trending (#法国博瓦勒动物园想续租大熊猫#).

The French President apparently has an affinity with pandas. As part of his 40th birthday celebrations, Macron met the baby panda Yuan Meng back in 2017. Macron’s wife Brigitte became the cub’s ‘godmother.’ It has not been reported yet at this point if there already is an agreement about the extended lease.

 

◼︎ YAYA TO COME HOME IN LATE APRIL

Hashtags: #孟菲斯提醒未经许可直播丫丫违规#, #丫丫#, #孟菲斯动物园将为丫丫举办告别派对#, #丫丫正式移交中方#

 

Panda Yaya (丫丫), who has been living in America’s Memphis Zoo for two decades, has been a big topic on Chinese social media platforms this year because netizens have been very concerned about her skinny and seemingly unhealthy appearance and how she is being treated in the U.S. (the heightening political tensions between the US and China have not exactly eased these concerns).

According to the American care team, Yaya has been suffering from a chronic skin and fur condition which is related to her immune system and hormonal fluctuations. They claim the condition does not affect her quality of life and that they are closely monitoring Yaya.

Yaya was previously scheduled to return to China in early April of 2023. Yaya’s Memphis Zoo stay was part of a long joint conservation and research project between the Chinese Association of Zoological Gardens and the U.S. with an agreement duration of ten years, which was extended by ten more years in 2013.

On April 7, the day that Yaya was allegedly scheduled to leave Memphis, it was reported that Memphis Zoo was organizing a ‘goodbye’ event, giving visitors the time to bid farewell to Yaya before she starts her journey to China at the end of April 2023. A related topic received over 170 million clicks on Weibo on Friday (#孟菲斯动物园将为丫丫举办告别派对#).

On Saturday, Yaya got snacks and even a special cake during the goodbye event, which also included Chinese cultural performances.

Although visitors have been livestreaming Yaya at the Memphis Zoo, Chinese state media reported earlier in April that the zoo reminded visitors not to record livestreams of Yaya as it goes against their policies.

This also became a hot topic on Chinese social media: “[Yaya] needs to be livestreamed, all the way until she returned to China,” some said, with others writing: “It’s not hard to understand why they don’t want Yaya to be livestreamed.”

Some netizens and panda fans are disappointed that they will still have to wait for the female panda to return to China. “Why won’t she come to China before late April? Why why why!?”

Although Yaya fans in China will still need to wait for the panda to return, she has officially been handed over to China and a joint team of American and Chinese carers will prepare her for the big trip home (#丫丫正式移交中方#).

 

◼︎ WAITING FOR PANDA QIQI’S RETURN FROM HOSPITAL

Hashtags: #七七确诊肠梗阻将进行手术#, #熊猫七七#

 

While many people are waiting for Yaya’s return, they are also worried about another panda that is Shanghai-based. As one of the most famous pandas living in the Shanghai Wild Animal Park, Qiqi attracted attention on Chinese social media in February of 2023 because of her health problems.

The 4-year-old female panda had a CT scan that showed there was an intestinal blockage, and the panda was rushed to the hospital for surgery.

Funny detail – Dr Wang arrived at work that day and saw Mr. ‘Panda’ on the patient list, he thought it was a patient named ‘Panda’ (Xiong Mao) until he discovered it was an actual panda getting a CT scan. “We’re a regular hospital,” he said: “Our patients are usually all humans.”

Although intestinal blockage is not common, Qiqi’s older brother Ya’ao (雅奥), who also lived at the park, died of the same condition in March of 2022.

After the surgery, Qiqi received further treatment. According to the latest news at this time, Qiqi has stabilized and is no longer in life danger.

Many Qiqi fans and panda lovers are now waiting for new pictures showing a Qiqi who has, hopefully, fully recovered. “Why haven’t we received more updates?” some wonder.

Read more panda news here.

By Manya Koetse 

Get the story behind the hashtag. Subscribe to What’s on Weibo here to receive our newsletter and get access to our latest articles:

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.

©2023 Whatsonweibo. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce our content without permission – you can contact us at info@whatsonweibo.com.

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