“Call The Police”: Trans Woman Beats Up Man Who Insulted Her Before Sharing Anti-Violence Post

A transgender woman in China beat up a man at a restaurant before subsequently posting an anti-violence message online. 

Jiang Yan, an online beauty influencer with more than 40,000 followers, had been eating in a Haidilao hotpot establishment in Hunan when a man had reportedly hit and insulted her. She retaliated in response.

She has since released a video, giving reasons on why she felt her actions were justified.

A transgender woman beat up a man for mocking her at a hotpot restaurant in Hunan province, China before posting an anti-violence message

Image credits: douyin

A recent one-minute clip circulating around mainland China social media showed the man, whose identity has not been revealed, throwing objects and yelling at a group of people.

The video later cut to Yan pinning him to the ground to slap him repeatedly while grabbing him by the hair and dragging him around. She was then seen using her high-heeled shoe to hit his face.

The influencer posted a video later on and said the man had claimed to be a lawyer from Hong Kong. He had reportedly insulted her, calling the people of Hunan “poor and ugly” before proceeding to throw food and other objects at her.

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She said he hit her temple with his phone multiple times, which prompted her to fight back, adding that she had a background in martial arts training.

The man’s comments had allegedly been “inciting regional discrimination.”

“I have become a woman, but if my hometown needs me, I will still stand up and fight for it without hesitation,” Yan wrote.

The man — who was instead a Hunan-based office worker — apologized after authorities got involved, saying he was drunk but denied any attempt to cause regional discrimination. 

The clip divided the public, some supporting the woman while others viewed her aggressive actions as unnecessary

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草，没绷住 pic.twitter.com/Pe4k2Mcpk6

— 文亘古遗🐒四代目（马应龙猎妈版） (@wengenguyi4) October 12, 2024

One person labeled Yan as “the real-life female Wu Song,” who is a legendary warrior in Chinese folklore, a martial arts student who killed a tiger with his bare hands to protect others. They commended Yan for “bravely standing up for her hometown’s reputation.”

Another person said, “I support you to be the governor of the Hunan province.” 

But some others said her response was inappropriate.

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“Responding to violence with violence can only bring more injustice and suffering,” a user wrote. “The right thing to do would have been to gather evidence, call the police, and stay away from the drunk man.”

One polarizing comment read, “The attacker is transgender. Although China does not support LGBT, he still wrote on Wechat that he was justified in beating Hong Kong independence activists and would participate in the war to invade Taiwan in the future.” 

Yan has since addressed the comments on her video and provided an update on the altercation

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Weakest Chinese woman vs strongest Chinese man
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On October 18, the influencer said, “We’ve both apologized to each other. I hope people stop calling me the ‘Wu Song’ and stop focusing on this incident.”

After reflecting on her behavior, Yan said she condemned violence of any form and that the two reportedly plan on issuing a public apology to the hotpot restaurant chain for any damage they caused. 

In China, a person who intentionally causes injury to another can be sentenced to imprisonment for no longer than five years, or a fine of 500,000 RMB (~ $70,000 USD) or lower. 

People who live in mainland China have vastly different views of transgender rights than those in North America

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Though there is limited research on public attitudes to transgender laws in China, a 2016 study revealed many families to have a low acceptance rate of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTQ+) people.

57.6% of respondents indicated “low acceptance” or “complete rejection” in their families. More than half were “not sure” regarding levels of acceptance in school, workplaces, and religious communities.

Nearly 90% of families did not welcome transgender family members, and 70.8% of transgender people experience school violence.

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China has always been particularly silent in terms of transgender rights, so without a comprehensive law, there are only a few restrictions when it comes to discrimination based on “sex,” especially in settings such as school and work.

According to the World Report 2024 by Human Rights Watch, however, there has been progress in recent years.

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It read, “In February, the Court of Final Appeal ruled that the government’s requirement that transgender men undergo ‘full sex reassignment surgery’ to change their legal gender was unconstitutional.

“In September, the top court ordered the government to establish a legal framework for recognizing same-sex partnerships.”

Most comments were in support of Yan for standing her ground

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