[VIDEO] Expat Smokes on Subway, Told to "Put It Out or Leave CN"
Chinese netizens have overwhelmingly denounced a Beijing expat with calls of violence and deportation after he smoked a cigarette on the subway.
Beijing resident and Weibo user jg_Jia Wujia (weibo.com/2811439590) posted a video (see below) of the Friday altercation in which the expat is seen in a heated verbal argument with several subway commuters in which both sides are heard trading profanities in English.
https://v.qq.com/txp/iframe/player.html?vid=p0559hvtfo7&width=500&height=375&auto=0
In his post, Jia said multiple passengers were trying to get the expat to stop smoking with one person going so far as to try to snatch the lit cigarette from his hand.
Aside from getting the expat to stop smoking, the other general sentiment expressed by the subway passengers is that he isn't welcome in China anymore. The video begins with one commuter telling the expat to go "back to his country" while Jia, who is not heard speaking on the video, said he told the expat to "Put out your cigarette or leave China."
Central to Jia's online description of the expat is the use of "laowai", a controversial term imbued with connotations widely referenced in online discussions of the incident.
Chinese netizens widely praised Jia for his part in denouncing the expat, to whom they referred to as "foreign trash" and "white trash".
"Those that behave atrociously should return to their own country. This is China," said one person, a sentiment closely matched as seen by Jia's own comment of "China No.1."
READ: Beijing Subway Passenger Bloodied by Expat Sparks Angry Backlash Against Foreigners
For other netizens, denigrating the expat or having him deported simply isn't enough. Several comments that advocate for violence include, "The group of you should beat him together"; "Just choke him from behind"; and "Aren't the police going to handle this? If not, he should be beaten to death."
One comment that disagreed with the call to violence explained that expats are given preferential treatment in China. "There are many such examples of foreign garbage in Beijing, but you'd better not beat them because the police will punish you first," said the person. "Nothing can be done; foreigners are ranked first, then the officials, then the minorities, and last are the Han (the major ethnicity of China)."
The online outrage over the smoking expat isn't concerned with the insulting nature of telling someone to "go back to your country." When one comment posed a hypothetical situation that involved a misbehaving Chinese national while overseas, most comments claimed that the violator "deserved" it. "Isn't it normal to scold others for uncivilized behavior?" wrote one comment.
Due to the short length of the video, it's hard to tell what precisely happened last Friday. For his part, Jia stressed that English learning remains a top priority in China for situations like these.
Initiated in 2015, Beijing's indoor smoking ban is policed by health inspectors for which the maximum penalty is a RMB 200 fine.
The harsh backlash against the rule-breaking expat comes at a time when expats are largely depicted in Chinese media as supportive and rule-compliant of China's culture and laws.
Last Monday, local television station BTV broadcast a news report in which numerous Beijing expats are seen praising the capital from everything from its subway system to its clean air. And coinciding with Spring Festival, the People's Daily profiled three Beijing expats who were heard commending the Chinese customs they practiced during the holiday season. Furthermore, the beginning of the month saw CRI broadcast a report in which Beijing expats claim Beijing is the "safest city I have ever lived in."
Images: Weibo.com
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