A fight between 3 Moroccans and 2 local people from Chengdu saw the foreigners serve 7 days in jail, and receive a 500RMB fine for hitting their Chinese fellow diners. One of the girls called Yang was also fined 500RMB for making up things.

Whilst violence is never, ever okay, and as guests here in China, we have a responsibility, and legal obligation to obey they law – many have noted that this fight, after going viral on weibo, got a significant amount of attention more than other daily fights, and has fanned the flamed of foreigner feeling.

More Than Just a Violent Outburst

A video has emerged online which has sparked a debate about the behaviour and conduct of foreigners in China. Police in Southwest China’s Sichuan Province confirmed on Sunday that three Chinese locals were hit by three foreigners when a fight broke out at a restaurant.

The local 22 year old man, surnamed Yin, reported the incident to police on Friday and stated that an altercation in the restaurant had occurred resulting in the three locals being assaulted by the foreigners. The official statement released by the police department of the Jinjiang district of Chengdu on Sunday has not confirmed the nationality of the foreign nationals, however, Chinese social media outlets have spread different versions of the story therefore shadowing the real reason for the incident.

Whilst local police are still investigating the incident, we hope to shed light on the facts that we know and point out that whilst the video looks horrific, it may not necessarily show the full story and it has been common, especially with the rising tensions of the post-pandemic world, for foreigners in China to be targeted in situations very similar to this one and ultimately not get the chance to defend themselves in a fair fashion, despite them not always being the aggressors in these situations.

Unboxing the Facts

According to local eyewitnesses, the viral video going round Weibo does not show the full situation that occurred. When the foreigners showed up to the restaurant, they were speaking their own language which aggravated the local girls who asked them to not to “speak in their own language” and to either speak in English or Chinese. One of the drunken foreigners replied back to which another Chinese local backed the local girl up stating that “you are in China so speak Chinese”. Name calling and aggravating slurs began which resulted in a fight occurring and the situation ultimately escalating. What’s interesting is that eyewitnesses state that the viral video does not show the local girls aggravating and throwing food at the foreigners during the fight occurred therefore highlighting the fact that this video has been edited in order to fit a narrative against these foreign men.

Although violence is never the answer in situations like these, personally I believe it is unfair to criticise and blame these foreign men for the full responsibility of this situation that occurred. People around the world should be free to speak whatever language they like without that being a cause for arguments to be started. In no way am I trying to justify their actions and the fact that a fight broke out to this magnitude is never acceptable however it is important to point out the anti-foreigner culture that is now causing mass conversations on many Chinese social media platforms, and this is not acceptable.

Source: 成都公安