China Media
Online Anger over Zhejiang Man Being Detained for 10 Days after Acid Attack on Wife
There is online anger over the fact that the chemical engineer who doused his wife with sulfate acid was only detained for ten days following the brutal attack.
![Manya Koetse](https://www.whatsonweibo.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/manya-koetse-500-x-500-80x80.jpeg)
Published
2 years agoon
![](https://www.whatsonweibo.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/acidtattack.jpeg)
A woman who survived an attack in which her husband doused her with sulfuric acid has made a social media video, drawing national attention to the case. After the attack, the husband was initially only detained for ten days and received a 400 yuan ($58) fine.
A female survivor of domestic violence has spoken out on social media about the devastating acid attack that has left her scarred for life (#被丈夫泼硫酸毁容女子发声#).
The incident happened in Kaihua Country in Quzhou, Zhejiang, on Jan. 14, 2023, when a 31-year-old female named Zhang argued with her husband, Xu Zhong, over their marriage.
During the dispute, Xu Zhong, a 29-year-old chemical engineer, attacked his wife by throwing concentred sulfate acid in her face. He already had prepared the bottle with concentrated sulfuric acid prior to the incident.
“I want you all to see my acid burns,” Zhang says in the video she recently posted on social media, sharing how she has already had three operations after the attack, which mainly burned the skin tissue around her eyes, her face, hands, and also scarring her two ears, leaving her partially deaf.
After the acid attack, Xu Zhong was detained for ten days and received a 400 yuan ($58) fine.
The topic went trending on Chinese social media platforms Weibo and Douyin on Saturday, Feb. 18. The topic “Husband Splashes Wife with Acid, Gets Detained for Ten Days” (#丈夫泼妻子硫酸被行拘10日#) received over 82 million views on Weibo at the time of writing.
![](https://www.whatsonweibo.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/zhang.jpeg)
Zhang prior to the attack and in her video after the attack.
Zhang had been a victim of domestic violence prior to the brutal attack. In June of 2022, Xu Zhong raised the topic of having a second child. When Zhang disagreed, the couple’s relation went bad and Xu Zhong started being violent toward his wife, after which she wanted to file for divorce.
Because Xu Zhong would not agree to a divorce, Zhang hired a lawyer and filed a lawsuit. She eventually was not able to come up with the legal fees and dropped the case in July of 2022.
In January of 2023, the separated couple met again to discuss the possibilities of divorce. It was at this time that Xu Zhong splashed Zhang with sulfate acid.
“If you want to commit a crime, just get married,” one top comment in one of the related threads on Weibo said.
The case has hit a nerve on Chinese social media, where other domestic violence incidents previously also went trending and sparked anger about the problem of domestic violence often being downplayed by Chinese local officials when women reach out for help.
Domestic abuse was officially criminalized with China’s first national law against domestic violence in 2016, but it is still a widespread problem, partly due to a general lack of public awareness and due to police officers often regarding it as a “private” family matter.
In light of the online attention surrounding the case, the local authorities in Kaihua released a statement on Saturday, in which they stated that the ten-day detention and fine were for Xu’s acts of violence intended to cause harm. The case is currently still being investigated and the local public security organs will hold the suspect legally responsible once they can assess the extent of Zhang’s injuries (#警方回应男子泼妻子硫酸仅拘10天#).
But on Weibo, many commenters do not understand the legal procedures and do not see why Xu is not already behind bars considering the severity of the attack.
“They only detained him for ten days? This can’t be real,” some write. “There is no excuse for him not being in jail now,” others say.
Similar discussions went trending on Chinese social media in 2020, after the death of Tibetan vlogger Lhamu, who died after her husband attacked her and set her on fire inside her own home. Lhamu’s death sparked widespread calls on authorities to do more to protect and legally empower victims of domestic abuse.
Besides the initial light sentence for Zhang’s husband, there is also online anger over the fact that Zhang was unsuccessful in filing for divorce in the summer of 2022.
