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New York Times
13 minutes ago
- New York Times
Why a Teen Bullying Case in China Set Off Protests and a Crackdown
A widely shared video clip of a 14-year-old girl being beaten, kicked and tormented by other teenagers set off large protests in southwestern China, with hundreds of residents accusing officials of letting the perpetrators off too lightly. What began as a local outcry over school bullying in the city of Jiangyou, in Sichuan Province, escalated into a broader confrontation with the authorities. The police responded to the rallies with a forceful crackdown late on Monday, captured by residents in photos and footage. Residents had demanded justice for the bullying victim and protested the police's use of heavy-handed tactics, saying it was suffocating their right to voice grievances. 'No to bullying,' residents chanted as rows of police officers stood nearby, according to one video that was shared widely on social media and verified by The New York Times. 'Give us back democracy,' they also shouted. The footage of the tense standoffs with the police also spread across China, where large protests are somewhat rare, before they were removed from social media. The viral clip of the bullying showed the assailants taking the 14-year old to an empty, unfinished building where they kicked, slapped and pummeled her as she knelt. The video prompted widespread outrage online, where many expressed concern about bullying and the need for accountability. On Monday, the Jiangyou police issued a statement saying that it had investigated the incident, which it said took place on July 22. Two of the attackers were ordered to attend a correctional school, according to the statement, and they also faced up to 15 days in detention, Chinese news reports said, citing officials. The third girl and other onlookers were let off with warnings. The parents of the victim complained that the punishment was too light. They took their grievances to the Jiangyou city government headquarters, where dozens, and then hundreds, of residents gathered to support them. Many were incensed because they believed that the parents of the girl who was beaten were disadvantaged; her mother was deaf, according to Chinese news reports. Tensions rose as the police tried to break up the crowd. 'Are you going to drag her away?' a man yelled at a police officer who appeared set to remove an older woman. The officer shouted at the man: 'Do you want to get dragged away?' The crowd erupted in anger as the officers tackled the man and hauled him off. The videos were scrubbed from Chinese internet sites, but some were shared with online accounts outside China. Protests are not uncommon in China, but the ones in Jiangyou stood out because they grew larger than most and generated footage and images and intense nationwide attention, said Kevin Slaten, the research lead for the China Dissent Monitor, which collects data on unrest in China by scouring social media. Many protests in China are about unpaid wages or housing problems, such as apartments that people have paid for but remain unfinished. But school safety issues, such as bullying, have also been a source of public anger, Mr. Slaten said. By calling for 'democracy,' the protesters in Jiangyou most likely meant a broad demand for justice and fair treatment, Mr. Slaten said. 'It can often be that, like we saw in Jiangyou, the protesters become more motivated when the authorities ramp up repression and the people feel even more indignation,' he said. Still, the residents who protested in Jiangyou also sought to show that they were patriotic citizens trying to work within, not against, the system. The beaten girl's parents appeared to get on their hands and knees to beg an official for his attention, some videos showed. At night, the protesters sang the national anthem while they faced off against police officers holding riot shields. Acts like prostrating were 'part of a longstanding cultural tradition in China where subjects petition benevolent officials to restore justice,' said Diana Fu, a political scientist at the University of Toronto who studies protest and dissent in China. By singing China's national anthem, she added, the residents appeared to be 'giving a nod to the central authorities' rule while also sardonically mocking local authorities.' By late Monday, the local authorities appeared to move in with greater force to break up the demonstrations. Phalanxes of police on foot pushed into the crowd, tackling people and dragging them away. Online comments in China about the unrest were largely removed. A woman in a shop near the Jiangyou government office who answered a call from the Times on Thursday said she did not know anything about the protests and hung up. Joy Dong in Hong Kong contributed reporting.
Fox News
13 minutes ago
- Fox News
Florida mom charged with child and animal neglect after Vegas vacation
A Florida mother was arrested upon returning home from her two-week vacation to Las Vegas after deputies learned she left a teenager and seven dogs in "vile living conditions." (VIDEO: Putnam County Sheriff's Office)
Fox News
34 minutes ago
- Fox News
Florida woman leaves teen, 7 dogs home alone to go on Vegas vacation: police
A Florida woman is behind bars after she left her teenager and seven dogs in "vile living conditions" to go on a two-week-long Las Vegas vacation, according to police. The Putnam County Sheriff's Office arrested Jessica Copeland, 37, on Tuesday on charges of child and animal neglect following calls from family members concerned about the teen and the dogs. The first call came on Monday when an out-of-state family member called Putnam County deputies to ask for a welfare check on a teenager in Palatka, Florida, the agency said. When deputies went to the home, an adult was outside and told them he was "cleaning" before Copeland returned home. The teen then came outside and said "there were no issues and everything was fine," according to the sheriff's office, so the deputies left. Another family member called the sheriff's office that same day to report that he had video of dogs inside the home being abused and agreed to meet with deputies to show it to them. In the video, there were three "severely emaciated dogs," the PCSO said. That same family member also told deputies he did not think there was food or running water in the house – information that was not given during the initial call, according to the agency. Deputies went back to the home with PCSO's agriculture detective and were let inside by the teenager. The adult who was at the home before was no longer there. Inside the home, deputies came across "vile living conditions," including layers of animal feces, garbage and debris all throughout the home, and multiple emaciated dogs without food or water. The teenager told law enforcement that Copeland left on July 21 for Las Vegas and "different people would come to the house to check on him and bring him food," the agency said. The age of the teenager was not revealed. Deputies also found seven dogs inside the residence. "Two dogs were locked in a bedroom covered in about 4 inches of feces with no food or water. A third dog was in a cage with no food or water and was severely emaciated. Four more dogs were in the living room surrounded by feces and did not have adequate food or water," the sheriff's office said, adding that there were water bowls in the living room, but they had insects floating in them. The teen allegedly told law enforcement that the home had been in this condition for years because Copeland kept it that way and refused to clean it. Putnam County Sheriff H.D. DeLoach said the situation was "both heartbreaking and infuriating." "A mother made the conscious choice to abandon her own child in a filth-ridden home, surrounded by the stench of animal feces and suffering of neglected animals while she indulged on a two-week birthday trip to Las Vegas," he said. "This wasn't neglect. This was deliberate cruelty, both to her child and to the animals she left behind." When deputies were at the home on Tuesday morning assisting animal control with removing the dogs from the home, Copeland returned to the residence and was quickly arrested. Bodycam footage released by the agency showed no resistance from Copeland when they informed her that her house was in a "deplorable" condition and that she had animals on the brink of being starved to death. She was quickly put in handcuffs and taken into custody. "She is now on extended vacation at the Putnam County Jail," the sheriff's office said. Her charges include one count of child neglect, three counts of felony animal neglect and four counts of misdemeanor animal neglect, and her bond is set at $36,000. "Let me be clear, our community will not tolerate this level of selfish disregard for human and animal life. She now has time for reflection," DeLoach said. The dogs were voluntarily surrendered to the county and will be up for adoption once they are rehabilitated.
