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nandu.com
Law enforcement officers tackle fruit seller Li Shengyan in Guangzhou, China, in an incident that turned into a public relations nightmare for the authorities.
Cops in China charged with fighting petty crime have become so notorious for their abuse of power that their official name, Chengguan, has become slang for thuggishness. “Don’t be too chengguan,” one might admonish another, meaning “don’t be such a bully.”
That reputation was given more fuel Wednesday when a newspaper ran pictures of an officer tackling a diminutive fruit vendor in the southern boomtown of Guangzhou as her 16-month-old daughter looked on. During the incident, he grabbed Li Shengyan's neck and wrestled her to the ground after a dispute over a fruit knife.
Once such incidents would have provoked little comment and the authorities did not need to fear the court of public opinion.
nandu.com
After Li Shengyan was arrested, her 16-month-old daughter gave her a hug.
But the popularity of social media websites has changed all that. Users of China’s two most popular Twitter-like services had commented on the pictures some 7 million times by Friday, many expressing their disgust at the police.
There are now signs that those in power are being forced to take people power seriously, even if the eventual outcome is much the same.
One expert on Chinese social media said that while officials’ first instincts were “to cover up and distract attention” from controversial events, they now faced losing their jobs if they handled them badly.
Wednesday’s incident – as described by the report in the Southern Metropolitan newspaper -- started after officials confiscated her fruit knife. One officer, Ao Dating, then threatend to take away her fruit and the cart.
Pomegranate thrown
Li then yelled at Ao and hurled a pomegranate at him. This enraged Ao and he grabbed her by the neck. The officer then forced her to the ground. His colleagues eventually dragged him off Li.
One picture showed Li with her hands tied -- unable to comfort her daughter as the young girl hugged her.
After the confrontation, Li was arrested and taken to a police station along with her daughter. Her cart was confiscated.
By Thursday, the story had become an internet sensation.
“Brute!” one blogger posted.
“Can’t you be a little more civilized? Do you know how much it will traumatize the girl,” another said.
The traditional response given by officials to international press enquiries about events like this is: “I do not know.”
However, this time, a spokeswoman for Guangzhou’s City Urban Administrative and Law Enforcement Bureau was surprisingly forthcoming.
“Our bosses are investigating the incident and will inform the public once we find out,” she said. “We are waiting for the results too.”
Jeremy Goldkorn, an expert on Chinese media and Internet culture, said local governments were increasingly held to account by higher authorities for issues raised on the blogosphere.
“If they do not react, these lower level officials like city urban management police could lose their jobs,” he said.
“The first reaction of these types of officials is just to try to cover up and distract attention from the case. Because of the speed and growth of the social media, it becomes more and more difficult for that kind of distraction happen,” he added.
Investigation blames Li
After its investigation, the law enforcement bureau said officers had been suspended and there was a report Li had been given an apology as she was released from custody.
However, the investigation blamed it on Li, accusing her of attacking officials, injuring one. A picture of Li throwing the pomegranate was also released.
The original report in the Southern Metropolitan was taken down and other websites commenting on the incident also disappeared.
Li's cart was returned, but she was left unhappy.
“They (the officials) said ‘The girl, and her parents were well taken care of by the police,” she posted on a Tencent Weibo account which was registered to her. “It was just a show. My girl’s diaper was not changed in 24 hours … the police should face what they have done instead of writing a nice article to make themselves look good."
Huang Pei, of NBC News, contributed to this report.
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Leave a Comment:
The police in China are the Brownshirts.
Police power abuse is the "new Norm" here in my state.
They don't even try to hide it anymore.
I wish the Article had told us if there was anything wrong about possessing or using the fruit knife. I think that would be most relevant. If she was in the wrong, so was her response in trowing the fruit.
Not taking sides. Just want to know the facts.
GIL-2872519
The friut knife is considered an assault weapon and the liberals there had them banned.
Really and she got arrested, in America you would have been shot by the cop. Cops shoot people for much less than hurling fruit.
