Chinese Riot Police Publicly Shame Lockdown Violators

Armed riot police in China paraded four accused coronavirus offenders around the streets in an attempt to humiliate them, causing outrage on social media.

According to France 24, the suspected offenders were marched through the streets of Jingxi city in the Guangxi area, accused of trafficking undocumented migrants in breach of China’s coronavirus lockdowns.

The event was captured on video and shared widely on social media, causing many to condemn China’s habit of publicly humiliating lawbreakers.

According to the BBC, the local Chinese government justified the public shaming, claiming that it was a on-site disciplinary warning exercise and that no inappropriateness happened.

The public humiliation in China’s southern area comes only a week after the country established a nationwide curfew in the north as it prepared to host the Olympics.

Following a rise in coronavirus infections in the northern city of Xi’an, China ordered the lockdown of up to 13 million people in homes and workplaces, sparking panic purchasing only weeks before the country hosts the Winter Olympic Games.

According to state media, local officials instructed all inhabitants to stay at home unless they had a compelling reason to go, and all public transportation to and from the city was halted unless in exceptional circumstances.

According to the decree, one individual from each family would be allowed out every two days to acquire household supplies. It went into force at 12 a.m. on Wednesday, with no indication of when it will be removed.

There was no indication on whether the virus was the omicron strain, which is gaining popularity, or the far more prevalent delta variant. China claims to have only seen seven omicron instances, four in Guangzhou’s southern manufacturing region, two in Changsha’s southern city, and one in Tianjin’s northern port.