Girl Paraded in Handcuffs for Splashing Water on Government Car

The following microblog post accusing a government official in a town in Guizhou province of having a 13-year-old girl handcuffed and then paraded on the streets after “accidentally spilling water on a town government vehicle” was the #1 “hottest” microblog post over the past 24 hours on popular Chinese microblogging service Sina Weibo at the time of translation, with over 151k reshares/forwards and 21k comments.

On Sina Weibo:

@凯迪猫眼看人: For pouring water on Party secretary’s car, 13-year-old young girl handcuffed and paraded in public.

Guizhou province Hezhang county Kele town Party Secretary Yuan Zehong’s cruel law enforcement, police chief parades 13-year-old minor in public wearing handcuffs

2013 April 6th, Guizhou province Hezhang county Kele town Party Secretary Yuan Zehong had an altercation because a female minor, Rao Yao (13 years old), accidentally spilled water on a town government car. The town’s Deputy Mayor got out of the car and had an argument that came to blows with this minor girl. At the same time, this deputy mayor called the town’s party secretary Yuan Zehong over. Subsequently, Yuan Zehong led the town’s approximately 30 personnel and the town’s local police personnel in beating Chen Ziju (the minor girl Rao Yao’s aunt), causing Chen Ziju to immediately pass out. Just because Chen Ziju had said, “handcuffing will emotionally traumatize Rao Yao”, they then used handcuffs to shackle minor girl Rao Yao and paraded her publicly for approximately 20 minutes (paraded her up and down the street twice, with a police car leading the way with its siren on). Soon after, she was then taken to the local police station where she was illegally detained for 12 hours.

Party Secretary Yuan Zehong hooted at the victim’s family, “If the Party committee and government says you’re white [innocent/good], you’re white. If it says you’re black [guilty/bad], then you’re black. I can get several cars of people to come fight with you whenever I want. However you want to play, I can play with you.” Dare we ask, is the mafia/triad? That it can enforce the law however it pleases?

Party Secretary Yuan Zehong, while in office, beats peddlers and the people, forcibly expropriating land. There have been multiple people who have been hospitalized from his beatings, with irrefutable proof. He has already incited the public anger of the masses, with petitions jointly signed by thousands. Hope the relevant [government] departments and media will give their attention to this.

Yuan Zehong’s actions severely violate citizens’ lawful rights. Offending Article 37 of our country’s Constitution and the relevant regulations of the People’s Republic of China Criminal Law, and thus should be criminally punished. This incident is just one of many, as similar incidents under Yuan Zehong’s term of office are too numerous to count. This example of his illegal conduct has already aroused the local people’s anger. The other examples have already had their documentation jointly signed by masses and submitted to the relevant departments. Earnestly request the relevant departments give their attention and lawfully, justly handle this matter.

Comments on Sina Weibo:

iam痞子微博达人：

Just looking at this headline makes me angry, what “cruel law enforcement? This is clearly preying on the people!

腓力保微博达人：

A local tyrant, such awe-inspiring might!

学习公平正义：

So disappointing. Once again hurting “public credibility”!

赵卡1024新浪个人认证 ：

Maotai-drinking beasts of burden generally have nasty tempers!

老向-：

This must be forwarded. China’s regional/local government gangsters and savages are unimaginable. Party Secretary, you’re definitely going to become famous.

三道不加V微博达人：

This is simply an evil tyrant of the Old Society [feudal times]! A local ruffian! Is this fucking a society with rule of law? That a town government’s Party secretary can be this rampant/savage, is there fucking any law at all? 50 Center Party members, come out and tell us, does the United States have a government Party secretary this rampant/savage? Does it?

This following article presenting the government official Yuan Zehong’s response was, also at time of translation, the #1 most commented article on major Chinese web portal NetEase over the past 24 hours, week, and month, with over 210k participants in the comments section. NetEase also indicated that the article had the second most pageviews over the past 24 hours.

On NetEase:

Internet Exposes 13-Year-Old Girl Handcuffed and Paraded for 20 Minutes for Spilling Water on Party Secretary

May 27th report. Recently, a netizen exposed information claiming that because a 13-year-old girl accidentally spilled cola on a Guizhou province Hezhang county Kele town government car, the town’s Party Secretary Yuan Zehong led police personnel to bind the girl with handcuffs and paraded her on the street for approximately 20 minutes. This afternoon, Yuan Zehong told this Chengdu.cn reporter that on the day of the incident, the deputy town mayor was leading a team [of government personnel and law enforcement] on the streets policing street peddlers, and had a dispute with the girl and her family members. After the local police arrived, and because the girl was physically quite big, police staff did not know that she was a minor, and therefore used handcuffs to bind her and put her on the police vehicle. Yuan Zehong claims the so-called parading is a fabrication.

Yesterday, a netizen made a blog post claiming that on April 6th of this year, a Guizhou province Hezhang county Kele town leader had an altercation because a female minor, Rao Yao (13 years old), accidentally spilled water on a town government car. The town’s Deputy Mayor got out of the car and had an argument that came to blows with this minor girl. At the same time, the deputy mayor called the town’s party secretary Yuan Zehong over. The blog post claims Yuan Zehong led the town’s 30-odd staff members as well as the town’s police personnel in beating the girl’s aunt, and shackled the minor girl with handcuffs, parading her up and down the street for as long as 20 minutes.

