In the video broadcast through social networks, the Chinese police officer is heard rebuking the young woman for wearing the traditional Japanese dress on public roads. The incident generated a heated debate on social networks, where users criticized the woman’s action and others classified it as an exaggeration by the authorities.
A strong controversy took over the citizen debate in Chinaafter police increased a woman who he wore a kimonotraditional dress of Japanese culture, in the middle of the public thoroughfare of the oriental city Suzhou.
The discussion, which occurred last Wednesday, was recorded by witnesses who were at the scene and quickly went viral on the Chinese social network. Weibowhere it accumulates more than 230 million visits.
In the video, the uniformed man is shown facing the woman who was wearing the suit to take pictures in a commercial district of the city. The officer tells him: “If you were wearing a traditional Chinese dress, I wouldn’t say anything to you, but you are wearing a kimono. Aren’t you Chinese?.
The woman, whose identity is unknown, but who the portal What’s on Weibo describes herself as a “Chinese cosplayer”, explains that she is just taking some photos on the street and asks: “Do you have the right to yell at me so loudly?”, to which the agent replies: “Yes”.
The officer warns the young woman that if she does not cooperate, she could incur a crime of “provoke disturbances and create problems”a loosely defined charge used by Chinese authorities to arrest activists, protest organizers or protesters.
The video, which according to What’s on Weibo was recorded in the “Little Tokyo” neighborhood of Suzhou, ends when the official takes the woman by the arm to take her away from the place.
A young Chinese woman was taken away by local police in Suzhou last Wednesday because she was wearing a kimono. “If you would be wearing Hanfu (Chinese traditional clothing), I never would have said this, but you are wearing a kimono, as a Chinese. You are Chinese!” pic.twitter.com/et8vWOferQ
— Manya Koetse (@manyapan) August 15, 2022
discussion on social media
The protagonist of the incident explained on Weibo that, later, the Police interrogated her for five hours, only released her at dawn, and forced her to write a letter of self-criticism, extremes not confirmed by the authorities.
In social networks, there are many messages condemning both the woman’s behavior and the attitude of the Police. “China’s reform and opening up does not mean forgetting history. There’s no way to forgive the demons who never apologized.”declared a commenter. “Are you also going to arrest those who drive a Japanese car or eat Japanese food?”ironized another user.
Tension in Eastern countries
The recent assassination in Japan of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has reignited some tensions between China and Japan.
Abe served as prime minister between 2012 and 2020, a period during which relations between China and Japan were tense due to issues such as the territorial disputes in the Diaoyu Islands, known in Japan as Senkaku, or visits by Abe and other senior officials. Japanese to the controversial Yasukuni shrine in Tokyo, linked to the country’s militaristic past and a source of diplomatic friction with several neighboring Asian countries.
Likewise, the Chinese Foreign Ministry recently called the Japanese ambassador to China for consultations for asking Beijing to refrain from using the recent visit to Taiwan by the president of the United States House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, as “a pretext to carry out aggressive military action in the Taiwan Strait.
On Monday, two Japanese ministers visited Tokyo’s controversial Yasukuni war shrine, angering China and South Korea, where it is seen as a symbol of Japan’s militaristic past. The shrine honors the 2.5 million people, mostly Japanese, killed in conflicts since the late 19th century, but also honors senior military and political figures convicted of war crimes by an international court after World War II.