And the abuse from the bullies continues all over the world , Canada too shooting homeless for brandishing a knife and tearing garbage bags up and not only the garbage bag stabber killed also a bystander shot with a stray bullet
Gil-2872519 is right; the article doesn't mention why the police would confiscate a fruit seller's fruit knife. One way or another, the incident obviously escalated out of control. But the police are supposed to be trained to handle such incidents professionally so that they do NOT go out of control.
But bravo for those who, instead of meekly acquiescing to police bullying, stand up and bring such incidents to the fore.
Hummmmmmmm ... and the Chinese population wants "human rights" after years of total control?
Seems that the desire for "liberty" and to be treated "fair & impartially" is imbedded in all of us ... regardless of our race, creed, or background.
It seems that the "light" exposes "evil practices" everywhere ... once "people" are exposed to "truth" they resist "evil acts" almost ... as if .... by human nature ...
In this case the example of how the camera becomes the "light" (truth) and the "evil" (inappropriate police action) is exposed to the masses .. they are united in their opposition to oppression ... (the inherent goodness of the human spirit?)
This has a positive impact on society as a whole ..... don't let the forces against the "truth" and "light" overwhelm and destroy us .... or .............................
"Farewell ..The Rights of Man....."
I support Li Shengyan 100%.
It's people like her that could change the impunity and human rights abuse in China.
All the stupid cops involved in this incident should be fired with no pay and Li Shengyan should be compensated by the jurisdiction that allows this type of abuse.
It took something like this to spark the Arab Spring inTunisia and the rest of the Arab world, I hope Li Shengyan sparks the Chinese Spring....the chinese people have suffered too long under repressive Chinese regimes; hard to imagine civilization started in China...
Great Hummmmmmmm job, moonbeamracer!
Probably some american with a phone camera and a bleeding heart taking this.. Maybe all the bleeding hearts in america just love the camera in their phone so that they can catch something like this and put it on the social media..
If I hadn't seen the word China I might have thought they where talking about the United States but then that can't be true either because in the United States if she was a illegal refugee she would have been let out of jail along with all her illegal (criminals) relatives. In the United States of America it's only the citizens that are punished for crimes. Wouldn't this country be better off if everyone was treated equal, you commit a crime you go to jail, you leave the country or both?
Maybe because it started in India? FYI the oldest human construction on the planet is Newgrange or Stonehenge. China has the oldest civilization that is still up and running, but they didn't come up with the idea.
China....Nazis....same thing.
I agree with Dick 2100935. Here in America, you get shot. But all they had to do is take the knife from her. They didnt need to wrestle her to the ground in front of her kid period. Yes she should of not thrown fruit at them, but you know I think in this instance I would of done the same thing. Pretty sad for that little girl. Take the idiot cop and arrest him for what he did the stupid jerk.
I found this:
The Henan Business Daily reported on Thursday that the man was taken to a police station by an undercover officer after getting off a bus with his friend. The sharp-eyed policeman noticed the man had a small folding knife attached to his keychain. The officer informed him that it was illegal to carry such a knife in public, and by law the man was detained for three days.
The man, a local factory worker named Wu Weichun, told the paper that he was confounded by his detention. He said he had bought the knife legally at a supermarket but did nothing dangerous with it.
"I use it to peel fruit," the man was quoted as saying. "Does this means the supermarket can sell it but I can't buy it?"
The local police take a different view. They told the paper they were merely doing their job and upholding a law stating that unauthorised people found carrying "restricted" knives in public can be fined up to 500 yuan (HK$620) or detained for five to 10 days.
Read the entire article:
http://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1157185/fruit-knife-detention-pierces-concepts-freedom
Incredible.
So I wonder what would happen here in the US, if a cop confiscates a knife and then the person hits them with fruit? Why are people in the US throwing stones when they live in glass houses?
"hmmmmmm" "that" "gets" "old" "real" "quick".
Shouldn't have done that.
That being said, this happens in the U.S. all the time. We're becoming more & more a police state over here with 9/11 and the Patriot Act being used as an excuse to use Gestapo tactics on anyone and everyone. And the Obammy dictatorship hasn't changed any of this from the Bush years.