Although many people think it should become easier for Chinese couples to file for divorce – even if the other party disagrees, – a law that was released in 2020 introduced a mandatory “cooling off period” of thirty days. The law is allegedly intended to make people think twice before finalizing their divorce, but it also triggered outrage as people felt the regulation makes victims of domestic violence even more vulnerable.
Some Chinese netizens say Zhang’s case brings back memories of the 1996 case of Yang Yuxia (杨玉霞), the most well-known acid attack case in China to date.
![](https://www.whatsonweibo.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/b8274bd4ly1gm4pahtexaj20og0hl0tw.jpg)
The Yang Yuxia case attracted nationwide attention in 1996.
Yang Yuxia was a 28-year-old primary school teacher in Shanghai who had an extramarital affair with the father of one of her students. After he ended the relationship, Yang attacked his wife and young daughter with sulfate acid, leaving them disfigured and leaving the girl (partially) blind. She was given the death penalty and faced execution by firing squad three months after the attack.
As for Zhang’s case, it is yet uncertain what the outcome of this particular domestic violence case will be, as it will depend on the findings of the ongoing investigation and the eventual ruling of the Kaihua court.
By Manya Koetse
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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.
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China Health & Science
Stolen Bodies, Censored Headlines: Shanxi Aorui’s Human Bone Scandal
A Chinese company illegally acquired thousands of corpses to produce bone graft materials sold to hospitals—a major scandal now being tightly controlled on social media.
![Manya Koetse](https://www.whatsonweibo.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/manya-koetse-500-x-500-80x80.jpeg)
Published
4 weeks agoon
August 9, 2024![](https://www.whatsonweibo.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/bones.jpg)
On Thursday night, August 8, while most trending topic lists on Weibo were all about the Olympics, a new and remarkable topic suddenly rose to the number one, namely that about the “Illegal Human Bone Case.” Just moments later, however, the topic had already disappeared from the Weibo hot search list.
An article about the topic by Chinese media outlet The Paper (澎湃)1 that had just been published hours earlier on August 8 had already been taken offline. Later, an article published on The Observer (观察)2 was also redirected. Another article published on the website of Caixin and state broadcaster CCTV similarly disappeared, 3 along with many other headlines.4
However, at the time of writing, there are some articles on the issue, such as by Sina News or Phoenix News, that remained accessible.
The story centers on Shanxi Aorui Bio-Materials Co., Ltd. (山西奥瑞生物材料有限公司), also known as Shanxi Osteorad in English, a company founded in 1999 that specializes in the production and supply of bone graft products.
On August 7, a prominent Chinese lawyer named Yi Shenghua (易胜华), who has a large following on Weibo, exposed details of Shanxi Aorui’s involvement in illegal and unethical practices surrounding the purchase of human bones. The company engaged in these practices for over eight years, from January 2015 to June 2023, generating an income of 380 million yuan ($53 million) from these activities.
These details had previously been disclosed by the Taiyuan Public Security Bureau in May of this year. The case has allegedly been transferred to the Taiyuan Procuratorate for review and potential prosecution, but it has yet to be concluded due to its complexity, involving some 75 suspects.
Over the years, Shanxi Aorui illegally acquired thousands of human remains, reportedly forging body donation registration forms and other documents to illegally purchase bodies from hospitals, funeral homes, and crematoriums from various places, from Sichuan Guangxi, Shandong, and other places. These human remains were then used to produce allogeneic bone implant materials, primarily sold to hospitals.
Due to the high demand for bone implant materials and limited supply, it is an incredibly lucrative industry. Some reports claim that those selling the human remains to Shanxi Aorui could charge between 10,000 and 22,000 yuan per corpse ($1400-$3000).
“I’ve been a criminal lawyer for many years, and have handled all kinds of cases, but this is the first time for me to be so shocked and angry,” Yi Shenghua wrote in his post (screenshot available via RFA.org).”What makes me particularly lose hope is that the maximum punishment for these kinds of people under the current law is only three years.”
