A kiss to remember – or not

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-Male kissing in public can still provoke heated feelings and discussions online, especially an unwanted kiss

-Increasingly ordinary Chinese people carry smartphones that are able to record ordinary people’s interactions with authenticity

-Tension between ‘cheng guan’, Chinese street officials, and some sections of the public has been spoken about privately for years, this video ex‍posed it to a wider audience

How best to handle a decision you don’t agree? Acceptance? Negotiation? Rebellion? Or would you take a more creative approach?

A man, surnamed Huang, was running a restaurant on a sidewalk in Liuzhou, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region – and according to the city’s urban administration department, his eatery violated local regulations.

The vendor and officer clash on street, as officials try to remove the restaurant’s furniture. /Sina Guangxi Photo

When an officer from urban administration (known in China as “cheng guan”), - the government department that is responsible for city management - arrived to tell Huang to close down the restaurant, the proprietor and his waitresses got into a heated argument with the official.

SEALED WITH A KISS

The officer didn’t listen to his pleas, so Huang deployed an unorthodox approach - he kissed the male officer.

The vendor and officer clash on street, as officials try to remove the restaurant’s furniture. /Sina Guangxi Photo

And it wasn’t just a peck-on-the-cheek kind of kiss. Huang kissed the officer on the lips, twice, and in so doing became an Internet sensation.

The officer didn’t enjoy the kiss quite as much as the millions of people who later viewed the video of the incident online. The gentle kisses instigated a violent brawl, with officers and restaurant workers clashing, and stools and frying pans used as weapons.

The vendor and officer clash on street, as officials try to remove the restaurant’s furniture. /Sina Guangxi Photo

Following the incident, Huang was detained for eight days for obstructing government officials from performing their duty.

SOCIAL MEDIA REACTION

The topic trended on Weibo, with over 6,300 interactions and 6.5 million views. A China News Service post received over 2,000 comments. And needless to say, the video of the incident made the rounds online, with Chinese netizens labeling the incident anything from an expression of love to an indecent assault.

The vendor and officer clash on street, as officials try to remove the restaurant’s furniture. /Sina Guangxi Photo

Social media’s reaction gave an insight into how Chinese society feel about ordinary street vendors and the authorities have to face in daily life, usually in the form of “cheng guan”. We have tried to pick a balanced range of opinions from social media to show you how China’s netizens responded to the kiss.

"This is a typical scene only exists in Chinese society. Vendors should be regulated. It is not fair that only officers are governed by the public but not vendors."

- @Miaowuxingren201505

"Every time similar things happen, the media focus on officers beating vendors. Thanks to the recorder, otherwise officers would be in trouble again."

- @Jiangyouxiaomu

"If the vendor had affected the street hygiene situation, officers are authorized to enforce them to remove the stuff. I am against violent officers but I would not support vendors who fight against officers either."

- @Renjianzhengdao

"Sometimes a kiss is more disrespectful than a push or a slap. In this case the officer should lock him up for 24 hours in a violent criminals’ cell where they will give him kiss and whatever he wants. His heat needs to be cooled."

- Facebook user Faraz Mansoor Kiani

"Some people do not follow the laws. Should make the laws more powerful."

- @Sofia Lee

"Wake up authorities!! He kissed and he did not choose to beat u with his chairs!!! All you should appreciate his caring to you all!!"

- @Li Liwen

Questions for 2017

-In July 2016 China’s Ministry of Public Security explicitly gave people the right to film the police and other authorities who are carrying out their duties as long as they don’t obstruct official activities. So should we expect more videos in 2017?

-The number of people living in cities in China is predicted to increase in 2017 and so the issue of urban governance and cheng guan will remain in important one in the future.

(Written by Liu Chen; Edited by Bibek Bhandari; Video edited by Zhou Jinxi; and Room with a View produced by Xu Jiye)

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