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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.

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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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China Smack

Female white collar job seekers walk the runway of the

BEIJING – A popular unattributed quote once noted that, “the average woman would rather have beauty than brains, because the average man can see better than he can think.”

Whoever said that now infamous line could easily have been talking about the men of Chengdu.

In the past week, China followers have been treated to two unbelievable stories that originated from Chengdu, China’s capital of southwestern Sichuan province, that give a glimpse into the outrages women still must navigate to find work.

According to the always controversial, China Smack, late last month, 40 young ladies walked a catwalk at a hotel in Chengdu in professional attire. However, none of these women were entered in a beauty pageant. Rather, they were applying for everyday office and administrative jobs.

In the audience were 80 CEOs of local Chinese companies who were scanning the girls – most of whom had undergraduate and even master’s degrees – for potential employees. Most of the managers were quick to excuse the questionable runway format of this “job fair” by suggesting that many of their businesses required “talent” not just in ability, but appearance.

Organizers of the event also noted that 2 of the women had already found employment while 15 others had gone for interviews.

Over the years, the heavy importance employers in China often place on looks has been the focus of stories ranging from desperate plastic surgery undertaken by job seekers to the strict guidelines set by the Beijing Organizing Committee for their Olympic medal ceremony hostesses ambassadors.      

Perhaps remembering the tremendous soft power affect of those hostesses abroad, local governments are now employing similar techniques to reach people back home.

A New York Times piece this week reported on the special new recruits many local “chengguan” – China’s urban inspectors charged with municipal law enforcement – offices in China are bringing in to clean up their often less than stellar reputations with local citizens.

Whereas before the chengguan have recruited intimidating officers to force submission through hardball tactics like staring down street vendors, local district departments like Xindu in Chengdu are now recruiting female applicants between the age of 18 and 22 whose, “five facial features [are] in proper order.”

The 13 women already recruited by Xindu district now walk a beat around the local neighborhoods, trying to put a gentler, more feminine face to the often draconian chengguan.

Though they have seen some success, the women’s serious work is often undermined by sneering officials. One unnamed district official described these new female chengguan recruits as like being, “flower vases,” before adding, “Besides being vases, they will have other responsibilities.”