On June 10, 2022, a violent incident occurred in Tangshan City, Hebei Province, China, where nine men beat four women at a barbecue restaurant after sexually harassing them in a failed pick-up attempt, causing the women to be sent to the hospital with serious injuries. The news shocked China. Video footage recorded by netizens went viral and sparked outrage before prompting the local police to take action and arrest the nine male culprits. The incident not only hit the “top search” of Weibo on June 10 and June 11[1] but also prompted official media, including People’s Daily, CCTV, and China Women’s Daily to criticize the violence and call on the local government to deal with it according to the law as soon as possible.[2]In recent years, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has adopted strict control over the press, often blocking news immediately whenever needed. As merely a local community case, why has the Tangshan incident unusually attracted criticism from the central-level official media and even become a hot topic on the Internet? Why did the CCP not shut down the news of this incident but instead take the initiative to comment on it and allow it to be widely circulated and discussed? The following are the author’s observations.

The “Case of Chained Mother” incident, publicized on the Internet in January 2022, sparked discussions about women trafficking and the protection of women’s rights in Chinese society. The CCP’s delayed intervention, as well as clear attempts by local authorities to deflect the problem through a series of vague, contradictory reports, led many to believe that the party has little interest in protecting the rights of the disadvantaged. The authorities also blocked comments as netizens tried to identify the chained mother of the eight children in Xuzhou.[3]On April 2, the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Youth League (CYL) posted on its Weibo account a topic titled, “The Long Marches For Each Generation” with six pictures, aiming to highlight young Chinese who contributed to major historical events of the CCP. However, netizens pointed out that no women appeared in these pictures. In response to the questions, the CYL Central issued a long Weibo post along with the Beijing Evening News on April 12 to criticize “extreme feminism” with strong words such as “it’s time to control the fake feminism that swings a big stick.”[4]As a result, this year’s events related to women’s rights have stirred up netizens’ dissatisfaction with the CCP, reinforcing the impression that the CCP has been neglecting the protection of women’s rights for years. In the author’s view, the CCP’s intervention after the Tangshan incident was related to the abovementioned events. The CCP hopes to use pressure exerted on local authorities and criticism in the official media to speak for women and reverse its negative image among netizens as “inactive,” “unreflective,” and “bullying with official authority” when it comes to the protection of women’s rights and interests.

Although police arrived at the Tangshan barbecue restaurant, they did not arrest the men who were causing trouble; one of the men was even suspected of being a local police officer.[5]Several Tangshan residents later identified themselves and reported other incidents on the Internet, posting video footage of themselves being assaulted and harassed by local gang members. With the evidence, the Tangshan incident triggered suspicions of long-term collusion between the officials and gangs, leading to rampant crimes in the area. [6]

During his tenure, Xi Jinping has focused on fighting corruption and gangs by launching a three-year “special national campaign to fight organized and gang-related crimes” in 2018, aiming to eliminate crimes and reinforce the authorities at the local level. On March 29, 2021, the CCP held a national convention to conclude the campaign and commend the crime-fighters, declaring the campaign’s successful completion.[7]From the Tangshan incident and the abovementioned development, it can be seen that the effectiveness of the crime-fighting campaign is actually limited. Local violent crimes obviously have not been completely eliminated, and gangs are still present and rampant in the communities. These incidents have directly shaken the authority of the CCP’s governance; as such, its Central Committee needs to intervene quickly in a high-profile manner to dispel people’s distrust of the regime.

The COVID-19 lockdown of Shanghai in March has caused many problems for people’s livelihoods and hugely impacted the economy, leading to many public grievances. During the lockdown, many netizens even circumvented censorship and challenged the CCP’s official policy and rhetoric through ironic and satirical expressions.[8]The CCP’s response to the Tangshan incident shows that it is aware of its strained relationship with society, and if it does not respond to the needs of the people, there could be more discontent. Even though there has not yet been a large-scale physically assembled protest in China, the CCP’s top brass, desperate to get through the year peacefully, must be careful at this crucial moment to avoid the convergence of public opinion on the Internet from turning into actual actions. It is foreseeable that the CCP will make other moves to win back the people’s hearts before the 20th Party Congress takes place.

(Originally published in the “National Defense and Security Real - time Assessment”, June 16, 2022, by the Institute for National Defense and Security Research.)

(The contents and views in the assessments are the personal opinions of the author, and do not represent the position of the Institute for National Defense and Security Research.)