However, Yi Shenghua’s Weibo post about the issue was later blocked from public view. “I can still see my own post, but apparently, others cannot,” Yi wrote at 17:35 on Thursday.
On August 9, China’s major pharmaceutical company Sinopharm issued a statement in light of the controversy surrounding the human bone case, stating it has never had any kind of relationship with the Shanxi Aorui company.
On Friday, the news topic on Chinese social media was tightly controlled. Various media outlets, from Weibo to Douyin, reported on the issue, but despite the public’s interest in the scandal, not a single comment could be seen under multiple threads.
‘Even Douyin blocked the Shanxi Aorui incident. Is this the government stepping in?’ one commenter wondered.
‘Why are they suppressing this hot search topic? Do they think the public is stupid?’ another person wrote.
One individual implicated in this case is Li Baoxing (李宝兴, born 1955), who was General Manager at Shanxi Aorui. Li is a renowned research professor who was reportedly awarded the title of National Model Worker in 2005. He was formerly affiliated with the Institute of Biomaterials Science and Technology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, where he developed bone implant materials that benefited thousands of patients across the country. He allegedly joined the Communist Party in 1985.
Some commenters called the entire scandal a “horror film,” with Li Baoxing being the director.
“We know about 4000 [human remains], what about those we don’t know about?”
“These so-called ‘human remains’ were once people like you and me,” another Weibo user wrote: “They were alive, their voices and smile are still in the hearts of family and friends. They liked to be clean, they had their privacy, they are still being missed. We can’t replace ourselves or our loved ones, [yet] they were used and peeled layer by layer.”
By Manya Koetse
1 Title: “探访涉盗卖数千具人体骨骼的山西奥瑞公司,此前已被公安查封” (“Investigation into Shanxi Aorui Bio, involved in the illegal sale of thousands of human bones, which had previously been seized by police”). Original link: https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_28348324
2 Title: “涉嫌非法盗卖数千具遗体用于制作植入材料,山西奥瑞生物八年营收3.8亿” (“Suspected of illegally stealing and selling thousands of human remains for use in making implant materials, Shanxi Aorui Bio made an eight-year revenue of 380 million yuan”). Original link: https://www.guancha.cn/GongSi/2024_08_08_744234.shtml
3 CCTV’s publication is the same as the article published by The Paper, namely: “探访涉盗卖数千具人体骨骼的山西奥瑞公司,此前已被公安查封” (“Investigation into Shanxi Aorui Bio, involved in the illegal sale of thousands of human bones, which had previously been seized by police”). Original link: https://news.cctv.com/2024/08/08/ARTIkxoJEQuHmvTxmxGVmDug240808.shtml. Caixin’s publication was titled “75人卷入山西盗窃倒卖遗体案 多地民政局称已跟进调查” (75 people involved in the theft and sale of human remains in Shanxi, investigations underway by various civil affairs bureaus).
4 For example, by Sina News: “起底倒卖4000具尸体操控者李宝兴- 曾获“全国劳模”称号” (“Li Baoxing, the manipulator who speculated in 4,000 corpses, was awarded the title of “national labor model”). Original link: https://finance.sina.com.cn/chanjing/gsnews/2024-08-08/doc-inchxqva1690315.shtml?cre=sinapc&mod=g.
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©2024 Whatsonweibo. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce our content without permission – you can contact us at info@whatsonweibo.com.
China Media
A Triumph for “Comrade Trump”: Chinese Social Media Reactions to Trump Rally Shooting
Chinese commenters discuss how the bullet aimed at Trump has turned into a moment of triumph.
![Manya Koetse](https://www.whatsonweibo.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/manya-koetse-500-x-500-80x80.jpeg)
Published
2 months agoon
July 14, 2024![](https://www.whatsonweibo.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/triumph.jpg)
The assassination attempt on former US President Trump at a Pennsylvania campaign event has become a major topic on Chinese social media, where Trump’s swift reaction and defiant gesture after the shooting have not only sparked discussions but also fueled the “Comrade Trump” meme machine.