It's time the people took back their country and their rights.
"Probably some american with a phone camera and a bleeding heart taking this.. Maybe all the bleeding hearts in america just love the camera in their phone so that they can catch something like this and put it on the social media.."
Yes, I've heard that there are hardly any phone cameras in China and those who do own them have no idea how to actually use them for anything other than fancy, trendy necklaces or fashionable over-the-shoulder purses. Such a backward country!
It is sad that some police departments encourage this kind of despicable behavior from their officers, not just in China, but all over the world, America included.. To 'protect and serve' is often turned into a motto for 'do what you want' because cops think the badge and the gun give them the power to run over people's rights... It's not like this kind of abuse hasn't been around for a long time.. Knights were the law enforcement officers of feudal lords and ran rampant over the lord's tenants and peasants, often destroying whole villages and murdering innocent people simply because they could.. Sadly, some things never change..
There are always going to be bad cops who use and abuse their authority.. These are the same type of guys that go home and beat the crap out of their kids and wives.. It's too bad those in charge don't do a little better background checks on the people they send out to 'protect and serve' the community!
Its funny how much outrage this has drawn from both the media and fellow readers commenting. Please do not forget that China is another country, and one that is not as valuing of human rights at the United States and Europe! They have a constitution, and even a bill of rights like section (source: http://www.cecc.gov/pages/newLaws/constitutionENG.php) but remember it is ANOTHER country, different from your own, with different laws and expectations.
This is a country with government-sanctioned, forced, late-term (8month at least!) abortions (http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/story/2012-07-25/China-forced-abortions/56465974/1) This is a government with a medical system ready and willing to kidnap a pregnant woman, and inject lethal chemicals into her fetus's head against her will.
Do you REALLY think that handcuffing a lady who did assault the officers, was the last they COULD have done?
The police were lenient, you all should be thanking them for not being more severe!
Assuming that the officers had cause to suspect that something was remiss about the knife or the vendor in the first place, I'm not sure they would've done things differently in many US jurisdictions. If the police order you to do something, the safest thing is always to comply... and complain, or have your lawyer complain, later. Throwing things or otherwise assaulting the officers is always a bad idea and, in most American cities, can lead to you getting shot... not just hustled to the ground, handcuffed and arrested.
I'm not defending the thuggish officers.. just sayin' that what the woman who did this was extremely stupid - even had she been in the US - and that this could've ended a lot worse for her than it did. Try reacting the way she did with the LAPD, and I can pretty much guarantee that she'd be lying there in front of her daughter, in a pool of blood and with multiple bullet holes in her, and then the cover-up would begin...
Welcome to the inevitable natural outcome of increasing the power of government ...
And that's becoming less and less of a distinction as our police state evolves more and more like China's does.
Many dictatorships have very humane Constitutions but they only as good as the scrap piece of paper they're printed on.
Really, here in America you get shot??
WOW... guess you fools don't get out much... I've NEVER heard of someone getting shot by Police for a fruit knife... for shooting at Police, drugs, murder, theft, sure... but not a fruit knife...
You liberals and Demoncrats need to stop making things up to feel good... your BHO is already f'ing up the Country, we don't need any more comentary from you...
pulse... what Police state??
Sure, BHO is TRYING to get us there... but in what way are we there now??
As long as we have the NRA, the 1st ans 2nd Amendments, and the Freedom to choose our Government, we'll be fine... we just need those in the 47% to get off thier asses and BE Americans, stop expecting hand outs and start paying their fair share.
I hope to God more people wake up and see what BHO and the Demoncrats are doing to the US of A... and have MORE people stop just whinning about it...
Fine Sadden.. come here to LA and wave a knife around in a pubic plaec, then when an LADP officer asks you to put it down, throw something at him... just make sure your insurance is paid up first hehe.
Oink ?
Wow, if you don't know then I don't need to explain it too you. I'm not going to feed into your ignorance.
