Shanghai: Surveillance images of men assaulting women at a restaurant in the northeastern city of Tangshan have sparked a flood of outrage on Chinese social media, prompting state media to call for punishment and renew the debate on the treatment of women.
The graphic video, which went viral on China’s Weibo social media platform, shows a man approaching a barbecue restaurant table and touching a woman around 2:40 a.m. local time , Friday and then hitting her after she pushed him away.
Police have arrested nine people after attacking four women.
In the next fight, a group of men are seen brutally attacking the woman and her dining companions. Local police said two women had suffered life-threatening injuries and were being treated at the hospital.
The nine suspects involved in the case had been arrested on Saturday afternoon and an investigation is underway, the local Public Security Bureau said in a Weibo post.
Local police said two women had suffered life-threatening injuries and were being treated at the hospital.
The discussion on the assault has dominated Chinese social media, ranking first among the most discussed topics on Weibo. In a brief online comment, state television called for the suspects to be severely punished.
But after other recent high-profile cases of mistreatment of women, a widely shared WeChat post on Saturday questioned the initial official setting for the assault as a mere act of violence.
“This happened in a society where violence against women is rampant … Ignoring and suppressing the gender perspective is denying the violence that people suffer, as women,” the anonymous publication said.