The chaos that erupted when former US President Trump was injured—a bullet grazing his ear—in an assassination attempt at a Pennsylvania campaign event has become a top trending topic on Chinese social media today.
Trump sustained minor injuries, and the moment he raised his arm to cheer shortly before being evacuated from the stage has already become iconic, captured in widely circulated photographs.
Shortly after the shooting, a shooter armed with a rifle was killed by a US Secret Service counter sniper. The FBI identified the shooter as Thomas Matthew Crooks, a 20-year-old local.
The incident, which occurred on the afternoon of July 13th US local time, resulted in one audience member killed and two others critically injured.
“The campaign efforts will be as smooth as a flying bullet”
On Chinese social media platform Weibo, there are multiple trending hashtags related to the incident, such as “Trump Was Shot” (#特朗普遭遇枪击#, 370 million views); “Trump Says Bullet Pierced His Right Ear” (#特朗普称右耳被子弹击穿#, 440 million views); “Reporter Captures Bullet Grazing Trump’s Ear” (#记者拍到子弹划过特朗普耳朵画面#, 60 million); “Identity of Trump Shooter Confirmed” #枪击特朗普枪手身份确认#, 80 million views). By Sunday afternoon, China local time, half of the top ten hot search topics on Weibo were related to the Trump rally shooting.
“Today, the entire world is watching Trump,” one Chinese Weibo blogger wrote (@乐卡数码).
Political and social commentator Hu Xijin (@胡锡进) reposted a tweet from X by American media influencer Jackson Hinkle, comparing a photo of Trump raising a clenched fist after the shooting to Biden on the ground after falling off his bike near his Delaware home two years ago.
Hu Xijin wrote: “The bullet’s trajectory is so clear, just like how the campaign efforts will now be as fast [smooth] as the flying bullet,” (“好清晰的弹道,和与子弹飞得一样快的助选”).
![](https://www.whatsonweibo.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/huxijin.jpg)
Post by Hu Xijin
Before this, Hu also commented: “Trump was shot in the ear. This news has shocked everyone. My first reaction after waking up to this news was, ‘how could this happen?’ and I instinctively believe that this incident will garner Trump a lot of sympathy, bringing him one step closer to returning to the White House.”
Media commentator “Media Backpacker” (@媒体背包客) commented on Trump’s quick reaction, noting how he swiftly ducked under the podium after the first shots were fired.
“Several Secret Service agents rushed forward, using their bodies as shields,” he wrote. “Just this scene alone seemed much more professional compared to the attack on Shinzo Abe.” Former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe was shot and killed during a campaign event in the city of Nara, Japan, in 2022.
‘Media Backpacker’ also commented: “The person most harmed by Trump getting injured is not Trump himself, but his opponent, Biden.” Many other Weibo commenters also suggested that this dramatic event is rapidly shifting American voter support toward Trump.
“Just based on his quick reaction and how quickly he crouched, I’d vote Trump. If it were Biden, he probably wouldn’t have been able to crouch at all,” one top commenter on Weibo said.
Another commenter dismissed any rumors of the incident being staged: “It’s impossible to stage this; don’t mythologize the sniper. It’s not that precise. A bullet grazing the ear is extremely, extremely, extremely dangerous. No one would risk their life like that.”
Overall, commenters on Chinese social media suggested that the incident will boost Trump’s popularity and solidify his position in the presidential campaign.
On Sunday afternoon, China local time, official channels reported that Xi Jinping has expressed his sympathies to Trump following the shooting incident in Pennsylvania. China’s Foreign Ministry has also addressed the attempted assassination, expressing concern (#习主席已向特朗普表达慰问#).
“From a journalistic perspective, this is the perfect photo”
Besides online discussions on Trump’s quick reaction and the political implications, there’s a lot of interest in the iconic photo of Trump raising his fist, captured by Evan Vucci, who previously won the Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Photography for his coverage of George Floyd protests.