And they'll have a good shot at whittling away those. Or haven't you noticed that either...
Well, good. You go out there and create the jobs and the education for them out of thin air, ok?
What do you think would have happened if this happenned in the US? Try throwing fruit at a cop, and see where you end up. Before trying to demonize these Chinese cops, look in your own backyard first.
Li would be locked up for assault in the US.
In Kalifornia she would have been beaten, tazed, and or shot to death.
The shooting would then be ruled self defense by a police board. Followed by free beers for all involved.
I thought it was mild in comparison to the actions of police in the US. At least they didn't kill her, and have police internal affairs say it was another justified killing.
Rockyroad-531554
Seriously, liberals in China? Reflections of a serious fox problem.
It really is terrible when he cops in the US are worse than in China.
Really?? Locked up??
You have thugs that murder and sell drugs that never see a minute of jail, and you think throwning fruit will do it??
Stupid... VERY stupid...
In many of those situations, they aren't real police. Some corrupt local hires fake cops chengguan to do the dirty work. There's a real chance the girl would be dead if this happened in America.
I agree he went to far with this little women! You also have to know not to chuck crap at the cops.
Go on youtube and you'll find hundreds of videos of such police abuse here in the USA.
Try thousands and lots of women and kids abused too
isnt this the truth.
Looking at uTube... not finding any...
really...where??
Social media and the end of secrecy.
I forgot it is daylight savings time.
It's a Chengguan life, bitches.
What's your problem Stonepipe. She showed more courage then you would. What's the point of calling people bitches. Your one sick person.
@Mary, I think it was a joke. Never heard of it's a gansters life. Chengguan is slang for gangster. Didn't you even read the article? Lighten up. And P.S. how is he sick?
No kididng Spc...
Some people just have no sense of humor... Mary, get a life... QUICKLY!!!
Thanks for the backup Spc and SA. I've been trying to figure out how Mary's mind works and now I'm afraid I know.
I guess I missed that movie. Sorry. I usually like your comments,that's why that one seemed out of charactor.
Itzalright.
This is next for you Big Gulp abusers in NYC.
Who'd a thunk that a Big Gulp was worse than cigaretts, drugs, and murder!!
Damn we're FUBAR...
Slow news day I guess. Rockyroad gets the Asshat award for today for being the first person to Troll about His Hatred of 51% of Americans for no apparent reason. So the ignoring author list grows... (way to bring up a totally irrelevant discussion and pronounce your hatred of liberals... )
Well, this was an exciting waste of 2 minutes of our life :)
Here we go again: I do not hate liberals as YOU put it. If anything all I feel for them is pity.
Have a nice day! : )
Does not bother me if you Hate liberals, as I am independent and vote for whomever I think is better suited to the job. Seems to me that anyone who comments about liberals and assault weapons on an article about some Chinese person who threw a piece of fruit at a cop.. they just might have a different agenda.
Nothing personal, I just do not understand why people bring their hatred of Whatever to every single discussion. You see it Every Day on Every Article, you just won the award for being the first person to do so on this discussion :)
Have a Great Day :)
How in any way do you turn this or anything else for that matter a liberal, Conservative, or moderate political view ? A dart broad kind of thing ? Anything people don't agree with has to be labeled. ? This kind of story is repeated 100 times over in anywhere USA. The agenda for any government is how do you control millions of people, and make money doing it. One in the same difference, money, power,greed, corruption is the foundation of them all.
Not all that different from here. Most cops are on power trips. That is why they become cops. Don't get me wrong, there are good cops, they are just not the norm.
She's lucky she wasn't in the USA or a drone would of taken her and her stand out.
No they only go after teabaggers and Rush dittoheads.
China uses our Birmingham riots and Rodney King "pacification" for its anti-capitalist propaganda, so the issue of police abuse isn't anything foreign or new. The point is the growing power of social media in China, and the people don't want China to become what they saw in Birmingham or LA. Stay tuned.
The worse part about monarchies and tyrannical governments like China is not that few people hold the power, it's that - in the form of police officers and military - many people are willing to uphold that power against their fellow citizens.
