Chinese are publicly humiliated for violating Covid anti-covid rules

Police in southern China parade through the streets with four suspected of helping people to cross closed borders, in violation of Covid-19’s control measures — a controversial act of public humiliation which triggered reactions on Chinese social media.

On Tuesday (28), four people wearing overalls, face masks and goggles paraded through the city of Jingxi, Guangxi Province, each carrying posters with their names and photos on their chests and backs, according to shared videos on social networks and republished by state media.

Each suspect was led by two police officers, who were also dressed in overalls and face shields. They were within a circle of authorities, with some officers holding machine guns and shock equipment while a large crowd watched.

The four people are suspected of helping other individuals illegally cross China’s borders, which were largely closed during the pandemic as part of the country’s “zero Covid policy,” according to the state-run Guangxi Daily.

The punishment was aimed at deterring crimes related to the border and encouraging public compliance with measures to prevent and control epidemics, according to the state vehicle.

On Tuesday, authorities in Jingxi formally arrested two suspects accused of transporting two Vietnamese immigrants to China in October.

One of the immigrants tested positive for coronavirus, causing schools to close, nearly 50,000 residents to be subjected to home isolation and more than 10,000 tests to be performed, according to a report on the Jingxi government website. It is unclear whether the two suspects were among the four people who paraded on Tuesday.

Echoes of the Cultural Revolution

Border cities face tremendous pressure to keep the coronavirus at bay under China’s strict Covid zero policy, with local authorities periodically fired or punished for not containing any outbreaks that avoid the strict measures.

Jingxi, a city of about 670,000 people, shares a 152 kilometer border with Vietnam. In neighboring Yunnan province, the town of Ruili was repeatedly blocked for months earlier this year due to cases imported from Covid, sparking protests from local residents.

Since Tuesday, videos of the public humiliation in Jingxi have gained wide attention on Chinese social media, drawing much criticism. For many, the parade and posters refer to the dark period of the Cultural Revolution.

Five decades ago, public humiliation was a hallmark of the persecutions unleashed by Mao Zedong’s fervent Red Guards, becoming a symbol of the lawlessness and chaos of that decade of social turmoil.

In 1988, the Chinese government banned public humiliations for all suspected and convicted criminals, including those sentenced to death. But similar incidents have occurred repeatedly over the years, prompting criticism from the state media — and more news reiterating the government’s ban.

The state media itself criticized Tuesday’s parade. The Global Times, a nationalist tabloid, quoted a law professor as saying that the public humiliation in Jingxi “violates Chinese law” and “insults the dignity of citizens”.

Beijing News, another state-owned vehicle, said the measure “seriously violates the spirit of the rule of law” and should not happen even under severe pressure to prevent epidemics.

Meanwhile, Jingxi police and the local government defended the act, claiming it was “on-the-spot disciplinary warning activity” and that it was “not inappropriate,” according to the state-run Zhengzhou Daily. This is not the first time that Jingxi authorities have exposed and humiliated suspects.

In November, three people accused of smuggling people were presented on stage as an official read their punishments to an audience of hundreds of individuals, including elementary school students, according to a report on the Jingxi government website.

(Translated text. Click here to read the original)