This afternoon around 6pm, this Chengdu.cn reporter contacted Kele town Party Secretary Yuan Zehong over the phone. Yuan Zehong claims the incident actually did not occur on April 6th but on March 30th of this year. The local police station placing the girl in handcuffs in indeed true, but there was no parading, and the police personnel handcuffed the girl because the girl’s height/size is rather tall/large, so the personnel at the time did not know that she was still a minor; the reason for cuffing her likewise is not as simple as the “accidentally spilled water on the car” reason that has circulated online.

Yuan Zehong says he has already made a detailed report concerning this matter and will send this report to this reporter’s email.

This Chengdu.cn reporter read in this report that on March 30th of this year, which happened to be an policing day [where government officials or law enforcement will inspect a street, usually with street peddlers, for compliance with city regulations, and enforcing them as deemed necessary]. The work group, led by Mayor Jin Qi, was enforcing vendor regulations and health codes along the street, visiting the vendor stalls one by one.

The report claims that on that day, the Rao Fugui (Rao Yao’s father) family’s vendor stall had erected a canopy that far exceeded the specified boundary line. The work group’s request that the canopy be removed was refused. Soon after, Mayor Jing Qi arranged for Deputy Mayor Wang Mei and another female comrade to video record the incident and collect evidence. When the two people boarded their car preparing to return to the town government, Rao Fugui and daughter Rao Yao carried a basin of dirty water and tossed it onto the car. Because the car’s window was not closed, Wang Mei was soaked all over, got out of the car, and argued with the girl. Then, Rao Yao along with her older sister and aunt began hitting and kicking Wang Mei in the middle of the street.

The report claims: Because that day happened to be an policing day, there were many pedestrians on the street, so the scene became chaotic very quickly. In order to maintain order, Town Mayor Jin Qi called the local police station and town Party Secretary Yuan Zehong to come to the scene to participate in its handling. After local police comrades arrived on the scene, Rao Yao was put in a police car, while her aunt fell on the ground screaming “the town government beat a person to death, the police beat a person to death”.

Yuan Zehong told this Chengdu.cn reporter that after the incident, because the two Rao family girls were both minors, the local police station conducted criticism education [lectured them], and their parents also agreed to make a public apology.

With regards to the alleged “parading” in the online post, Yuan Zehong denies it. He says after the local police personnel restrained the girl with handcuffs, they put her into the police car and took her away to the police station. As for the decision to use handcuffs at the the time, Yuan Zehong told this Chengdu.cn reporter that it was because the girl’s size was rather large, and the personnel did not know that she was a minor.

@赫章县公安局 [Hezhang County Public Security Bureau official microblog] posted an announcement on the night of May 27th: Recently, netizens reported the matter of “Guizhou province Hezhang county Kele town Party Secretary Yuan Zehong engaging in cruel law enforcement, [having the] local police station chief publicly parade a 13-year-old minor around in handcuffs”. At present, the county Public Security Bureau Discipline Inspection Commission and [internal] Supervision Department have already joined the investigation, and after investigating the situation shall timely make public the results.

Comments on NetEase:

网易吉林省长春市网友 [屠龙术]：

This child, had too much food, matured too soon, looks like she’s already 30, doesn’t look 13 at all.

内阁总理大臣李鸿章 [网易山东省济南市网友]： (responding to above)

Yeah, then look at your mom, so young/tender, just like a 13 year old in bed. The town mayor is very satisfied.

打倒卖国贼 [网易陕西省西安市网友]： (also responding to 屠龙术)

So if she was 30, she’d have to be handcuffed?

尾随幸福 [网易安徽省合肥市网友]：

Fuck, just a child, was it necessary to go so far?

网易河南省信阳市手机网友(115.63.*.*)：

The comments are one-sided. People shouldn’t be blind in their hatred of government officials. People should objectively look at the issue. Government workers also have their dignity!

网易上海市卢湾区网友 [jgs5106]： (responding to above)

Is there dignity like this? This was illegal. You saying this means you must be a government official.

网易山东省青岛市手机网友： (responding to above)

And he says “blind”. The eyes of the masses are clear. If [government officials] had the people’s hearts, would the ordinary common people not support them? Think about the things you people do, all sanctimonious on the surface, but underneath behaving like thieves and prostitutes, worse than animals/beasts.

网易黑龙江省手机网友(1.189.*.*)：

I feel the town government’s explanation of the incident is not only rather comprehensive but also reasonable. Only knowing one side’s criticisms of the government is not good, Moreover, since the incident involves the relocation of the marketplace [for street peddlers and vendors] and conflict of interests, everyone should be even more careful of being exploited by a certain side. As for whether or not the explanation is true, since the report says there was a video, then the degree of credibility is even higher. After all, even if we do not trust the integrity of government officials, we should still have a bit of confidence in their intelligence. The behavior of always attacking one side and always supporting the other side (regardless of whether it is that side is the stronger party or the weaker party) should not be permitted in the fair society that the populace yearns for. Everything still must be based on the truth. Therefore if the town government is confident it is in the right, they might as well make the video public, to suppress/counter the possible negative impact [of the other side’s accusations].

网易广东省湛江市手机网友： (responding to above)

You should go think about just what the problem is with the government’s public credibility!