Until the people rise up and take the power back, this will happen all over the world. We have all become apathetic little sheep, even here in America. We allow our government to get away with all types of shyt under the guise of 'democracy' because very few people feel confident or strong enough to take on the political monster.
Until the people rise up and take the power back, this will happen all over the world. We have all become apathetic little sheep, even here in America. We allow our government to get away with all types of crap under the guise of 'democracy' because very few people feel confident or strong enough to take on the political monster.
I think the problem is, what can we really do, an one person? As an individual. I know we all Hem and Haw about the government, but it is a daunting task when you think about it. I know for me personally, I feel like there is nothing I can do to change this.
The funny (sarcasm) part is we elect officials to do what we feel is the right thing, but its like they just disregard what we want once elected and from the moment we vote them in, all they do is spend their time trying to get re-elected.
We need a Second political party to oppose the one party that calls themselves Democrats and Republicans. I'm tired of the good cop, bad cop game.
If it happened in the USA, she would have been body dropped, tazed (while in handcuffs) and charged with multiple felony accounts. She's lucky she's in China.
i doubt that in the US the police would have tried to confiscate her fruit knife to begin with, unless she was threatening people with it. but, sadly you are probably correct for the most part. after committing assault with a deadly weapon like a piece of fruit, US police probably would have responded in a similar manner like the chinese police.
Tell that to people who have been beaten to a bloody pulp while hand cuffed for lessor offenses. DUH? You ever hear of youtube.com? I suggest you peruse the many examples of police brutality in the U.S.
i'm not disagreeing with you. i'm not defending police brutality in the US or any other country. maybe you didnt recognize the sarcasm in my comment about committing assault with a deadly weapon like a piece of fruit?
in china its typical for chengguan to expect to receive bribes from street vendors. probably this woman refused to pay the bribe, and the chengguan wanted revenge. chengguan often times are not even actual police, they are like Urban Management security.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLt1qYZxmHg thousands
The Chinese government already has a bad track record on human rights issues, but sadly the Police Department's here in the US are catching up to them.
In all honesty if you hurled Anything at a cop here in Philadelphia, or any US city for that matter, You or I would be in for a world of hurt. I am by no means siding with the authorities on this, just commenting on the fact that it could have been a lot worse for the fruit girl and she was out of line. Typical over-reaction by the Man!
And even our "illustrious" governor, corbutt's son in law got busted for stealing from "perps" and the evidence on your side of the state. Who is worse, him of corbutt?
I herethe outrage in many of you here, I do not know the law there on possesing a knife in public (key info to why the police were harasing her) Yrt many of you want us to give up our rights to bear arms here in the US. Make me wonder, if this woman was breaking the law by having the knife and then through fruit at the cop, Why the cop is wrong. If it was in the US and was A gun instead of a knife many of you would be saying good for the cop for getting that evil gun. Yet if it were a knife you would have said why are they picking on her. Now do you see why you have high crime. please do not think I support a knife being illegal, or police abuse that is not what I am saying.
Give a cop a badge and a gun and most of them automatically think that makes them God. I see is pretty much the same in US and China
Try hurling insults and throwing a pomegranate at an NYPD officer, you'll be lucky that you don't go to jail.
Our Thugs, excuse me, Police, would have thrown her to the ground and put a knee on her neck and cuffed her hands and feet behind her back, and then charged her for attacking a Thug, excuse me again, a police officer. Then she probably would have gotten six months in jail. The cop would have gotten six weeks paid time off because of the fruit she threw would have hurt him so badly.
Most of you posters have dog piled on the police in the US this morning, but I'll bet when you call 911 for help, you love it when some poor tired officer shows up to hold your hand. Of course, he or she has no idea if you are a nut job wanting to kill a policeman, but they come anyway.
You all lumping our police departments into one big pile of sh!t are losers in the extreme.
I am thankful to live in the best country in the world. Viva USA, and a huge thank you to all the great police people that do so well at such a thankless job.