Some netizens noticed that sellers on several Chinese e-commerce platforms soon started selling T-shirts featuring the now famous photo of the incident, priced between 20-49 yuan ($3-$7). Some stores displayed that they had already sold over 10 items, but this merchandise was soon taken offline in various places.
“From a journalistic perspective, this is the perfect photo,” the well-known knowledge blogger Pingyuan Gongzi Zhao Sheng (@平原公子赵胜) wrote: “The destined son of America facing life-threatening danger, his face smeared with blood, with a clenched fist, roaring: “‘Fight! Fight!’ There’s no need to compare anymore; Biden is suffering a crushing defeat, and the Democrats are bewildered. This scene matches the most traditional American image in Hollywood movies. People don’t care who he is or who he serves, but the president must be tough, hard to defeat, a fearless “barbarian,” a “man of steel.”
“Did Trump write the script for Biden’s press conference?”
As this incident is being framed as a triumph for Trump, it further strengthens his position, especially following Biden’s recent damaging performances.
Earlier this week, Biden mistakenly referred to Ukrainian President Zelensky as “President Putin” during the NATO summit, sparking various hashtags on Chinese social media and making Biden a laughing stock for many netizens.
This was not the only mistake Biden made. On Thursday, he mistakenly referred to Vice President Kamala Harris as “Vice President Trump” during his solo press conference in Washington. In that same conference, Biden also talked about “getting Japan and South Korea back together again.”
![](https://www.whatsonweibo.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/008sguVNgy1hrnjofa7jdj30va0zkgqe.jpg)
Another post by American media influencer Jackson Hinkle being shared on Chinese social media platform Weibo.
Following a messy debate performance against Trump on June 27, voices suggesting it may be time for Biden to step down are growing louder. All of this sparked more discussions on Weibo, where many find the situation funny, suggesting: “Did Trump write the script for this [press conference]?”
Now that the bullet aimed at Trump has turned into a moment of triumph, the contrast between the two US presidential candidates has only grown more stark.
“The bullet pierced my ear, but I can still hear the voice of the Party”
On Chinese social media, Trump is often referred to as “Comrade Jianguo” (建国同志 [Comrade Build-Country]), a nickname that has been circulating for years.
Trump is nicknamed “Comrade Trump” or “Build the Country Trump” (Chuān Jiànguó, 川建国) for “making China great again.” These are just some among many existing memes and jokes about the former US president on the Chinese internet. One reason to call him “Comrade Jianguo” or “Build the Country Trump” is to make fun of his words and actions, suggesting that his leadership only brings America down and in doing so, also further accelerates the rise of China.
But through the years, these playful nicknames have started to reflects a blend of mockery and affection, highlighting the humorous perspective Chinese social media users have towards Trump and his political antics (read more).
In a similar tongue-in-cheek fashion, some Weibo users have now edited the iconic Trump photo, portraying him as a communist hero with the caption: “Workers of the world, unite!” (全世界无产者联合起来) (see featured image).
Other similar edits included captions like: “Long live the great and glorious Communist Party of China!” and “The bullet pierced my ear, but I can still hear the voice of the Party.”
![](https://www.whatsonweibo.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/WhatsApp-Image-2024-07-14-at-10.35.06-2.jpeg)
Meme: “Long live the great and glorious Communist Party of China!”
![](https://www.whatsonweibo.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/WhatsApp-Image-2024-07-14-at-10.35.06-1.jpeg)
Meme: “The bullet pierced my ear, but I can still hear the voice of the Party.”
Some joked that Trump’s right ear being pierced further emphasized his supposed loyalty to China, comparing him to the panda A Bao, who is missing part of his right ear after being bitten by another panda.
Another commenter wrote: “I wish Comrade Jianguo a speedy recovery, may he continue to work hard for the ultimate mission entrusted to him by the Party.”
By Manya Koetse
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©2024 Whatsonweibo. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce our content without permission – you can contact us at info@whatsonweibo.com.
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