China Local News

Woman Forced into Trunk of Car: “I Won’t Press Charges”

One day after a shocking video of a woman being slapped and forced into the trunk of a car became trending on Chinese social media, more details on the violent incident have come out. The woman says she won’t press charges against the aggressor, who is her husband.

Published

9 years ago

June 10, 2016

Manya Koetse

https://youtu.be/NgjdF3jGKQ4

On June 10, one day after the video of a woman being slapped and forced into the trunk of a car went viral on China’s social media, there is an update to the story. The incident, that took place in Cangzhou, Hebei province, was first shrouded in mystery – the video showed the man violently beating the woman and pushing her inside the trunk while bystanders did little to prevent him, after which he drove off.

Now, under the hashtag of “The Woman in the Trunk” (#后备箱里的女人#), more details have come to light.

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News reports state that the police has investigated the case, and they confirm that the man and woman in the video are a husband and wife from Cangzhou, who were caught up in an angry argument at the time of the video.

According to the Weibo account of the local police, the woman is not injured and refuses to press charges against her husband – instead, the couple just wants to “live their life in peace together”.

According to the Weibo account of blogger Hu’erdao, the woman and her husband said their lives have been greatly affected by the video. Hu’erdao writes: “You thought this was still something between you? This has now become a public matter. Many people thought this was a kidnapping case. Did you think you could just leave it at this? You think it is normal to put someone in the car trunk?”

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Other netizens agree with the blogger, saying: “If this was America, he would be arrested no matter if she pressed charges or not.” Weibo user She Huimin (@佘惠敏) also argues that the violent man should be arrested, no matter if the woman reported him to authorities or not: “They could suspend his driver’s license and take him into custody for ten days (..) Didn’t he break the law by putting someone in the trunk of his car?”

Another Weibo netizen writes: “My friends live in the same village as this couple. Everybody there knows she’s too afraid to get a divorce, as she fears he might do something to her family.” She also writes that the man is known to be violent and a heavy drinker: “It is possible for him not to eat, but it’s not possible for him not to drink.” In another post she says: “She is too afraid to press charges, and too afraid to get a divorce, out of fear for his revenge. After all, this man is capable of anything – he wasn’t afraid that he might’ve killed her by putting her in that trunk.”

Although there are many netizens who are angry that the case is left at this, there are also those who argue that the woman might not want to press charges out of fear, but that the man should be convicted no matter what – after all, “isn’t domestic violence a crime?”

China’s first law against domestic violence came into effect on March 1st of this year. According to estimations, one-in-four Chinese women have suffered violence in their marriage. But as what happens within the family home is traditionally considered a private matter, many women are afraid to talk about domestic abuse – which is still considered taboo.

But social media plays an important role in creating more awareness about domestic violence and the reaction of bystanders. Earlier this year, a video of a woman being nearly abducted in a Beijing hotel made headlines all over China. It showed a man violently dragging a woman through the hallway, while multiple people passed by without intervening. Some explained their passive response by saying they might have thought the man and woman were husband and wife – but many netizens pointed out that it should not make a difference if they were.

For now, it seems that the case of the woman in the trunk has reached a dead end. As the woman refuses to press charges, expressing they just want to “live their lives together in peace”, it is to be hoped that it will actually come to this.

– By Manya Koetse
Follow @WhatsOnWeibo

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Manya Koetse

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.

2 Comments

Cinta Williams

June 11, 2016 at 2:48 am

I want to know who was the other person in the trunk?

Reply
Kim

August 19, 2016 at 3:45 pm

I saw that a guy translated what they said and it was that she had molested their 8 yr old son is that true

Reply

China Local News

The Liaoyang Restaurant Fire That Killed 22 People

Published

2 months ago

April 29, 2025

Manya Koetse

🔥 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”

Published

2 months ago

April 24, 2025

Manya Koetse

🔥 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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