I don't dial 911 for the police, another bully with a gun never makes the situation better and if I am safe enough to dial 911 I am safe enough to deal with it myself. A real emergency is unlikely to be resolved by the police who arrive 3-10 min later, longer then that where I live now, and I have watched police arrest the wrong person more then once based on gender alone.
When the dust settles, if an ambulance is needed I dial 911, you always get a cop with the ambulance. Same thing for a fire. The last time my house was broken into, the police gave the POS a ride home (it was the son of a local police chief). Worse then worthless.
There was someone in my house last summer. I thought I heard a noise and felt a cool draft, by the time I made it to the room fifteen feet away where the crook was all I saw was moving drapes and he must have been one corner ahead of me all the way. All my spot lights in the backyard were unscrewed and an axe handle was left on the sofa. That was eleven o'clock at night. I thought about it and decided it wasn't even worth calling the cops since the police station is a mile and a half away or about six hours by police cruiser.Based on a lifetime of experience and about a half a dozen calls to the police(all the same P.D) and their response we've come to an understanding. They don't need me and I don't need them.
America is just as bad.
Wrong
Yep. Can you say Guantanamo!
Can you say not the police!but the millitary! I would agree that they are slow there, those people should have been killed years ago and that place closed
Looks like some democratic accountability is coming to China whether the Communists want it our not.
One can only hope that one day the voters will have free choices in a democratic election at all levels of government.
Democracy worked in Libya, Iraq, Afghanistan and the African continent is next.
Confiscating fruit knives is something Diane Feinstein & Mayor Bloomberg would do, if they could.
well, the real story is the use of social media to police excess force and especially! abuse of power."Those who abuse others rights and freedom must always! be seen to be in the right", they will corrupt,lie,cheat and steal, to further the illusion of "rightness",..however!, these days, every person has a camera and can decide to expose such evil to global view,and do it in ten seconds or less,Rest assured, the abusers are scared of this power[they surely should be] and are trying to "control" the medium with the express purpose of removing this freedom from use.Of course, being "controllers" they cant think as any normal person would and as such their "solutions" will only serve to empower this more.What we are really seeing here is how our entire planet is learning to use the power of truth as a tool for fighting evil,,do! watch TED this weekend[On evil and failure to act], and do! read ALec Ross on this topic,Evil has a very real presence in our world, and it is your mine our decision whether to stand by and watch it happen? or take action to expose it for what it is,..
In May/June of 2004, I stopped three Beijing police to point out a beaten young girl with cigarette burns on both arms. I asked them for help in BOTH Putongua (Mandarin) AND English. Eventually one of said to me, "This is normal. Normal, OK!?" https://justlooklikefrog.wordpress.com/2011/10/09/misogyny1/
Beijing police blatantly allow child-slave rings to operate NOT TWO BLOCKS FROM THE AMERICAN EMBASSY. They're all baby-killers, just like the whole world saw on June 4, 1989 when the communist troops brought down from Mongolia ran children over with tanks and APCs in full view of CNN and the entire rest of the world.
I've made a point of blogging some of my experiences with the hateful communist Chinese government. There are a bunch of other articles on the systemic abuse of women in China on my site. Please read, comment, and tell people you know who do business with China that their government is like the Confederacy and their people are all slaves to one degree or another.
It saddens me that a country with a 5000-year recorded history can still be back in the Stone Age. They make good allies for dictatorships like Iran, Syria, and North Korea.
One crime is far from justifying another one. I know that. But we've seen the same and even more here in Canada. Democracy is not just a game of denouncing what is wrong in our neighbor's house. It's avoiding to practice it too. The fact is that when the same abuse happens here, and sometimes worst than this one, the justice system ignores it, which is the same than saying the police ignores it. They just make a very great noise, and the time passes without any significant action. Nothing hurt so badly justice than the lack of justice. And when the judge of a bad, an immoral policeman is another policeman, society is in danger. The omerta law in action. Let's stop criticizing what we don't practice! That behaviour has a name: HYPOCRISY!!!